SNOQUALMIE — Signs of 13-year-old KayDee Campbell reminded all at Centennial Fields on Wednesday that life is more than a game.
While the Sequim and South Everett Junior Little League All-Star fastpitch softball teams played for the state title, no one could ignore the news.
A friend, teammate and opponent had lost her young life since the Sequim All-Stars had played on the tournament field last weekend.
Sequim players and coaches wore yellow ribbons in remembrance of KayDee, who died Tuesday afternoon of injuries suffered in a car wreck after Saturday’s game here.
On the field under Mount Si in this Cascade Mountain town, Sequim players added a black No. 4 — KayDee’s uniform number — and the letters “KD” to their arms with marking pens.
Courtney Rucker, Christine Signes and Kendra Kokrda roamed the same outfield where KayDee played earlier this tournament, including the day of the crash.
And behind the Sequim dugout, KayDee’s handwriting remained on a district championship banner the team signed just days before.
“This is the first time I’ve lost someone close,” Michelle Balliett, one of KayDee’s best friends, said quietly in the dugout after the game.
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The rest of the story appears in the Thursday Peninsula Daily News.
