Sportsmanship still alive in Bellevue West Little League

After the Bellevue West Little League Dukes-2 championship game, there were no tears to be found.

Instead, the game between the Storm and Riverdogs resulted in smiles all around.

Though the Storm won by a final score of 22-11 on June 18, there were no hard feelings. That's largely because all but one of the players on both teams are second graders at Enatai Elementary school.

"All of the parents and kids are neighbors, buddies and classmates," said Kirsten Sharp, whose son Graeme is on the Riverdogs. "It was hard to tell which side of the field belonged to which team as the parents all mixed. Every once in a while, parents and kids would forget which side was theirs and start rooting for for a friend on the other team.

"I worked in the classroom the next day," Sharp continued, "and the kids were on cloud nine that they got trophies...but not a peep about one team winning and one team not."

Sharp also mentioned that the teams had been rooting for each other all season in hopes of a "good old neighborhood game" as the championship.

Contact Bellevue Reporter Sports Writer Joel Willits at jwillits@bellevuereporter.com or 425-453-5045.

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