El Dorado Middle School eighth grade student Elise Peffly won an all-expense paid trip to compete in the Major League Baseball pith hit run contest finals during game two of the World Series.
Peffly won the first round of the contest that was coordinated through El Dorado Recreation, advancing to and winning the regional contest for 13 and 14-year-old softball at the Kansas City Royals stadium. During the regional competition, Peffly beat last year’s champion, earning her one of only four available spots for her age group to compete in the World Series for the championship.
The contest looks at three skillsets related to baseball and softball: pitch, hit and run. Pitch is where athletes are tested on the accuracy of their throw. They get five attempts to hit the strike zone from a designated pitching line. If any portion of the target is hit, it counts toward the athlete’s total points. Each time they hit the target they receive 50 points. They receive 100 points for a bullseye.
For Hit, athletes hit the ball off a tee as far as possible. They can adjust the tee to their desired height, and they receive five tries. Each ball receives points depending on what zone it lands in. The score is based off where it lands, not how far it rolls.
During Run, athletes are measured to see how quickly they can run from home to first base. Each participant gets two attempts to run, and their fastest score is recorded.
There are eight groups, four each for baseball and softball, that are divided by age from seven to 14. Their initial score from the local contest determines if they can proceed to the Team Championship where the scores are all pooled and only the top four are invited to compete in the World Series finals.
For more information on the MLB pitch hit run competition, please visit their website: https://www.mlb.com/pitch-hit-and-run/leaderboard
