Three Sixers teams take titles at Pete Doumit Memorial Tournament

MOSES LAKE — More than 20 teams gathered at Larson Playfield in Moses Lake over the weekend for the 2024 Pete Doumit Memorial Tournament, where 48 total games were played in 9U, 10U, 11U and 12U divisions from Friday through Sunday.

“We’ve been planning this tournament for a while,” Moses Lake Youth Baseball Association President Justin Morigeau said. “We have a lot of other tournaments that are competing on the same weekend, and to get 22 teams from central and western Washington to come out on Father’s Day weekend, it was fun. It exceeded our expectations, it was smooth and we had good baseball.”

The tournament pays tribute to legendary coach Pete Doumit, a 2006 inductee of the Washington State Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame who coached locally at both Big Bend Community College and Moses Lake High School. Doumit passed away in 2018.

The Six Athletic Training Facility in Moses Lake is named after Pete’s jersey number, No. 6. The facility is owned by Pete’s son and former Major League Baseball player Ryan Doumit. The Central Washington Sixers are operated through The Six.

“This one’s a very special (tournament) for us — being part of The Six, and what Ryan Doumit and the legacy of his father, who was one of my coaches back in the day, so to win this one is really, really special,” 10U Central Washington Sixers head coach Mike Valdez said. 

“It’s fun playing at home, and fun playing to represent Pete and Ryan Doumit,” 12U Central Washington Sixers head coach Steve Keller said. “Getting the opportunity to (coach) the Sixers is really important for the relationship that I had with Pete.”

All four of the winning teams received championship rings following their wins, with rings also being awarded to scorekeepers and other individuals who helped run the teams.

“These kids, they love getting the hardware,” Morigeau said. “What’s cool is they’re able to collect those over the years and add it to their collection. It represents their hard work when they come out to these tournaments.”

Morigeau thanked all who helped run last weekend’s tournament.

“The community makes this happen, so it’s awesome to see us do that in Moses Lake,” Morigeau said. 

12U Tournament

The 12U Central Washington Sixers outscored their opponents 84-4 throughout the weekend, going a perfect 5-0 and defeating 12U Farmers 11-2 in the 12U championship game Sunday afternoon.

“(It took) good pitching, good at-bats and staying within ourselves,” Keller said. “We have a really good habit of being good, and then on championship days putting too much pressure on ourselves. The boys were able to just play this weekend, and it was a lot of fun.”

The 12U Sixers bookended their season with tournament wins, winning their first tournament before wrapping up their season with a win in the Pete Doumit Memorial Tournament and a 34-11 overall record. Keller said the team will continue practicing and will look to add another tournament.

“Lots of tournaments, lots of experience, lots of growth,” Keller said. “This may be a good way to put a stamp on it, but there’s always room for more baseball.”

11U Tournament

The 11U Ellensburg All-Stars defeated the 11U Moses Lake All-Stars in the 11U championship game Sunday, winning the game 10-7 and finishing the weekend 4-0-1.

“It’s fun to have some down days, and then come back and battle and be in the championship,” 11U Ellensburg head coach Zane Kanyer said. “To come home with some bling is a fun thing for our first tournament.”

After trailing 7-1 through the first four-and-a-half innings, Ellensburg posted a nine-run bottom of the fifth inning to come back and defeat Moses Lake.

“The boys really showed some grit and determination, that’s what we’ve been talking about all year,” Kanyer said. “Being able to wipe the bad plays off and come back and battle – they showed that today, it was pretty fun stuff.”

10U Tournament

The 10U Central Washington Sixers finished pool play with a 3-0 record to earn one of the top seeds in the 10U bracket.

Valdez said the team’s confidence was up after a win in a tournament last weekend.

“We felt very confident,” Valdez said. “We were in Wenatchee last weekend, as had a good draw and the boys came together and put on a good showing last week. We ended up winning that tournament, 5-0.”

With an 8-0 win over the 10U Ellensburg All-Stars in the semifinals, the Sixers bested the Eastmont All-Stars 8-0 in the 10U championship game.

“We’ve rode our pitchers pretty well this season,” Valdez said. “Not a lot of walks, they work hard and we have really good depth. The hitting, sometimes it’s hit or miss, but our pitching’s always kept us in games.”

The Pete Doumit Memorial Tournament win wraps up the season for the 10U Sixers.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Valdez said. “They get an early summer and we’re definitely going to miss each other – we’re not going to know what to do next week. They deserve a good summer, a little break. September and October, we’ll be back to work before you know it.”

9U Tournament

The third Sixers championship came in the 9U bracket, where the 9U Sixers defeated 9U Black Hills Nationals 13-3.

“We’ve had really good pitching the last three to four weeks, we’ve been playing really well defensively as well,” 9U Sixers head coach Sonny Garza said. “We’ve got lots of guys that throw strikes, which really helps out and keeps the defense on and keeps active and ready for the baseball.”

The win capped off a 34-13 season for the 9U Sixers.

“It’s good, coaching nine-year-olds has been fun,” Garza said. “Seeing their excitement and the way they really love to play the game has been fun. Seeing them go out on a high note is even better.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Players for the 11U Ellensburg All-Stars check out their championship rings after defeating the 11U Moses Lake All-Stars in Sunday’s 11U championship game.
  

    A player for the 12U Central Washington Sixers keeps his eye on the pitcher while running to third base.
  

    A pitcher for the 11U Moses Lake All-Stars winds up to pitch against the 11U Ellensburg All-Stars.
  

    A baserunner for the 9U Central Washington Sixers reaches second base during the 9U championship game against the 9U Black Hills Nationals.