The LCO Battlers traveled to Las Vegas for Native Country's largest softball tournament to compete with the best of the best. According to Gary Belille, one of the main organizers of the team's trip, including the chief fundraiser to pay for expenses, the Battlers went one win and two loses.
They won their first game of the tournament with a score of 14 to 13, then went on to lose their next two against some very tough competition, going down with scores of 23 to 1 and 22 to 6.
"We battled as hard as we could in our first big tournament," Belille said. "We all got a taste of what other Native teams there are in the United States. Everyone enjoyed their time in Vegas and we are now getting ready for the Gathering of Nations Tournament held in Albuquerque, New Mexico in April of 2022."
There were 32 teams in the division LCO played in, with 110 teams total. Teams came from all over including, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Washington, New York, Hawaii, Michigan and Oklahoma.
Members of the team include Tommy Holmes, Pat Martinson, Jake Trepanier, James Shirriff, Ben Fleming, David Butler, Austin Egge, Mike Quaderer, Aaron Wolfe, Gary Belille, Larry Butler and Preston Allen.
Larry Butler, Pat Martinson, Ben Fleming and Gary Belille all competed in the Homerun Derby.