The Madisonville White Sox 7-year-old all-star team represented the Madisonville Youth Boosters over the weekend in the inaugural state tournament held in Addis.

The team finished second in the two-day, machine-pitched tournament.

The White Sox were coached by Chris Nelson, the Fontainebleau High School softball coach, who was assisted by Steve Cowen and Carey Cutrer.

The Madisonville White Sox 7-year-old all-stars came in as the runner up in the inaugural machine-pitched State Tournament held last weekend in Addis. Pictured are, from left, first row: Justin McCleskey, Joe Sanchez, Will Bloecher, Michael Housey, Andrew Williams and Ian Gardner; and second row: Ross Macaferry, Jacques Cutrer, Dawson Nelson, Matthew Weimer, Trey Bretey and Reese Cowen; third row: assistant coach Carey Cutrer, head coach Chris Nelson and assistant coach Steve Cowen.

The Madisonville club went 2-2 in the tournament, falling to the Kenner All-Stars, 16-3, in Sunday afternoon’s championship game.

First baseman Reese Cowen and catcher Dawson Nelson collected two hits each to lead Madisonville at the plate in the championship game. Pitcher Matthew Weimer shined defensively, playing his position next to the pitching machine catching two line drives and turning them into double plays.

Kenner tallied runs in each of the five innings taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the first.

Madisonville answered with a run in the bottom of the first.

Cowen opened the inning with a single, and Weimer bunted him to second. Nelson delivered an RBI single to center to cut the lead to 3-1. Kenner tallied twice in the second inning to build a 5-1 margin.

Trey Bretey led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Ian Gardner.

Jacques Cutrer came through with an RBI bunt single scoring Bretey. Cutrer stole second and scored on Michael Housey’s RBI single to center to make it a 5-3 game. Kenner added a run in the third inning before tallying six times in the fourth to put the game away.

Madisonville opened the tourney on Saturday morning, taking a 14-9 victory over Zachary.

The team was led by Justin McCleskey, who had two hits with three runs batted in. Cowen and Nelson also had strong games at the plate, collecting three hits with two runs batted in each.

Madisonville trailed 7-6 entering the bottom of the fourth. The White Sox scored four runs in the inning to take a 10-7 lead. Zachary answered with two runs before Madisonville pushed across four runs to close out the scoring.

In Saturday’s second game, Kenner, the state champ, downed Madisonville, 15-3. Nelson had two hits with two runs batted in, while Cowen added two hits.

Sunday morning, Madisonville rebounded with a 15-6 victory over Zachary, earning the right to advance to the championship game against Kenner.

Madisonville’s Nelson contributed three hits with two runs batted in, while Will Bloecher drove in three runs with two hits. Andrew Williams delivered two hits with a run batted in.

Coach Nelson said he and his coaches only had a couple weeks to get the team together.

“I was a little hesitant in the beginning. We started with 20 players, which was narrowed down to 12 all-stars and two alternates. The players went to baseball boot camp for two weeks,” Nelson said.

“It was very satisfying to see how much progress our youngsters made in just a couple of weeks of being together. We are extremely proud of the team. I’m really proud of the way they came together in such a short period of time,” Nelson added.

He said going into the tournament he didn’t know what to expect.

“I didn’t have a crystal ball, but looking back it was definitely the right decision to take the team to the tournament. It was a great experience for the youngsters, and the parents as well. All of the parents said it was a wild ride,” he said.