NIPOMO — Elena Padron said practice made perfect when her softball team, the Icebreakers, won the Midseason Madness championship tournament.
"We did fielding, hitting, pop flies and sliding," 9-year-old Padron said.
The 8U team from Nipomo went into the tournament as an underdog in 7th place.
The eight-and nine-year-old girls beat out four other teams from much bigger cities to bring home the win.
They won their tournament games against Fresno and Bakersfield before moving on to beat two teams from Santa Maria in their third and final games.
The team told KSBY "hard work, teamwork and dedication" helped lead the girls to victory.
"It was crazy. We were all tired. We were out of it, but we pushed through and we won the championship," Padron said.
Coach Johnny Garcia touted the girls' success.
"I mean, we got some talent here and you can see it," Garcia said. "We ain't got much. We're small here. We're the underdogs most of the time. But we got some talent here and the hard work is showing. It showed this weekend. You know it's paying off."
The team said a hard-fought win like theirs highlights the importance of supporting girls sports in Nipomo and making sure athletes have equal opportunities and resources to continue to grow.
