THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, July 8, 2015

To Hayden resident Haley Loffer, competition is fun.

No matter if that's playing shortstop on the Lake City High softball team, or competing in front of 25,000 strangers in winning a fifth straight Northwest Pitch, Hit and Run championship at Safeco Field in Seattle.

WITH A fifth straight championship on June 21, Loffer's scores were compared to all the winners of the other 29 team championships to determine the top three scores in the nation, who would advance to the national competition. This year, Loffer qualified for the national competition for the second time.

"I keep doing it because I just have fun doing it," said Loffer, 14, who will compete in the 13-14 year-old girls division. "I like the competition. It's just really fun for me."

The competition will be held on Monday at noon PDT prior to the 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby in Cincinnati during All-Star Game festivities. It will be her second trip to nationals; she finished second at Citi Field in New York in 2013.

"I'm really excited to go to the All-Star Game because Mark Teixeira (of the New York Yankees) - who is one of my favorite players - is going to the game and I'm excited to get to see him play," Loffer said. "I'm excited to see who I get to meet and get autographs from this time."

In 2013, Loffer met New York Mets star Darryl Strawberry.

"It was really a great experience," Loffer said. "I also met two or three guys that played in the All-Star Game."

In addition to competing on Monday, Loffer will also be in the outfield shagging balls during the Home Run Derby.

"It's really fun to be out there during that," Loffer said. "I like it."

With some experience from her previous trip, Loffer added she's approaching the event differently than in 2013.

"I was a little stressed out before," Loffer said. "This is the first time I'm not really nervous. I'm more excited and not freaking out about how I'm going to do. I know what to expect. We were really busy the last time, waking up at 5 a.m. each morning and getting back to the hotel at 2 a.m., so we were running on not much sleep. You were busy from the time you wake up until you go to sleep. I want to go and win it all. I'm in the top three in the nation no matter what, so just being there, it's a really good accomplishment. Getting first will make it all that much better."

LOFFER PLAYS summer softball on the North Idaho Xtreme under-18 (Gold) team, which competes in the state tournament this week and in the Champions Cup in Irvine, Calif., next week, tournaments that Loffer will miss part of.

"They're kind of mad that I'm going to leave them in the middle of the state tournament," Loffer said. "The girls think it's cool that I get to go to the All-Star Game, but that's all they really say about it."

In 2013, Loffer said her throwing cost her a chance at winning the national title.

"The only thing I didn't do well was my throwing," Loffer said. "So I need to make sure I keep practicing on my throwing. Hitting wise, I just had came from a tournament and I was hitting line drives. When I went to nationals, I didn't get that upward part of my swing, and it caused me to not do as well as I normally would have."

Loffer started as a freshman, helping Lake City to a fourth-place finish in the state 5A tournament in Post Falls in May.

"I'm used to being the youngest on the team," Loffer said. "It just makes me work harder like those that are a little older and show them I can do the same as them, and maybe do it a little better and work way harder."

"I'm in awe of her every time she steps on that field," said Katie Hunt, Haley's mom. "It's surreal to watch her skill and how sound she is and her foundation in softball. It's just a joy to watch her. It's her passion and so to see her be happy in something that you also love, and enjoy, is great. This is an incredible experience as a parent. Whether she was on the softball field, off the field, successful or not, I'd still love her. We share softball, academics and the passion of competition in sports and it's an amazing experience as her parent to see."

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.