Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Little League’ Category

North Whidbey ace out-duels Hammerheads

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad is 7-1 this season. (Photo by Jennifer Marzocca)

Into every softball season a little rain must fall.

For the high-flying Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball team, the rain Tuesday wasn’t of the liquid sunshine kind, but instead came in the form of their first loss of the season.

But while the 12-2 loss at North Whidbey stings, it doesn’t put a complete damper on a team which has played very strongly in all aspects of the game.

“It is a good learning experience for our girls,” said CWLL coach Fred Farris. “We’ll get a shot at redemption on Thursday.”

And he’s right, as the Hammerheads, who now sit at a still-crisp 7-1, turn right around and host their arch-rivals in two days at Coupeville’s Rhododendron Park.

It’s part of a busy week for Central Whidbey, which is playing five games in six days.

The Hammerheads have blistered opposing pitching this season, but Tuesday night they ran into a buzz-saw in Reese Wasinger, who limited them to just a pair of singles while whiffing 12 batters.

Mia Farris and Brionna Blouin were the only Central players to get a base-knock, while Teagan Calkins, Allison Nastali, and Farris drew walks.

Central Whidbey pitcher Chloe Marzocca, bouncing back from injury, whiffed seven across five innings and did her best to keep her team close.

“Chloe pitched well,” Fred Farris said. “She really battled hard.”

In the end though, North Whidbey’s pitcher carried the day, and impressed her rivals.

“We were a little shaky on defense,” Fred Farris said. “It might have been the fact the girls knew they needed to be near perfect to beat Reese on this day.

“She’s a friend of Central Whidbey. We have watched her grow into a great pitcher!,” he added. “She works extremely hard at honing her craft and it was a really special performance.

“I was proud of her.”

Read Full Post »

Chomp, chomp, CHOMP

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“We’re going to score all the runs. All of them, I said!!” (Susan Farris photo)

Relentless.

Continuing to chew its way through the schedule, the Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad crushed host South Whidbey 25-4 Monday.

The win lifts the Hammerheads to a flawless 7-0, while improving their run differential on the season to an eye-popping 145-32.

Kicking off a busy week – Central has five games in six days – Monday’s game was the second-straight to feature Allison Nastali in the pitcher’s circle.

Giving staff ace Chloe Marzocca a bit of rest time, Nastali was on point, whiffing five across four innings of work.

Her team’s offense, after a (relatively) slow start, was its usual marauding self.

After putting up three runs apiece in each of the first three innings, Central Whidbey erupted for 16 runs on 13 hits in the game-ending fourth frame.

For the game, the Hammerheads bashed out 22 hits, led by Jada Heaton’s career-best five base-knocks.

Teagan Calkins backed her up with four hits, including a hard line-drive double, while Mia Farris, Madison McMillan, and Brionna Blouin delivered three hits apiece.

McMillan had the biggest extra-base hit of the game, singing the South Whidbey defense for a triple during the game’s big uprising.

Taylor Brotemarkle and Nastali rounded out the hit parade, slashing two base-knocks each, while Katie Marti (3), Aleksia Jump (3), and Mayleen Weatherford (1) combined to net seven of their team’s 25 runs.

Blouin (4) and Nastali (3) topped the team in RBI’s, with “Katie and Taylor playing great in the middle of the infield,” according to Hammerheads coach Fred Farris.

Marzocca, who has been battling a bit of tendinitis, got the night off, and is expected to be ready and rarin’ to go for Central’s next game, Tuesday at North Whidbey.

Read Full Post »

Wins keep raining down for young sluggers

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The undefeated Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball team swept a doubleheader Saturday, while CHS players Veronica Crownover (back, center) and Nicole Laxton (far right) worked as umps. (Suzan Georges photo)

All they do is win.

Playing in front of high school stars Nicole Laxton and Veronica Crownover, who were making successful debuts as umps Saturday, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad swept a home doubleheader.

Even playing without staff pitching ace Savina Wells, the Wolves were too much for Anacortes, pulling out an 18-16 win in the opener, before rolling 17-7 in the nightcap.

The sweep lifts Central Whidbey to a flawless 9-0 on the season, a time when they have outscored their foes 172-58.

How the twin-bill sweep went down:

 

Game 1:

The Wolves whacked 23 hits and ended up needing every one of them in a rare nail-biter.

CWLL uncharacteristically trailed several times in the game, and were still tied 15-15 heading into the bottom of the sixth, but pulled away at the end.

Big hits from Gwen Gustafson, Maddie Georges, Jill Prince, and Sofia Peters gave the Wolves their final three runs, then the defense clamped down in the top of the seventh, and victory was achieved.

Georges led the Central Whidbey attack, ripping five singles in the opener (just the start of an amazing day at the plate for the CMS 8th grader), while Peters added a triple and three singles.

Prince notched three base-knocks, including a double, with Gustafson (2), Allie Lucero (2), Melanie Navarro (2), Vivian Farris (2), Maya Lucero (2), and Cypress Socha (1) all collecting hits as well.

Central Whidbey also played stellar defense, with Georges catching a fly on the run in center, elevating to make the catch at the last second, while Peters snared a shot back to third while sliding on her knees.

 

Game 2:

After some tenseness in the opener, the nightcap was more like a normal game for the Wolves, as they used 17 hits, five strong innings from Vivian Farris, making her first career start in the pitcher’s circle, and a monster performance by Georges.

Dominating every aspect of the game, she followed up her five-hit performance in game one with a four-hit affair in game two, which included a two-run inside-the-park home run to open the scoring.

When she wasn’t smoking hits to every field — she finished with nine base-knocks on the day — Georges provided a calming target for Farris behind the plate.

She also popped up and gunned down three would-be base-stealers, including a pair headed to third.

Central Whidbey scored in every inning, dropping two runs apiece in the first, second, and fourth innings, while blowing up the board for seven in the third.

Add a single run in the fifth, and three in the bottom of the sixth, and the mercy rule took effect when Maya Lucero lofted a monster fly which cleared the right fielder’s head before landing and bouncing around out by the warning track.

The Wolves spread out their hits, with Georges being backed by Allie Lucero (two doubles and a single) Gustafson (two singles), Peters (a home run and a single), and Prince (two singles).

Farris, Navarro, Karyme Castro, and Adrian Burrows all punched singles, as the entire lineup was on fire.

Read Full Post »

Hammerheads continue to roll

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“I must break you!” (Susan Farris photo)

They’ve got everyone running scared.

The Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball team is so dangerous, giving up a few runs is almost yawn-inducing.

After giving Anacortes a brief glimmer of hope Friday, the Hammerheads flicked the destruction button on their bats and rained down the game’s final 17 runs on their way to a 25-5 win.

The victory, called after three innings due to the mercy rule, lifts Central Whidbey to a flawless 6-0 on the season.

Having outscored foes 120-28 across those six games, you start to question if anyone can touch the Hammerheads.

And maybe that’s what Sedro-Woolley was thinking, after they cancelled a scheduled trip to Coupeville for a Saturday game.

Now it’s very possible, even likely, the reason for the cancellation was something mundane like illness or missing players.

But I’m sticking with my original thought — no one wants to face Godzilla, especially on Godzilla’s home turf.

Friday night the Hammerheads gave staff ace Chloe Marzocca the night off, instead putting the ball into Allison Nastali’s hands and allowing her to make her first start in the pitcher’s circle.

Nastali responded, whiffing five batters across her three innings of work, while “throwing gas” in the words of CWLL coach Fred Farris.

Teagan Calkins and Brionna Blouin split time behind the plate, while Blouin also made a sensational snag of a line drive while pulling duty at first base.

While Central Whidbey had “just” an 8-5 lead after one inning of play, Farris let his veterans take the lead on getting things back in the proper flow.

“Taylor (Brotemarkle) demonstrated good leadership, calming the troops after a rocky start,” he said.

The Hammerheads immediately responded, erupting for 13 runs in the second, before tacking on four more in the third inning to ice things.

Central Whidbey pounded out 11 hits, with Blouin leading the way with four base-knocks.

Jada Heaton, Brotemarkle, and Mayleen Weatherford collected two hits apiece, with Calkins adding one.

Equally important to the team’s success was the ability of the Hammerhead hitters to eke out walks, as they combined to rack up 21 free passes.

Madison McMillan, Aleksia Jump, and Nastali each walked four times, with Calkins making the leisurely trot to first base on three occasions.

Even Mia Farris, who sat out most of the game alongside Marzocca in a bid to even the playing field a bit, walked in her one at-bat.

All nine starters scored at least twice apiece, from Katie Marti, who trotted home two times, to the trio of McMillan, Blouin, and Jump, who tapped the plate four times each.

The Hammerheads have a busy week ahead, as they’ll put their winning streak on the line with five games in six days.

Central Whidbey travels to South Whidbey May 6 and North Whidbey May 7, then hosts North Whidbey May 9. The week wraps with a doubleheader May 11 on the road against South Skagit.

Read Full Post »

Undefeated, and maybe unstoppable

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 2, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Have bats, will destroy you. (Susan Farris photo)

These girls with bats in their hands? Unstoppable.

The Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball team continued its wild joy ride through the spring Thursday, carving up visiting South Whidbey 25-0.

Dropping 18 runs in just the first inning alone, the Wolves rolled to their seventh-straight win, and have done it while outscoring foes 137-35.

If you don’t have your calculator close, I can make it easy for you — CWLL is averaging 19.6 runs a night, while giving up an average of five.

Thursday night the Wolves didn’t even give up a hit, as pitchers Savina Wells, Vivian Farris, and Maya Lucero combined to walk two, whiff seven, and erase South Whidbey 1-2-3 in both the first and third innings.

With the mercy rule in effect, and Central Whidbey having tacked on seven more runs in the bottom of the second, that’s where the game prematurely ended.

The Wolves were in total control, with their first 13 batters, and 18 of their first 19, successfully reaching base.

CWLL sent 32 hitters to the plate across the two innings it hit, and 11 of its 13 players scored.

Gwen Gustafson, Farris, Maddie Georges, Wells, and Maya Lucero all tapped home three times apiece, while Allie Lucero, Jill Prince, Melanie Navarro and Sofia Peters scored twice each.

Rounding out the offense, Hayley Fiedler and Adrian Burrows came around once each, Cypress Socha came off the bench to bash a double, and Karyme Castro also saw field time.

The Wolves return to action Saturday, with a just-scheduled 1 PM home doubleheader against Anacortes.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »