The men from “the Sandlot” conquered in Yakima last month, taking down every team in their path to claim the Washington state championship title from the National Softball Association.

“It was awesome,” said player Troy O’Neal. “I played state before in high school, but as an adult, it was fun. It brought back memories of the competitiveness in high school. I had a great time, lost my voice screaming and having fun with it.”

The tournament hosted 13 teams, and the Orcas team, called “the Sandlot,” won five straight games to cinch the title. Each team had won three tournaments during the regular season to earn a place at the state competition.

O’Neal said the team is tightly knit from years of history together.

“We’ve been an established softball team on Orcas for six years now,” he said. “We know each other well enough to call each other on our faults. This is the first time we got a bid to state. We won to state and won it.”

What was the ticket to fame this year for the Sandlot?

“We practiced a lot,” O’Neal said. “A bunch of us started in November, practicing at Buck Park twice a week. Even when it rained, we practiced and practiced. We had a lot of help from other people who weren’t on the team who just came out and practiced with us, our buddies and friends on the island.”

O’Neal said the team is hugely grateful to the team’s sponsors: Bart Curtis of Orcas Construction Company, Gary Sisson of Mount Pickett Cabinetry, and Jim Passer of the Lower Tavern.

“A big thank you to our sponsors: they’re the main guys that kept us going,” he said. “If it wasn’t for our sponsors there’s no way we would have fees for the state tournaments. Those guys … helped out a lot with jerseys so we could look like a decent team out there, helped with travel, water and gatorade that we need to stay hydrated and keep going.”