The Buckingham County Youth League (BCYL) Belles All-Star team enjoyed a strong season but could not produce enough hits to stay alive in the recent District 5 Dixie Softball Belles All-Star Tournament in Cumberland.

Victory came first during the BCYL Belles’ 1-2 run in the tourney as they defeated the Powhatan All-Stars 7-2 on June 24.

But in a June 25 doubleheader against the Fluvanna All-Stars, Buckingham lost 6-3 and 9-7.

“We hit against Powhatan, but we did not hit against Fluvanna,” BCYL Belles Manager Elton Chambers said. “I don’t know, we just couldn’t get the bats going for some reason, but I guess that’s the way ball goes.”

Powhatan went on to win the five-team tournament, beating Fluvanna twice.

In Buckingham’s victory, it spread out its runs, with two in the first inning, two in the second, one in the third and two in the fifth.

The two in the fifth proved especially key as Powhatan had narrowed Buckingham’s lead to 5-2. An inside-the-park home run by Tyshea Chambers restored her team’s five-run cushion.

Mia Garrett helped hold Powhatan with her play in the circle, throwing 11 strikeouts.

“She’s amazing,” Manager Chambers said.

In the 6-3 loss to Fluvanna, the failure to hit and a couple of costly errors limited the BCYL Belles significantly. They were able to generate offense in more than one inning, unlike Fluvanna which scored all of its runs together, but they could not generate enough to make a difference.

A poor start and a late miscue led to the 9-7 defeat. Fluvanna scored seven runs in the first inning. Chambers ended up putting Garrett in the circle after that.

“And when she started in the second inning pitching, they just could not hit her at all,” he said, noting she finished with 12 strikeouts.

Fluvanna ended up scoring its final two runs on an error in the top of the seventh.

Despite the loss, Kaya Amos and Alivia Newton shined on offense, each going 3-for-4.