On June 6 the team traveled to Menifee for the 2008 SoCal ASA 14U State Tournament. We started play against Minors Gold 93 and came out with a 7-2 win. Tiffany pitched a very good game, allowing only 4 hits. Our bats came alive with good contributions from Tiffany (3 hits), Sasha (3 hits), Jessie (3 hits), and Lauren P (2 hits).
In our second game, we let an early 2-0 lead slip away and fell to SoCal Wicked 8-2. This game was a good lesson in not letting up with a lead and not allowing the opposition extra outs while we're on defense. The loss sent us to the losers bracket where we faced 3 games later in the day.
That same afternoon, we continued play against Mystic 93. Our girls rose to the challenge and won this one 9-2. Britnea pitched great, scattering 5 hits, and Naomi did a good job behind the plate. The hitting leaders for our squad were Sasha (4 hits), Amanda (2 hits), Tiffany (2 hits), and Lauren H (2 hits).
After a 2-hour delay, we faced off in an evening game against a very good American Stars team. This game was a tough battle from the beginning. We jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and then held on to win 4-2. Tiffany pitched a tremendous game, allowing only 2 hits. Britnea had 2 hits and Tiffany added a triple. Katie also had a key RBI single. Brianna and Sarah contributed with good heads-up baserunning. Rachel played well in the outfield, even though she was fighting off a shoulder injury. This was a great win to keep us alive in the tournament!
We then advanced for our fourth game of the day against a tough Hurricanes 93 team. We fell behind 1-0, only to come roaring back to take a 5-2 lead. Our rally was led by Katie with 3 hits (including a massive home run), Amanda (2 hits), Sasha (2 hits), Lauren P (triple) and Britnea (double). Lauren H pitched a good game and was keeping hitters off-balance. Rachel made a huge defensive play to chase down a gapper and hit the relay to throw the runner out at home. Unfortunately, we couldn't hold the lead and gave up 4 runs late to lose 6-5. This loss was a heartbreaker and could easily have gone our way. Our girls fought hard and played through injuries and fatigue, with the game finally ending at midnight.
Our 2008 States results will show a 3-2 record and a finish in the middle of the pack but it doesn't reflect how hard and well our team played. I am really proud of our girls for their grit and team play and for their toughness. We had several players fighting knee problems (Tiffany and Amanda) and Rachel played the outfield with a recovering shoulder separation. All of these players were medically cleared to play but were not at full strength. Several others were banged up (Jessie and Sasha) but toughed it out late into the night. Although we didn't reach our goal of playing into Sunday at States, I think our girls finally proved to themselves that they rise to the competition and can play with anyone.
Renegades, keep up the hard work. It's really becoming fun to coach this team and if we keep playing as a team, I know that good things will happen for us as we advance into summer play.
Go Renegades!
Coach Dan
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Renegades Go 3-0-1 at Hurricanes Friendly on 6/1
This was a very competitive friendly with lots of good teams facing off. During the previous week, we found out that we were going to be without our two leadoff hitters, Amanda and Rachel, due to injuries. We had to juggle our hitting lineup a bit for this friendly.
We beat Mizuno Pride 2-1 on a good team effort. Tiffany pitched well and kept us close throughout and she also added a ground-rule double. Britnea and Lauren H also had key hits.
In the second game, Britnea pitched a great game, scattering 7 hits and leading us to a 3-2 win against Irvine Sting-Thomas. Skooch chipped in with 2 hits, Tiffany added a double, and Sarah had a clutch 2-RBI double.
In the third game against the Hurricanes 94, we got behind early although Lauren H kept us close with a good pitching effort. In our last at-bat, Sasha and Katie got key hits, we loaded the bases, and Britnea delivered a walk-off, 3-run double to give us the win, 5-4.
In the final game, we faced the Hurricanes 93. This was a close, competitive game that ended in a 0-0 tie. Tiffany pitched a great game, scattering 3 hits and striking out 5. We stopped one Hurricane rally on defense with a flyout-tagout double play from our center fielder (Skooch) to catcher (Sasha) to prevent the run.
Overall, the team played really well at this friendly. We were missing several key players and our players put together a string of great team efforts. Good job ladies!
Coach Dan
We beat Mizuno Pride 2-1 on a good team effort. Tiffany pitched well and kept us close throughout and she also added a ground-rule double. Britnea and Lauren H also had key hits.
In the second game, Britnea pitched a great game, scattering 7 hits and leading us to a 3-2 win against Irvine Sting-Thomas. Skooch chipped in with 2 hits, Tiffany added a double, and Sarah had a clutch 2-RBI double.
In the third game against the Hurricanes 94, we got behind early although Lauren H kept us close with a good pitching effort. In our last at-bat, Sasha and Katie got key hits, we loaded the bases, and Britnea delivered a walk-off, 3-run double to give us the win, 5-4.
In the final game, we faced the Hurricanes 93. This was a close, competitive game that ended in a 0-0 tie. Tiffany pitched a great game, scattering 3 hits and striking out 5. We stopped one Hurricane rally on defense with a flyout-tagout double play from our center fielder (Skooch) to catcher (Sasha) to prevent the run.
Overall, the team played really well at this friendly. We were missing several key players and our players put together a string of great team efforts. Good job ladies!
Coach Dan
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