For the first time in school history, the Trico Junior High softball team won the state championship Tuesday with a 6-4 victory over Zeigler-Royalton in Centralia.

“This is the best way ever to end a season,” said Trico coach Steve Toler. “This team worked well as a group, and they just geled as a team. We didn’t have any players that thought they were superstars. We just had a bunch of girls that knew how to play and knew how to win.”
In the state tournament, the Lady Pioneers knocked off Goreville 3-0 in the first round, and edged Nashville 3-2 in the semifinals.

After the championship win Tuesday, the team was welcomed back to the area with a fire truck escort through Cutler, Percy, Willisville, Campbell Hill and Ava.
“The team would really like to thank the Campbell Hill and Willisville Fire Departments for the escorts after winning the regional and then the state title,” added assistant coach Darl Lodge.

The Lady Pioneers team featured 10 eighth graders, six seventh graders and two sixth graders as they finished the season with a 19-5 record.