Patterson 10U All-Stars will begin bracket play Thursday

The Patterson 10U softball Babe Ruth All-Stars will begin bracket play in the Southwest Regional in Harrison, Arkansas, Thursday.
Patterson will open play at 9 a.m. against the Harrison Sweet Heat in the tournament’s first game.
Patterson is one of eight teams participating in the tournament. The Harrison Sweet Heat (Arkansas)/Patterson winner will face the Ozarka (Arkansas) Tri County/Hamburg, Arkansas, winner Thursday at 5 p.m., while the two losers will play Friday at 9 a.m.
The tournament runs through Saturday.
Prior to bracket play, Patterson played in exhibition pool games. The squad was successful in its first two contests Tuesday, knocking off Cotter, Arkansas, 12-0; and Harrison Sweet Heat, 4-0.
Patterson played a final pool game today against the Harrison Diamond Divas, the Arkansas state champs, at 11:30 a.m.
Patterson coach Harris DeHart said he has heard that the Harrison Diamond Divas are a team to look out for at the tournament.
“We came out strong in the first two games,” DeHart said today. “We knew what we had to do coming up here for regionals with better competition, but the girls came out, executed what they had to and hit the ball very well.”
While the Babe Ruth Southwest Region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, just Louisiana, Oklahoma and a heavy Arkansas field will be represented.
Other participants include Twin Lakes, Arkansas; Broken Bow, Oklahoma; and Mountain Home, Arkansas.
Patterson advanced to the southwest regional after recording a 5-0 mark at the state tournament in Kenner in late June. Patterson outscored its opponents, 51-7, giving up three of those runs in a 9-3 championship game victory against Pierre Part. No team scored more than one run against the local squad in its other four games.
Team members include Layla Richoux, Charlotte Calais, Kyla Samuels, Makayla Theriot, Bryleigh DeHart, Emily Lipari, Hannah Domingue, Rylie Chasson, Madison Gray, Amaya Williams, Laila Dugar and Kamille Lightfoot. The team is led by head coach Harris DeHart and assistant coaches Jeff Lipari, Jonathan Lightfoot and Scott Domingue.