The All-Stars Prepare for Thursday's Game

Well, if the defending champs didn't inspire fear in the minds of other teams before they hit the diamond, one of the veterans of the squad made them take notice Wednesday afternoon.

Avery Lamb won the skills competition by consistently pitching a softball through a tire. Lamb, who says basketball is her favorite sport besides softball, does her duty on the pitcher's mound and also plays first base.

The girls will practice about 10 a.m. Pacific time Thursday morning before they begin pool play that night.

A softball legend got all nine teams fired up by chatting them up this week in Portland. Sue Enquist made a name for herself at UCLA as a standout player and coach. She told the parents to give themselves a hand for all of their hard work at getting their kids to this stage. She told the players to remember that F-U-N is in the word 'fundamentals' and to make sure they take this week in and remember that they're the best in the world.

A dairy sits adjacent to the Softball World Series diamond, and early Thursday afternoon, the girls got a scoop to enjoy. The WRALL All-Stars hope it's the beginning of a sweet week on their way to back-to-back titles.

Suzanne