TNJ GAME NOTES
The Tournament. The competitive level was extremely high. Coaches, with one or two exceptions, were less focused on winning and the score as they showcased their players for the more than 150 college coaches in attendance. The grounds crew was energetic and time-conscious, with all fields freshly groomed and marked. The food for players and travel ball and college coaches was good quality and abundant. Kudoes to Jim Barcelona for the overall excellence, and especially for a pool structure which ensured quality competition. The leader board was consistently and accurately maintained. A phalanx of collegians rotated around the five fields continuously, ensuring adequate water in the high 90s heat. A tip of the Spyglass for the hard work of Amanda Scarborough (the Aggie also did a turn at 1st base for the TX Storm), Julie Meyer (the Cal 1st base), Marcia Kelly, Amy Barcelona, Nicole Meister (who also drove a tractor dragging fields) under Jeff’s experienced supervision, and to Carol Barcelona who supervised the food service. All of them took a turn at the grill as well. There were a few eye-brow raisers but the overall job by the umpires drew favorable comments from coaches.
To keep the competitive level high, Barcelona will invite some teams to return, but will give some slots to new teams who played well in the various qualifying tournaments.
The competitiveness of the 2005 pools is reflected in the scores. SPY tabulated margins of victory for all games: 1.7 runs for Thursday; 2.3 runs for Friday; 3.3 for Saturday, and 3.0 for Sunday. The hitters got to know the pitchers. Only one blowout – the Beach Girls got slammed 12-0 by Doug Myers 16U Batbusters. There were 21 ties. Katie Cotta pitched the only perfect game, for the AZ Hotshots; Amanda Williams came with a walk of a perfect game for the OC Batbusters Gold. At least twenty-three teams play ASA Gold.
The Popemobile. TNJ provides SPY with a golf cart to make the rounds. The canopied cart quickly became a SPY field office, constantly occupied by college and team coaches. Good for exchanging information, but highly desirable because of the soft seats and shade. At lunch one day, the rumor spread that next year SPY would have a glass-enclosed, four-passenger air-conditioned cart, like the Pope. I wish! There would be a full house morning to night.
The Games
Cruisers. Bernice Masaniai and Brianna Santos (rbi) combined for the runs needed to down the Vienna Stars. Florida-bound Stacey Nelson got the win over Ashley Forsyth, who was closely watched by several D1 coaches. In the Cruisers 5-0 win over Tuff n Tuffer, Nelson and Santos split pitching time, and Santos doubled and scored on Amanda Littlejohn’s rbi.
Batbusters GH Gold. The irrepressible Katie Schroeder secured Amanda Williams 7-1 victory over Texas Impact’s Whitney DuPuis with a 3-run homer. Mandy Pongs pitched a solid game in the 0-0 tie with the Beach Girls.
Inferno vs Batbusters DM. One of the last five games was also one of the best. That it ended in a 1-1 tie is a tribute to the pitching skills of Alyssa Freight and the Inferno’s Nicole Ayres, who continued to be impressive despite a massive bruise on her right arm from an earlier game. The Batbusters scored immediately; Lesley Rogers racked a triple (a tribute to mom Becky missing her first game ever; surgery) and then scored. Vicki Kavitsky, one of the best shortstops in the tournament, also went long, belting a hit to center which she turned into a triple with blazing speed. She scored on a bloop single by Laura Jaxheimer who had some good moments at 2nd. We also got to see Donna Kerr (very potent rise ball) in relief of Freight, and Melissa Hodge in relief of Ayres. The Batbuster shortstop, Morgan Stuart, also shone in the game. I also liked the hustle of Batbuster Kaylyn Castillo behind the plate.
Alyssa is the sister of UNLV’s excellent outfielder Brittany Freight, who was invited to the tryouts for Team Canada. Definite US flavor; not only the invited players but also the coaches; head coach Lori Sippel, the assistant at Nebraska; Pat Murphy, head coach at Alabama, and Lonnie Alameda, head coach at UNLV.
Gold Coast Hurricanes. A few years ago, at the Rising Stars tournament, Marty Cooper asked me to watch a lanky 7th grader pitch against the big kids. I wrote about this blonde wunderkind with a whip of an arm, predicting she would be a winner. On Saturday, a very much more mature Stephanie Brombacher shutout the Haning Batbusters 2-0. As good as she is now with a complete package of pitches (she works with Kaci Clark), the 2007 graduate wants to work this summer on increasing her speed. Stephanie also hits, a solo HR off Mandy Pongs.
Beach Girls clocked Gordon’s Panthers. Tied 2-all, the BG’s went up 4-2. The Panthers loaded the bases but the game seemed to slow down and time expired.
Texas Storm rang the Belles. Another bright 2007 pitching prospect, Kimber Bossom, pitched the 7-2 win over the Morris County Belles. The runs came in a spurt. Cirby Ryan reached on an error at short; Brooke Hudson reached and Rudi Cantu drove in both runs, and scored herself on an rbi by Kelsie Hanson, who did a star turn at shortstop. (Kelsie can pick schools academically, a 4.73 GPA and 1230 SAT).
To the delight of the players, Aggie rookie sensation Amanda Scarborough coached 1st in the absence of Joe Wymer. We had hoped to see Jesse Patrick, who performed so well at 2004 Gold nationals, but she committed early to Baylor and is playing for Team Texas.
Between the Rio Grande and the Red River. The three Texas teams were all impressive – Impact, Magic and Storm – confirming a trend in which promising players at every position are emerging in the Lone Star State – every bit as good as the players from Pac 10 states. And, not just in Texas. The Southeast is producing pitchers who can rack ‘em and stack ‘em. Twice in 5 years teams from other conferences have won the World Series, which for many years has been like a Pac 10 conference tournament. With a couple of graduate exceptions, those Michigan kids are coming back for seconds.
Salinas Prospects. We haven’t seen all the California teams, and we’ll catch up with Vancouver Ford, Victory, Firecrackers, SC Athletics this coming week. But, the teams here include several who could be in the hunt for Gold at Salinas – Gold Coast Hurricanes, the three Texas teams, Shamrocks, AZ Hotshots and Haning’s Batbusters. Gordon’s Panthers, Tyronne’s Batbusters, Corona Angels and the Cruisers need more punch and consistency. With a good draw, the NJ Inferno could go deep.
Tori uber alles. Storm’s Victoria “Tori” Martin is very aggressive at bat, never more so than in the 7-1 win over the Blazing Angels -- Megan Shupp was the winner over a 2006 with potential, Michelle Kenney. Tori drove in two runs.
Beaching the Beach Girls. Doug Myers’ 16U Batbusters triggered the most lop-sided game with their 12-0 rout of the Beach Girls. Aja Paculba racked two doubles and 3 rbi. Dani Manko had 3 rbi. Amanda Gabriel set the tone for the game with a 1-hitter. The 6-run 5th completed the run-rule.
The Clock quenched the Fire. Quite literally the Rock N Fire, who were trailing the OC Lionettes 4-1 going into the bottom of the last inning. When Sarah Moline drove in Jessica Everhart (walk), capping a 4-run rally, the Virginians thought they had a victory – but time expired before the inning completed and the score reverted back to the previous inning 4-1 Lionettes. Rock N Fire came to NJ w/o their two ace pitchers and acquitted themselves positively by playing hard every game.
The Tremors hung tough against the BBD. The Anaheim Batbusters (Davis or BBD in the SPY shorthand) went 4-3, but they lost to the other top teams they played – Impact, Shamrocks, and GC Hurricanes – and teams like the Tremors pushed hard. Still, Alyssa Winslow and Tiffany Pagano are very credible pitchers; Pagano took the loss to the Hurricanes but won the 2-0 game against the Tremors.
Cruisers 7, Beach Girls 1. Melissa Dykema got the win over Jennifer Mineau, a big girl but a 2008 needing experience (and getting it this weekend). Kimberly Silagyi was 3-3, including a double and 2 rbi.
TX Impact 4, Batbusters Davis 1. Another game in which we saw the handiwork of Emily Shadow, who bested Alyssa Winslow. The game was notable for two deep bombs by Brette Reagan and Ronda Smith over the 215 foot fence. Ashley Weber drove in the Batbuster run.
The Runner. At the bar of the Mount Kenya safari club, the traditional toast is to “fleet-footed lads and rose-lipped maidens.” What toast would be appropriate to the fair maidens of the Lowe clan who could give running lessons to deer? The softball world knows player of the year candidate Caitlin Lowe, recently selected for the USA national team, and regarded as a dangerous, nation-leading hitter as well as for her incredible speed. Then we watched Paige take her place on the Panthers; injuries have kept Paige from showing her full potential before she heads to Oregon State. Now comes McKenna with the Class of 2007. The Panthers didn’t score a run on Friday, but we checked every game, wanting to see McKenna run. Finally, in the 3-2 win Saturday over the Louisville Lady Sluggers, McKenna singled – whoosh – Cya Neal’s single was still rolling when McKenna pulled up at 3rd. The kid’s a burner. Lauren Lupinetti drove in both runs with a triple. The Panthers had scored initially on Lauren Murphy’s homer. Kristina Hortert homered for the Sluggers. Jordan Taylor was the winner. There is talent on the Panthers. Mel Gomez had some good innings on the mound. Ashlyn Watson and JoJo Lampton hit in other games. Keiko Uraguchi is a real threat on the basepaths. They need consistency, but I never count the Panthers out of the national title until I see them packing their bags.
End – with an apology to all the girls who made exceptional plays we didn’t see.