KNOXVILLE-They gave it everything they had, and left it all on the field!

The Newport Lunachix 8U coach pitch softball squad battled against the best teams in the nation at the USSSA World Series in Knoxville last weekend, and came away with an impressive fifth-place finish. Considering the top teams from every state in the nation were playing in the Series, fifth place is really an incredible finish.

The Lunachix went into the tournament as big-time underdogs as the other teams in the series had won their state championships or had won various sanctioned World Series events. And, many of those teams had played together for many years and play year-round. So, the Chix new their backs were to the wall from the outset.

The Chix started the Series with pool play against the Iowa Rams, the Iowa state champions who traveled over 13 hours to the Series. The Rams started the Series a day earlier, and easily won their opener. The Lunachix drew first blood scoring a run in the top of the first inning. After retiring the Rams in order on perfect defensive play, the Chix exploded for 13 runs over the next three innings that included a gramd slam home run, and ended with a 14-0 victory. I would be the only game in the Series that ended in a shutout and by the Mercy Rule in the fourth inning. The Rams ended up with just two hits in the contest as the Chix defense was stellar.

Shortly after the finish of their game with the Rams, the Lunachix were back on the field facing the Kentucky state champions, the Kentucky Rockers. A victory, and holding the Rockers to under 10 runs, would give the Chix a No. 1 seed and a bye going into championship round play. Both teams played excellent defense, and the Rockers led 3-1 going into the third inning. But, the Chix rallied and tied the game in the third. But, the Rockers scored twice more in the fourth, and went on to a 5-3 victory.

The result landed the Lunachix with a No. 2 seed behind the Alabama state champions' Semmes.

With little time to rest, the Lunachix were back at it again, their third game of the day, and this time against a powerhouse, the 2010 Slow-Pitch World Series Champion Livingston Impact from Livingston, Tennessee. But the Chix weren't fazed, playing a solid game both offensively and defensively. The Chix finished off the Impact in the fifth inning 9-3 by Mercy Rule.

But, the day wasn't over yet for the Chix. With three games played on one of the hottest days of the year, the Chix faced off against their fourth opponent that evening, a rematch with the Kentucky Rockers.

The Rockers wanted revenge, and jumped on the Chix early and often for a 9-0 lead. But the Chix dug deep, played good defense, and started a comeback. They trailed the Rockers 11-6 going into the final inning. After two outs, the Chix scored four more times, but with the tying run on first, time ran out and the Chix suffered a heartbreaking loss 11-10.

The loss dropped the Chix into the loser's bracket for day two play, and the girls were pretty weary after playing four games on day one.

The Chix were up and at it early on day two against a familiar opponent, the Tennessee state champion Lawrenceburg Lightning All-Stars. The Chix tangled with the Ligntning a few weeks earlier at the state tournament. The game wasn't a good one for the Newport ladies as the Lightning beat the Chix and knocked them into the loser's bracket.

The coaching staff got the Chix fired up, and their re-match with the Lightning would be a knock-down drag-out affair to the very end. At the end of the first inning, the scored was even at 2-2. The Lightning plated two more in the second inning for a 4-2 lead. But, the Chix dug deep, and scored the maximum five runs allowed in the third inning for a 7-4 lead. But, the Chix made a few simple miscues on defense that allowed the Lightning to regain the lead 9-7 heading into the final inning. The Chix couldn't rebound this time, losing by the same score, but still coming away with a fifth-place finish in the series.