Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Little League’ Category

Step up to the plate!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 27, 2021| 1 Comment »

Central Whidbey Little League softball players celebrate a win. (Jackie Saia photo)

Coupeville’s Rhododendron Park is a jewel among local little league facilities.

But, unless new volunteers step up to keep Central Whidbey Little League humming along, parents of softball and baseball players may spend more time driving North and South than enjoying their own diamonds.

That’s the reality, as CWLL will lose most of its board at the conclusion of this season, with the children and grandchildren of current volunteers “aging out” and moving on to high school ball.

League officials are putting out the call for fresh blood, with the promise current volunteers will help prepare newbies for what awaits them.

The statement released Thursday by CWLL President Gordon McMillan:

 

Good Morning!

We are reaching out to all of you with the hopes that you will consider getting more involved with Central Whidbey Little League.

As we are winding down the 2021 season, it is now time to look forward … to next season and beyond.

Yes, it may seem a bit early, but your current board is concerned about next season and feel it is imperative to share our thoughts with you.

Your current board is presently made up of approximately 10-12 active members.

And, the majority will be leaving the board after this season as our kids and grandkids will be ‘aging out’.

Our kids will no longer be eligible to play little league baseball/softball.

Most of our kids and grandkids will be involved with high school athletics/events/clubs in some form or another, and we will be wanting to watch and participate in those events with them.

What does this mean?

Quite frankly, without new volunteers to fill these positions, CWLL may have a very challenging situation and may face some very difficult and painful decisions.

This includes players/families may have to apply to participate in the North Whidbey and/or the South Whidbey leagues IF these leagues will allow.

Board positions that will be vacant at the end of this season:

President
Vice President
Player Agent
Treasurer
Secretary
Safety Officer
Communications Director
Concession Stand Organizer (*May be filled but could use assistance*)
Umpire Organizer
Field Prep
Equipment/Purchasing
Sponsorship/Donations (*May be filled but could use assistance*)

CWLL usually begins ‘gearing up’ for the new season with monthly (Zoom at this time) meetings in September and then weekly meetings after the first of the year going through early April.

Then back to every other week until the end of the season.

Some of your 2021 board has volunteered to assist/teach/guide, but will be unable to ‘take the lead’ so they can be involved with their high schoolers.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will respond at once.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Your 2021 CWLL Board of Directors

 

For more info on CWLL:

Home (centralwhidbeylittleleague.com)

 

To contact the CWLL, email:

centralwhidbeyll@gmail.com

Read Full Post »

Bash queens beat the softball black ‘n blue

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Taylor Brotemarkle drove in five runs Wednesday, part of a 14-hit, 18-run explosion for the red-hot Hammerheads. (Jackie Saia photo)

Pull the whistle, cause the freight train is running folks over.

Slamming out 14 hits Wednesday night, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad roared from behind to claim an 18-12 road win over arch-rival North Whidbey.

With the victory, the Hammerheads push their winning streak to seven games and counting, and carry a 7-2 record into an extended break.

Central Whidbey is off until June 6, when it hosts South Skagit for a doubleheader.

Wednesday night they jumped on North Whidbey early, fell behind, then unleashed the full might of their bats to reclaim control of the game.

“Girls gutted it out,” said CWLL coach Fred Farris. “(Pitcher) Savina (Wells) battled hard against their really good lineup.

“My hat’s off to her for finding the physical and mental fortitude to play seven games in seven days between softball and basketball.”

Five runs in the top of the first got things off to a festive start for Central Whidbey.

Mia Farris started the mini-explosion with a one-out walk, followed by a single off the bat of Wells, then the Hammerheads really started painting using every part of the field.

Madison McMillan bashed an RBI double to center, with Taylor Brotemarkle smacking an RBI single to right, and Chloe Marzocca scorching an RBI single to left.

North Whidbey scraped their way back, however, putting up two runs in the bottom half of the first, before tacking on five in the second to surge ahead 7-5.

The Hammerheads got one run back, but should have had more.

Teagan Calkins led off the top of the second with a triple, but never made it home as North Whidbey’s defense clamped down.

Things went a little better with the same situation in the third, with McMillan blasting a leadoff triple, then sauntering home to score on an RBI single from Katie Marti.

With North Whidbey pushing two runs across in the third, the Hammerheads came to bat in the top of the fourth trailing 9-6, but showing no panic.

Instead, Central Whidbey’s bash queens blistered the ball to the tune of nine runs in the frame, turning a thriller into a rout.

The Hammerheads mixed five hits and five walks (including Mayleen Weatherford being plunked) to create the extravaganza of runs, with nearly everyone in the lineup chipping in.

Candace Meek led off with a single, with Marti, Calkins, and Mia Farris all whomping two-baggers in support.

Up 15-9, Central cruised in from there for the win, with Wells holding North Whidbey down with precision pitching, while her defense played lights-out behind her.

The Hammerheads spread their offense around, with eight of 11 batters getting a base-knock, and nine of 11 scoring.

With seven of the 14 hits being of the extra-base variety, Central’s coaching staff came away suitably impressed with their ferocious lineup.

Marzocca and Calkins both had liners which were ripped out of a cannon, but it was McMillan who truly wowed the gathered crowd.

She lashed a double and two triples, walked twice, and came around to score all five times.

Better yet, her big blows put the absolute fear of God into rival pitchers in three states.

“Madison’s triples would have both been over our fence (at Rhododendron Park),” Fred Farris said. “The second one hit half way up their “gray monster,” which is 220 feet (away) and 12 feet high.”

When McMillan wasn’t penning her epic tale, her teammates ably helped her cause.

Wells (three singles), Calkins (2B, 3B), Marti (1B, 2B), Farris (2B), Meek (1B), Marzocca (1B), and Brotemarkle (1B) all put the ball where the defense wasn’t.

Meanwhile Jada Heaton walked twice and scored both times, Weatherford and Anna Steckman made solid contributions, and Brotemarkle was raking, picking up a team-high five RBI.

Read Full Post »

Hammerheads keep on hammerin’

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , , on May 24, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Katie Marti and Co. are a hot-hitting pack of softball sluggers. (Jackie Saia photo)

Hit ’em hard, hit ’em fast, and keep on hitting ’em.

The Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad erupted for six runs in the first inning Monday, launching themselves to a 17-7 home win over arch-rival North Whidbey.

The victory, the sixth-straight for the Hammerheads, lifts them to 6-2 on the season.

Central Whidbey came out swinging hot bats, and never let up, collecting 20 base-knocks spread out amongst 10 batters.

Mia Farris kicked things off in the bottom of the first with a single, then her teammates unloaded six more hits before the frame was done.

The big blows came from back-to-back doubles from Madison McMillan and Taylor Brotemarkle.

After adding a fairly quiet two runs in the second inning, Central Whidbey unleashed the full tsunami in the bottom of the third.

Whacking nine hits, with Teagan Calkins and Savina Wells each coming around to collect two base-knocks apiece, the Hammerheads pushed nine runs across the plate to stretch their lead out to 17-3.

Wells lashed a triple, with Calkins and Farris both punching doubles as Central Whidbey kept its base runners in constant motion.

North Whidbey chipped away at the lead a bit, getting it down to 10 runs, but that was still enough for the game to be called early thanks to the mercy rule.

Wells fired six strikeouts while prowling the pitcher’s circle, while picking up a team-high three RBI and tying McMillan with a game-high four hits.

Calkins, Farris, Brotemarkle, and Katie Marti had two hits apiece, with Jada Heaton, Chloe Marzocca, Mayleen Weatherford, and Allison Nastali all chipping in with a base-knock.

Nine of the 11 Hammerheads players scored, with McMillan, Wells, and Farris all tapping home three times apiece.

Read Full Post »

Hammerheads rally, keep win streak alive

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Allison Nastali (left) and Chloe Marzocca are part of a Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad which has won five straight. (Jennifer Marzocca photo)

Don’t count ’em out.

Trailing by three runs entering the final frame Monday, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad rallied to force extra innings, then KO’d their archrivals.

Scoring the game’s final seven runs, the Hammerheads pulled out a 15-11 win in eight innings, knocking off North Whidbey for a second-straight time, and running their winning streak to five games.

With the victory, Central Whidbey improves to 5-2 on the season.

“Well, that was wild,” said Hammerheads coach Fred Farris. “The girls were not their usual self in the field, but there is some weird voodoo at that park.

“But the heart and will to win of this group is just remarkable,” he added. “Everyone contributed in one way or another.”

Central Whidbey scored in each of the first four innings Monday, building an 8-4 lead exiting the top of the fourth.

Then, a momentary road bump.

North Whidbey scraped out four runs in its half of the fourth to knot things at 8-8, then pushed across another three in the fifth to take the lead.

After going scoreless in the fifth and sixth, the Hammerheads needed a spark in the seventh, and they got it from the booming bat of Taylor Brotemarkle.

She thumped a triple to deep right field, before Central Whidbey took advantage of a dropped third strike with Katie Marti at the plate, then walks to Allison Nastali and Teagan Calkins.

Once on the base paths, the Hammerheads seized the opportunity.

“Savvy base running, which is one of our trademarks through the years, really made a difference,” Farris said.

In the eighth, four Central Whidbey sluggers stepped up big, with Savina Wells and Brotemarkle bashing doubles, while Jada Heaton and Nastali scorched hard-hit singles.

Back on top, the Hammerheads set their Northern rivals down one-two-three in the bottom half of the inning, with Central hurler Wells closing the game by whiffing the other team’s best hitter.

“Savina was really dialed in again and came right from high school basketball practice to Volunteer Park,” Farris said. “Like Deion Sanders on a dual football/baseball day.

“She’s really become adept at mixing pitches and locations specifically to the batters.”

Savina Wells was a two-way star Monday, excelling in the pitcher’s circle and in the batter’s box. (Jackie Saia photo)

Wells was a wild woman at the plate, as well, collecting a team-high three hits, with all going for extra bases.

A pair of doubles set the stage, while a triple which carried 200+ feet to center was topped off with “a textbook slide to get under the tag.”

Brotemarkle added a triple and double of her own, with Madison McMillan crunching a triple and Calkins smoking a two-bagger.

Seven of 11 Hammerhead hitters put up a base-knock, with Mia Farris joining Brotemarkle and McMillan in the two-hit club.

Marti and Chloe Marzocca scored after walking, as nine Central Whidbey players came around to tap home plate.

Read Full Post »

Our bats are louder than yours!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“Give me my bat. Mama has to go wreck some folks.” (Jackie Saia photos)

They brought the big lumber with them.

With all 12 girls on the roster collecting at least one hit Saturday, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad made life tough for South Skagit 1’s pitchers.

Combining to pound out 33 hits in seven innings of action, the Hammerheads swept to 23-10 and 18-2 wins in Mount Vernon.

With the doubleheader sweep, Central Whidbey runs its winning streak to four straight, and will carry a 4-2 record into a road game with arch-rival North Whidbey Monday night.

Chloe Marzocca swung a big bat Saturday, crushing a triple, while also pitching Central Whidbey to a win.

Everything was humming for the Hammerheads during their doubleheader sweep.

Central Whidbey hurlers Chloe Marzocca and Teagan Calkins — with the latter making her debut in the pitcher’s circle — both whiffed five hitters, while their defense stood up strongly behind them.

“Chloe pitched a solid game against a pretty hard-hitting South Skagit Riptide lineup,” said Central Whidbey coach Fred Farris.

“Calkins really settled in and pitched great in game two.”

When the ball was put in play, the Hammerhead defenders put good glove on ball, snuffing out any potential rallies.

Savina Wells, using her long reach to her advantage, snagged a liner at second base, then doubled up the runner drifting off the bag at first in the day’s top defensive dazzler.

But it was the Hammerhead bats which truly captivated the audience.

“I got one hit, and I’m coming back for more, sister!!”

Seven Wolves bashed an extra-base hit, led by Wells, who smacked a double and triple, Madison McMillan, who bopped a pair of two-baggers, and Marzocca, who nailed “a rope to deep left” for a resounding triple.

“Everyone hit the ball hard!,” said a proud Fred Farris.

That included the first hits of the season for Allison Nastali, who rejoined her diamond squad after the end of her high school volleyball season.

Mia Farris, using the ancient arts handed down by her dad, “laid down a perfect squeeze bunt” to plate Calkins, while Candace Meek and Anna Steckman both collected their first base-knocks in a Hammerheads uniform.

Anna Steckman is a made woman, after collecting her first base-knock as a Hammerhead.

 

Stats for the day:

Taylor Brotemarkle (3 runs, 4 hits, 5 RBI, 1 walk)
Teagan Calkins (6 runs, 2 hits, 3 walks)
Mia Farris (6 runs, 4 hits, 3 RBI, 2 walks)
Jada Heaton (5 runs, 3 hits, 4 RBI, 1 walk)
Katie Marti (4 runs, 4 hits, 4 RBI, 1 walk)
Chloe Marzocca (1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk)
Madison McMillan (6 runs, 3 hits, 3 RBI, 2 walks)
Candace Meek (2 runs, 1 hit, 3 RBI, 1 walk)
Allison Nastali (2 hits, 3 RBI)
Anna Steckman (1 hit, 1 RBI)
Mayleen Weatherford (1 run, 2 hits, 5 RBI)
Savina Wells (7 runs, 5 hits, 1 RBI, 2 walks)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »