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Blue Aces fall to Rio Grande squad McALLEN, Texas - The South Medford Blue Aces U16 fastpitch softball squad ran into a formidable foe at the national tournament on Thursday. The Blue Aces, fresh off two victories earlier in the tournament, dropped a nine-inning 5-4 decision to the Rio Grande Valley Stars. Rio Grande was the national runner-up a year ago and has the majority of its players back from its high school state championship team last season. Darci Byrne struck out eight and limited the Valley Stars to six hits, while, along with her sister Jonni, going 3-for-4 at the plate. The Blue Aces pounded out 12 hits but made some costly mistakes down the stretch. "We outplayed them," said South Medford coach Doc Chaplan. "We just couldn't capitalize and had some mental errors on our base running. That happens sometimes and we're a young team, you know." The Blue Aces drop into the losers' bracket for two scheduled games today. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.