The Tri-Lakes Little League softball team returned to Colorado from Southern California without a trip to the Little League Softball World Series, but with an experience organizers believe will shape the young players long after its final inning.

Representing Colorado after winning the state’s Little League Softball championship for the fourth consecutive year, Tri-Lakes competed in the 2026 Little League Softball Northwest Region Tournament in San Bernardino, Calif., where it finished with a 1-2 record against the region’s top teams. Every game of the tournament was streamed nationally on ESPN+, giving the Tri-Lakes-area players an opportunity to showcase their talents before a nationwide audience.

Tri-Lakes opened the tournament with a commanding 16-0 victory over Alaska before falling 10-6 to Idaho and 8-5 to Montana in the double-elimination tournament. For Tri-Lakes Little League board member Nicole Simmons, the scores tell only part of the story.

“We are incredibly proud of the way these girls represented Tri-Lakes and the State of Colorado, both on and off the field,” Simmons said. “This is the fourth consecutive year Tri-Lakes has won the Colorado state championship and advanced to the Little League Regional Tournament, and this was the youngest group we have sent.”

She said the players demonstrated perseverance and maturity throughout the tournament while competing against the best Little League softball teams in the Northwest.

“They showed tremendous perseverance, grit and maturity throughout the experience,” Simmons said. “They competed hard, treated their coaches and opponents with respect and carried themselves in a way that made our entire community proud.”

Head coach Toni Vaughn said respect was recognized by more than just the Tri-Lakes community.

“The staff at Little League told us, ‘That Colorado group is the most respectful group of young ladies here,'” Vaughn said. “Which makes me very proud as a coach.”

Vaughn said one of the biggest challenges of a weeklong regional tournament extends beyond the softball field. The team spent the week living together away from home, sharing close quarters while balancing the emotions that come with competing on one of youth softball’s biggest stages.

“The effort it takes to keep the focus on the team and the work is especially difficult when you have 12 young ladies staying in such close quarters for a week,” Vaughn said. “Being away from their parents and having to respect each other’s space 24-7 is very difficult, and they did a great job with these challenges, which can be a major distraction for most teams.”

The opening victory over Alaska allowed Tri-Lakes to showcase the offensive production which carried the team through district and state competition. But the losses to Idaho and Montana presented a different kind of challenge.

“The girls learned that every game brings a different challenge and that they have to stay focused, composed and ready to adjust,” Simmons said. “The next two games tested their ability to respond to pressure and adversity against very strong teams.”

The players discovered one difficult inning does not determine the outcome of an entire game and supporting one another until the final out became one of the team’s defining characteristics, she said.

The regional tournament also offered a rare opportunity for the 11-12-year-olds to compete before a national audience. Rather than allowing the moment to overwhelm them, Simmons said the players embraced it.

“Playing on ESPN+, representing Colorado and competing against some of the best Little League teams in the Northwest could have felt overwhelming, especially for such a young group,” she said. “Instead, they embraced the opportunity and continued to play for one another.”

She said those experiences helped prepare the players not only for future softball seasons but also for life beyond the game.

“This experience showed them the importance of preparation, teamwork, resilience and handling both success and disappointment with maturity,” Simmons said. “As young people, they learned how to represent something bigger than themselves; their teammates, their families, their community and the state of Colorado. That is something they will carry with them wherever their next chapter takes them.”