OAKVILLE — Larch Mountain Little League and Oakville Little League are hosting one of the premier Little League Tournaments in the state this week, welcoming 11 all-star softball teams for the Washington State Little League Majors Softball Tournament.
Both leagues are hosting, along with District 3, the district in which both teams compete, and all games are being played at Legends Fields at The Chehalis Tribe in Oakville.
“To have a tournament out here is pretty cool,” Philip Youckton, Chehalis Tribe Community Center and Events Manager and the Vice President of Baseball and Softball with Larch Mountain Little League, said. “I really appreciate the opportunity to do it.”
Snohomish, Gig Harbor, Larch Mountain, East County (Camas), Othello, Glenwood (Vancouver), Renton, Woodinville, Kirkland National (Bellevue), BLS (Bonney Lake, Sumner, and Orting), and Burlington-Edison Little League’s All-Star teams each won their respective district tournaments, earning a right to compete for a state championship and a spot in the 2026 Little League Softball Northwest Region Tournament.
The Washington state representative will compete alongside state champions from Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon for a spot in the 2026 Little League Softball World Series.
“This is a premier tournament,” Glen Dickason, District Administrator for District 3 and State Coordinator, said. “These girls could end up in Greenville, North Carolina. That’s a big deal.”
Legends Field was set to host a different Little League summer tournament, the Senior Baseball tournament (ages 13-16), but after an issue arose with the original Majors Softball venue, the decision was made to swap the Senior Baseball Tournament with the Majors Softball Tournament.
The fields serve as a bit of a neutral ground, as neither Larch Mountain Little League or Oakville Little League plays games on the two fields, but the fields are nice enough to host high-level tournaments.
“We’ve got a beautiful site,” Dickason said. “The tribe is excellent … For them to volunteer to do this, that was just great for them to agree to it. Their cooperation, their help, everything they’ve done has just been over and above.”
Youckton said a goal of his was to build a relationship between the Chehalis Tribe and both local leagues, something that he hopes continues once his kids age out of Little League in the coming years.
Along with the fields, the Chehalis Tribe Community Center also has two gyms, batting cages, and a skate park, and their field crew has helped with the upkeep and maintenance of the field throughout the week.
“In the two years since (the last tournament at Legends Fields), the fields have improved,” Youckton said. “Our field crew has mixed in some better dirt, and the field quality has been a lot better.”
As for the results on the field, six teams remain in contention for the state championship.
Woodinville and Kirkland National are both unbeaten and in the top bracket, needing just one win to advance to the finals, where they would need to win just one of up to two games to earn the crown.
BLS, Glenwood, Snohomish, and Burlington-Edison remain alive in the lower bracket, already having suffered a loss. Each of the four teams could still win the state title, but it is a much harder path.
To win it all, those teams will need to win three straight elimination games to reach the final, and then they would have to beat either Woodinville or Kirkland National twice to finish as state champions.
BLS and Snohomish will face off on Wednesday in one elimination game, while Glenwood and Burlington-Edison will square off in another. On Thursday, the winners of those two games will face off while Woodinville and Kirkland National face each other.
The final game or two (if necessary) will take place on Saturday.
Dickason, who has been involved with Little League for 61 years, is retiring from the district role at the conclusion of the season. He oversaw the Majors Baseball Tournament in Aberdeen two summers ago, and he said another local Majors Tournament is the perfect way to end his tenure with District 3.
“We have had excellent managers, coaches, and the players are always good,” Dickason said. “This has been perfect. We haven’t had any trouble at all. It’s been a real pleasure.”
