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Archive for the ‘Little League’ Category

Mama said knock you out

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , , on June 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“We score, score, and score some more!!” (Jackie Saia photo)

Bring on all-stars!

The Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad ended the regular season Saturday with an avalanche of runs, destroying host Sedro-Woolley 22-2.

And it was actually even more of a rout that that.

While the mercy rule ended the game after three innings, the two teams played an unofficial extra inning in which Central Whidbey tuned up their rivals 9-0.

With the win, the Hammerheads closed the regular season at 15-2, having outscored foes 270-81.

Or 279-81, if we count the unofficial inning … which we probably won’t.

Next up for Central Whidbey is the district all-star tournament, which will be played at Coupeville’s Rhododendron Park starting June 14.

Saturday afternoon, the Hammerheads mixed and matched pitchers, getting Chloe Marzocca and Savina Wells two innings of work apiece, then sitting back and admiring the view as their hurlers got nasty.

The dynamic duo each recorded three strikeouts, while also pulling off eye-popping defensive gems.

Marzocca snagged a hard shot up the middle which took a wild hop and shot up, smacking her just below the knee.

Ignoring the sting, she stayed in the play, plucking the offending ball off the turf and gunning down the Sedro-Woolley hitter crashing for first base.

Not to be outdone, Wells sprawled out while on the fly, yanking a ball out of air seconds before it hit the diamond while close to foul territory down the third base side.

“Ball probably never got more then four feet off the ground, but Savina made it look easy,” said visibly-impressed Central Whidbey coach Fred Farris.

It was that kind of day for everyone in a Hammerhead uniform.

“Girls came to play, and were in all-star form,” Farris said. “Great pitching by both Savina and Chloe, and Savina and Teagan (Calkins) both were near perfect behind the plate.

“Allison Nastali showed great range at second making two outstanding plays, and Mia (Farris) squeezed everything at first. Great team win!”

The game was virtually over before it began, as Central Whidbey dumped a fast 14 runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first.

Seven more in the second, then a single, solitary score in the top of the third pushed the lead all the way out to 22-0, before Sedro scratched out its only runs in the bottom half of the final official frame.

The Hammerheads racked up 17 hits, with Wells bashing five, including a double, while Brionna Blouin smoked four base-knocks of her own.

Blouin loves extra-base hits, and two of her lasers were two-baggers, with one clearing the bases.

Madison McMillan, Mayleen Weatherford, and Mia Farris added two hits apiece, with Weatherford cranking out a triple, while Aleksia Jump and Calkins chipped in with singles.

The five Hammerheads who didn’t have a hit combined to pick up 11 walks and score 13 times.

Taylor Brotemarkle earned four free passes, while Nastali (3), Marzocca (2), Jada Heaton (1), and Katie Marti (1) all showed off eagle eyes.

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A last win for the road

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 23, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad finished 13-1 after routing North Whidbey. (Photo courtesy Paula Peters)

They finished like they started – with a bang.

Putting host North Whidbey down hard Thursday night, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors squad capped an extremely-successful season.

The Wolves threw down 15 unanswered runs against their Island rivals, running away with a 17-5 win to finish 13-1 on the season.

Central Whidbey’s only loss this season came to South Skagit, and it promptly avenged that defeat in the very next game.

Thursday night the Wolves failed to score in the top of the first — a slight shocker — and briefly fell behind 1-0.

That quickly changed as CWLL got the bats going from that point on, raining down eight runs in the second inning and another seven in the third.

From there, the Wolves coasted in for the season finale win, getting something from everyone on the roster.

Jill Prince had the hottest bat in the land, lashing three singles, while Sofia Peters crunched a double and a single.

Savina Wells, Maddie Georges, Allie Lucero, and Karyme Castro all added a base-knock apiece, while the Wolves piled up a staggering 19 walks to keep the offense humming.

For Coupeville, 11 of its 13 players eked out a free pass against North Whidbey, with Cypress Socha, Allie Lucero, and Hayley Fiedler leading the way with three walks apiece.

Melanie Navarro (two walks) and Vivian Farris (a walk and an RBI ground-out) also chipped in, while Gwen Gustafson, Adrian Burrows and Maya Lucero rounded out the top-notch Wolf roster.

The bulk of the team is primed to hit the high school softball scene next season as freshmen, promising a huge injection of young talent to a Coupeville diamond program playing at the state tournament this weekend.

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Hammerheads visit Title Town, USA

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Mia Farris hit a home run and made a spectacular defensive play Tuesday, as Central Whidbey Little League clinched the title in an all-Island “Softball Classic.” (Jackie Saia photo)

Friendly rivals share cake after Tuesday’s game. (Photo courtesy Fred Farris)

The look of a champion. (Saia photo)

“Bring on the cake!!” (Saia photo)

Winner, winner, cake for dinner.

The Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad made it seven straight wins, bouncing their arch-rivals Tuesday night to claim the title in an all-Island “Softball Classic.”

The Hammerheads stifled the North Whidbey Bandits 9-2 at Rhododendron Park, giving them a 3-0 run in the tourney and lifting their season record to 14-1.

The four-team royal rumble brought Central, South and North Whidbey together, with Coupeville’s best proving too much for Oak Harbor’s two teams and Langley.

Since the tourney was a double-elimination affair, the Bandits, who lost their opener to Central Whidbey, would have needed to sweep two games from the Hammerheads to claim the title.

Coupeville’s diamond queens had no intention of playing Wednesday, however, and jumped on their foes early and often Tuesday night.

Playing as the visiting team on their home turf, after losing a pregame coin flip, the Hammerheads pushed two runs across in the first.

After that, Central Whidbey built a 4-0 lead midway through the third inning, surrendered one run, then promptly tossed three more on the board to give itself some breathing room.

From there, the Hammerheads strolled home, adding two runs in the sixth to pad things out.

Central Whidbey tossed a new pitcher into the mix, with recent addition Savina Wells taking the ball from CWLL coach Fred Farris, and the Coupeville 6th grader was impeccable.

Whiffing eight while tossing a complete game, Wells was also a mighty masher at the plate, bombing two home runs while batting lead-off.

“Savina was in complete control and really pitched a gem,” Farris said.

Wells got plenty of help from her teammates, as the Hammerheads combined to whack 11 hits and play superb defense.

Mia Farris, Madison McMillan, and Chloe Marzocca chipped in with two hits apiece, with Mia Farris joining Wells in launching a home run.

Rounding out the hit parade were Brionna Blouin (2B), Allison Nastali (1B), and Teagan Calkins (1B).

Facing a strong foe in North Whidbey, the Hammerheads used inspired defense to shut down any rallies before they got started.

Mia Farris, who earned a golden game ball along with North Whidbey’s Reese Wasinger, made a diving snag on a foul ball in front of the visitor’s dugout to end the fourth inning.

“She had a highlight-reel catch,” said her proud dad/coach. “The crowd and her teammates erupted.”

Not to be outdone, Blouin came up firing on what proved to be the game’s final play, launching a laser to second to nab a would-be base-stealer.

As they celebrated with medals and cake, which they shared with their friendly rivals, the Hammerheads left their coach beaming.

With just two games left in the regular season — one Friday and one June 1 — Fred Farris is pleased with the growth he’s seen from his players, and excited about the future.

“The girls really upped their game during the tournament,” he said. “Scoring 35 and only giving up three in their three games.

“We start gearing up for all-stars (soon) and have a few things to tighten up, but these girls are ready to make their mark!,” Farris added. “Proud of these girls and how far they’ve come this season!”

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Navarro, Georges fuel offensive explosion

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Central Whidbey sluggers (left to right) Karyme Castro, Sofia Peters, and Melanie Navarro are part of a hot-hitting little league softball squad. (Maricela Sotelo photo)

Very short memories and very big bats.

It helps to have both, something the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball team embraced Saturday afternoon.

Bouncing back from their first loss of the season, the Wolves got immediate payback against the same foe, drilling visiting South Skagit Saturday to the tune of 18-2.

Crunching 14 hits, including four doubles and two triples, Central Whidbey improved its season mark to 12-1.

After being held to just a single hit Thursday, the Wolves immediately re-found their groove.

No one was more scorching Saturday than Melanie Navarro, who delivered a pair of triples, a double and a game-high six RBI.

She got plenty of support, though, with Maddie Georges, who missed the loss with an injury, ripping four base-knocks, including two doubles.

Toss in three singles from Savina Wells, a single and double from Gwen Gustafson, and two singles from Maya Lucero, and the bats were poppin’ all game.

Central Whidbey, which scored two runs in both the first and second, then blew the hinges off the door with a 14-run third inning, also collected 10 walks.

Adrian Burrows, Gwen Gustafson, and Jill Prince collected two free passes apiece, while Allie Lucero, Sofia Peters, Hayley Fiedler, and Maya Lucero walked once each.

Gustafson was also lights-out in the pitcher’s circle, limiting South Skagit to just three weak hits.

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Hammerheads chomp everything in their path

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Katie Marti and Co. are 12-1 on the season after a big win Friday against their arch-rivals. (Photo by Jackie Saia)

Payback times two.

The Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad has only lost once this season, to its arch-rival, the North Whidbey Bandits.

Since that loss, though, the Hammerheads have bounced back to deal back-to-back defeats to their momentary vanquisher.

The latest win against the Bandits, an 11-1 romp in four innings, came Friday night in the opener of the district “Softball Classic.”

Now sitting at 12-1 on the season, CWLL faces the other team from North Whidbey, the Dragons, Saturday afternoon, while the Bandits play the South Whidbey Royals.

Friday night was a pitcher’s duel, with North Whidbey’s Reese Wasinger whiffing eight and Central Whidbey’s Chloe Marzocca striking out seven.

“Chloe was spectacular on the mound,” said Hammerhead coach Fred Farris.

Marzocca was flinging heat to a new catcher, as 6th grader Savina Wells, who normally plays with girls two years older on the CWLL Juniors team, joined the Majors squad.

She stepped in for Hammerhead backstop Teagan Calkins, who is in Missouri for her older sister’s wedding.

“Savina called an awesome game, and she also had a double, single, scored, and had two RBI,” Farris said. “She will be playing with us for All-Stars and the girls and coaches are so excited to add her to our team!”

Everything was clicking for Central Whidbey Friday, as the Hammerheads jumped out to a 2-0 lead, gave one run back in the top of the second, then struck for a fast four in the bottom of the frame.

From there, Coupeville’s hard-hitting pack tossed in two runs in the third and another three in the fourth to trigger the mercy rule.

Madison McMillan had the hottest bat on the night, ripping three hits, while Wells, Allison Nastali, and Marzocca added two base-knocks apiece.

Jada Heaton, Aleksia Jump, Brionna Blouin, and Katie Marti eked out walks, Taylor Brotemarkle and Mayleen Weatherford chipped in with hustle and effort, and Farris praised his team’s defense.

“Brionna was a beast at third and Mia (Farris) played a flawless first base,” said the Central Whidbey ball coach.

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