A Softball Championship By ESPN Kids Writer

People say that in baseball, pitching wins championships. The same is true in softball. The best softball team in the country proved that this week.

On Tuesday, the University of Washington Huskies won their first Women's College World Series, college softball's championship tournament. The Huskies beat the top-ranked University of Florida Gators, 3-2, capping a surprising run to the WCWS. The Huskies were the third-ranked team in the country.

Superstar Pitcher: The Huskies got a big boost from Danielle Lawrie, this season's National Player of the Year. Lawrie pitched all six games in the tournament for the Huskies, and won 42 games over the entire season. She struck out eight in the championship game, including the final two batters of the game when Florida had the go-ahead runs on base. Lawrie also drove in a run for the Huskies.

How They Got There: What makes the Huskies' championship so amazing is how far they had to travel to get there. The team left Seattle on May 13, more than three weeks ago, and flew to Boston for the first rounds of the tournament. They then won a game in Atlanta before going to Oklahoma for the World Series finals. Overall, the Huskies travelled over 6,899 miles!

Teamwork: Anytime a team wins a championship, it's a major event. The Huskies' WCWS win is no exception. All season long, every player on the team worked together to reach their common goal. That showed in the championship game against Florida. Early in the game, the Huskies' fielders made a couple of errors and the Gators took a 2-0 lead. But Washington didn't give up just because they were falling behind. They were determined. With Lawrie leading the way, the Huskies' offense and defense played much better and were able to come back for the win. Teamwork is about playing better when a teammate is playing poorly, and the Huskies did that perfectly against Florida.

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