OCTOBER 22 2007 UPDATE
THE FIRES IN SAN DIEGO
A word from Andy Anderson:
“The fires are indeed in the vicinity of the showcase fields. At this time all of us are concentrating on our families, loved ones, friends, and protecting property. Many of us are supporting the effort. I myself work in Force protection and need to keep my lines of communication open. As time permits and as more information is obtained, we will concentrate on tournament status. We will post updates on the webpage and also by email to your managers. Your patience and prayers are most appreciated. Please ask your parents to communicate through you.” Readers: let’s pray for those people.
COMMITMENTS
Aylssa Jepsen OF/SS West Bay Nuggets Gold to California State University – Chico
Teresa Braga, Desert Thunder Gold, to Villanova
Rachel Chapman, Desert Thunder Gold, to Kennesaw State
Alexa Rivera, Grapettes, to Pacific
Tiare Jennings, Grapettes, to New Mexico State
Lea Cavestany, Grapettes, to Oregon State
The So Cal Breakers reported a number of commitments in their flyer without saying to which schools the players had verballed:
Kelly Majam
Lorena Vela
Alex Wilkinson
Hannah Clements
TOURNAMENT UPDATES
SURF CITY
Mystery Solved
Couldn’t read the scribbles so readers were asked who by the name of Danielle hit some big ones. The Beach Girls had the answer. It was Dominique Marcelino who went 2 for 2 with a walk . She hit a 3 run HR in the 1st inning and a solo shot in the third against the Sacramento Breeze. Heather Leone also hit a 3 run homer but the Breeze came back and beat the Beach Girls 10 to 8 before the winds blew away Field One.
The Name Game
Arnold and the CA legislature
have ignored my suggestion that teams register names, like domains, so that each
team name is unique. I watched SD Renegades Gold for almost 2 innings,
wondering why the lineup was so different from the one I saw in New Jersey, and
learned that this SD Gold team is coached by Tom Peronto and the other SD
Renegades team at Surf City is coached by Duane Tillett but does not use the
word “gold” in its name, while the team I saw in New Jersey is San Diego
Renegades Gold coached by Mike Fox. And, there is the Worth Firecrackers team
coached by Tony
Rico, which is the team seen by SPY, the team coached by Dan Ristow is called
Firecrackers DR. Then there are the OC Batbusters, listed as 1 and 2 in the
schedule but labeled Black and Maroon in the college coaches guide. Reminds me
of the old saw about West Virginia – a state of three million people with 13
last names. Be patient people; when I first met Eugene Lenti, I thought I was
meeting Perry Como.
More Game Scores
Desert Thunder Gold 9 -- Corona Angles Gold 2 [Trista Thomas (09) with the win]
DT Gold 2 -- OC Lionettes 0 [Gabby Luciani (09) pitcher, a bobbled ball at 1B from a perfect game]
DT Gold 2 -- SoCal Sliderz 0 [Meagan McIntosh (09) with the victory]
DT Gold 3 -- Texas Impact Gold 3 [Thomas & McIntosh combined 3 hitter]
DT Gold 18 -- SoCal Rebels 0 [McIntosh & Luciani combined No-hitter]
Choppers 12, Diamonds 3 Ashley Collier was the winning pitcher.
Sidewinders 4 Fillys Gold 2
(SPY had this score reversed)
Pumas 8 Sidewinders 1
Sidewinders 3 Hotshots Newman 2
Sidewinders 8 NJ Beach Girls 0
Sidewinders 8 California Breeze 0 (Breeze Gold DM)
AZ Hotshots Neuman 8, So Cal Pumas Gold 2
The only game the Hotshots lost was to Washington Sidewinders 3-2, they either won or were leading in the other games played. Jamie LaBovick ' 09 was outstanding all weekend, she pitched in each of the five games,16 innings and only allowed two earn runs. Shelby Fisher ' 09 pitched 9 innings and allowed 4 earn runs. Outstanding hitting from 2B-Vanessa Alvarez ' 09, C-Terah Blackwell '09, OF-Kristy Kellogg ' 09,P/1B-Jamie LaBovick ' 09, 3B-Wendy Kuenning ' 08, OF-Sara Sandoval ' 08, and SS-Krista Hicks ' 08 ( BYU ).All the girls except SS-Krista Hicks ( BYU ) are uncommitted.
Lady Magic 7 Oregon Bullets 0
For the Magic Ally Carda (2011) pitched four innings of no hit ball. Cheyenne Cordes (2011) 3x3. Lindsey Ziegenhurt (Cal 2009) HR.
Lady Magic 7 Washington Absolute Blast 1
game highlights reported earlier
Lady Magic 14 So Cal Spirit 0
Jolene Henderson (Cal 2009) pitched. 11 Ks. Simone Heyward (2010) 3x3, HR; Danielle Henderson (2011) HR, Katie Mathis (2010) 3x3
Lady Magic 9 Washington Sting 2
Carda (2011) pitches 5 innings. 0 hits 7 Ks. Alyssa Schmidt (2011) HR, 3B, 5 RBI; Jolene Henderson (Cal 2009)HR
Lady Magic 6 New Jersey Belles 1
Carda (2011) pitched and was 2x2 3B, 2B. Ziegenhurt (Cal 2009) 3B
Lady Magic 8 Las Vegas Rebels 0
J. Henderson pitched. Cordes (2011) HR; Hayley Miles (2010) 3B; Ziegenhurt (Cal2009)HR
Lady Magic 6 CA Mirage 0
Carda pitched. No hits. Jenessa Jepessen (2011) 2x2; Carda (2011) HR
Belles 1 vs. Lady Magic 6
Belles 8 vs. WA Sting 4
Record for tourney 3-1-1
Belles 12 vs. So. Cal Spirit 2
Belles 4 vs. Cal Mirage 4
Belles 8 vs. Vegas Rebels 5
Some Complaints (which SPY discussed with tournament director Dan Hay without naming sources)
1. Regarding
the weather conditions during the weekends Surf City Tournament. The wind was
extremely high, but that was only part of the frustration at Tewinkle Park in
Costa Mesa. On Saturday, no field crews were available making the infield
conditions dangerous with bad
bounces. No chalked lines, causing our ONLY umpire to make bad calls. Our late
game, one could not even see 1st base, because of the dirt. You would think they
could have at least wiped the bases before the games. The SD Renegades-Tillet
had the usual 10-12 college scouts watching this young talented team 5-0, but
the fields were offsite with little fanfare!! As the saying goes "It's who you
know". Maybe finishing in the Top 2 at next years Gold-Nationals might get them
a little more respect. No probably not!
2. Several games had only one umpire, forcing umpires at home plate to make calls on close plays at 2nd.
3. The fields at Chino Hills were nice but we (including players and coaches) had to pay $3 admission and had our bags searched for contraband gatorades. They searched more thoroughly than any airport I have been in recently. NO COACHES when we were there in the morning...it makes no sense to attend if you can never get a coach to go to a satellite field...I wish I had a good suggestion to fix this but I don't.
And some pertinent comments
Gary Haning and Dan Hay would have preferred other sites, eg, Barber and Harvard parks, but these were unavailable for this tournament. The Chino Hills fee was supposedly reimbursable at the concession stand. There were numerous calls to the UIC and conversations with the umpires who were on hand about the agreement to have two umpires at all games. A few umpires worked without their customary break. Admittedly, all of that doesn’t make Chino Hills any closer, or put college coaches at sites where they were not present. NFCA and NCAA made a dog’s breakfast out of the recruiting calendar. Travel ball teams complained about cramming all their principal exposure efforts into four weeks, and many college coaches shared that complaint. The harshest criticisms of NFCA and NCAA came from parents, principally about the number of school days being missed, all in one four week period.
Looking ahead:
We had a portentious discussion with Dan Hay about devising some system wherein travel ball coaches could record their scores on an Internet-type system, including who pitched, home runs, rbis, with portals at every field or at least every complex. Doesn’t need to rise to the level of the Automated Scorebooks used by ASA at Gold Nationals, but some facsimile would be greatly appreciated.
LANCASTER
Davie Power-Black- 7 San Jose lady Sharks-1
Stephanie Kujawa-2009, 1-2 run scored
Keima Davis 2009, 3 run Homerun
Katey Lantz 2011, 1-3
Kelsey Hensel 2008, 2-3 2 runs scored
Kristen Froelich 2008, 2 run Homerun
Amber Steinhardt 2009, 4 innings 1 hit 1 un-earned run
Karina Rios 2011, 3 innings 0 runs 0 hits
Davie Power-Black-8 Ca. Runin' Rebels-4
Brie Rojas 2009, Triple, 2 rbi's
Stephanie Kujawa 2009, 2-3 2 runs scored
Keima Davis 2009, 3-3, 2 rbi's
Davie Power-Black-4 Case Bat-Busters-2
Stephanie Kujawa 2009, 1-3, 1 run scored
Krista Rodgers 2009, 1-2, 1 run scored
Jess Arneson 2009, triple rbi
Brie Rojas 2009, Homerun
Kristen Froelich 2008, double rbi
Lindsey Croft 2008, 6 innings, 1 hit, 2 un-earned runs
Davie Power-Black -7 Washington Jets -0
Krista Rodgers 2009, Homerun
Keima Davis 2009, 2-3 Homerun 2 rbi's
Maria Gilreath 2008,double 2 rbi's
Savana Lucas 2011, 2-3 rbi
Katey Lantz 2011, 1-3
Kelsey Hensel 2008, 2-2
Davie Power-Black -2 San Diego 3rd Degree-4
Karina Rios 2011, 6 innings 2 earned runs
Brie Rojas 2009, 2-3
Keima Davis 2009, 1-2
Savana Lucas 2011, 1-3
REPORT ON THE ALLISTER CAMP
(Fire conditions permitting, the Allisters will conduct another exposure camp on Friday before the games begin in San Diego)
Rayburn,
The past two days we ran our 3rd annual National Elite Futures Camp at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) in Los Angeles. We had a great group of kids and they really shined! We had some outstanding performances, and the 2011 players all showed they could compete at the highest level. The 2010's were rock solid and cofirmed the fact that they will all play major college softball. And finally, the 2009's took a real step forward and hit the radar of many of the major college teams in attendance. Over 50 Division 1 coaches attended representing 48 universities from 15 dfferent conferences: the Pac 10, the Big 12, the SEC, the ACC, the Big 10, the Big West, the Big East, Conference USA, the Missouri Valley, the Mountain West, the Sun Belt the WAC, the MAC, the Mid-Continent, the Pacific Coast, and the independents. The weather was great. The coaches got a ton of work done in two short days. It was exciting for the players, the parents, the coaches and ourselves. We will be covering the Batbuster event in Huntington Beach this weekend. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Hope all is well with you. Take care.
Joann & Derek
NATIONAL HIGHSCHOOL TOURNAMENT
Plans are underway to invite the nation’s best highschool teams to play a national tournament at Huntington Beach Sports Complex May 13-14-15 next year. The anticipation is that 100 teams will play two games a day – Thursday through Saturday.
www.eteamz.com/Nikefastertofirst
WHY THEY PRY
The “mule” had no identification when he was arrested for drug smuggling, only a scrap of paper with a 10-digit number. Processed through a computer, the 10 digits were a telephone number for a company in an Eastern State. The agency (not the CIA) which has access to the three major credit reporting firms soon learned where this company banked. With the cooperation of the bank, a major money laundering ring with ties to major drug smugglers was penetrated.
A few years ago, an enforcement agency official talked to some of us about intercepted conversations indicating a certain individual was looking for a bomber. The intel we had which we had shared with a foreign intelligence agency suggested a time and place for the explosion – and we knew, secretly, that a world figure would be at that place at that time. The decision was to use all possible means, up to and including a “wet” solution if necessary, to find and apprehend the man and the bomber. The “wet” solution was not necessary but I favored it, if necessary. Surely, some of the rights of those men were violated, but, history would have judged us harshly if that bomb had exploded.
Some potential perpetrators never see a courtroom; the details of what they had planned and who would have suffered would only encourage other would-be assassins. Not every criminal deserves a trial; indeed, there are men (and women) who should never have been born and go through life looking for the man or gun who will kill them after they have wreaked their vengeance on the world for having given them birth.
I will write a piece about intelligence collection at some point. Suffice to say the real reason many members of Congress of both parties – forget Pelosi and Reid and others who grandstand for public consumption – are willing to pass an electronic eavesdropping bill which gives the Administration much of the flexibility it wants is simple: no one wants another 911. There were warning signs, eg, Arabs taking flying lessons, some intelligence about discussions among terrorist cells in Manila – but that intelligence flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Terrorists might use airplanes to attack any one of several target cities around the globe but, despite the earlier attack on the World Trade Center, an airborn attack would not happen here. The towers came down, and with them all the conventional wisdom fell into the dustbin of history. Much of the intelligence is guess-work, but the fear is rational because the threat is real. Mistakes will be made in terms of privacy but the threat is larger and more profound than some lawmakers will acknowledge.
Walk the dark streets of Old Jerusalem as I have, or the dark streets of many Arab cities. The hatred for our way of life fuels terrorism. RFH