Sports briefs: Local softball team has historic run in prestigious club tournament

Mike McNair and his Grapettes 06 14U club softball team had a historic run in the Premier Girls Fastpitch tournament in Huntington Beach last week.

The Grapettes 06, which features three players from Marin, allowed only nine runs in their first eight games and advanced to the championship game on Sunday where they faced a team from Virginia stacked with elite East Coast players for a national title. While the Grapettes 06 came up short 7-0 in the title match, the second-place finish was still the best by any Northern California team in the 10 years of the most prestigious girls fastpitch softball tournament in the country.

Two years ago, the Grapettes finished 17th in the same tournament, which McNair said was “very respectable.”

The three local players on the team were Angel Amesa, Thomara Drummer and McNair’s daughter Kelsey, who will all be playing for McNair at San Rafael High next season.

Motor sports

Novato native Dave Smith made his first NASCAR Xfinity series start on Saturday on the road course at Watkins Glen, N.Y. driving for Jimmy Means Racing. Smith has raced a dozen times in the Saturday support races on NASCAR Cup weekends at Sonoma with a best finish of 10th, but this was his first start in the Xfinity series.

Smith placed 33rd out of 40 drivers, completing 80 of the race’s 82 laps.