Gibsonburg 10-year-old does it again at all-star game

Elly Evarts, a 10-year old from Gibsonburg, took second place at the 9-10 year old Pitch, Hit & Run National Championships which takes place during All-Star weekend in Cleveland. She lost the championship by a narrow margin to a girl from Massachusetts.
        She was one of the three national finalists in the event. She competed on July 6 at Progressive Field and got to be part of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Weekend.  In fact, one fun part of the weekend she got to shag fly balls during the MLB Home Run Derby the night before the all-star game. 
        “Elly definitely had an amazing experience competing and participating at the MLB All-Star festivities,” says her father, Bo Evarts.
        “Her favorite part of the weekend, other than competing, was that she got to be on the field and shag fly balls at the Home Run Derby.  In fact, they were treated like mini-celebrities throughout the four days they were there.  She got to also go to the Celebrity Softball game, the Futures Game and even played a game of wiffle ball on a replica field at the MLB Play Ball Park during the festivities.”  
        In 2017, Elly competed at the Football Pro Bowl, and won the Punt, Pass & Kick National Championship for the 6-7 year old age group. 
The National Punt, Pass and Kick event was at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. The competitors got to visit Disney World the following day and were included in the NFL Pro Bowl Festivities on Jan. 29.
Evarts, who attends Hilfiker Elementary School in Gibsonburg, qualified by winning her age group (6-7) at local competitions in Fremont and Tiffin and then won the state competition in Cleveland.
The state competitors in Cleveland complete the punt, pass and kick events at the Browns’ practice facility in the morning. The competitors get their names announced at halftime of the Browns’ game later in the day.
“Elly got to high-five (Pittsburgh Steelers receiver) Antonio Brown and that was the highlight of her day,” Bo said.
Elly won her age group at the local competition in Fremont. Her father said her overall distance was around 133 feet.
“Her punt alone was 60 feet,” he said.
Elly won the regional event in Tiffin despite shanking her punt. Her overall distance was around 90 feet, according to her father. She advanced to the Browns' Team Championship in November and compiled the second highest overall distance (137 feet) in the nation. Bo said his daughter won the event by 50 feet.
Bo said the mayor of Gibsonburg has pronounced Jan. 27 as Elly Evarts Day in Gibsonburg.
“Elly loves sports and she is super excited,” Bo said. “She loves practicing for this. Everybody knows everybody in a small town like Gibsonburg. They acknowledge her and it’s cool to see a town rally around her.” (— includes file information from a story by contributing writer Mark Griffin)
 
 

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