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Archive for the ‘Little League’ Category

They can’t be stopped (we think)

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , , on April 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Allison Nastali was a force at the plate and in the pitcher’s circle Saturday as the Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball team won again. (Photo courtesy Beth Nastali)

They liked the score so much, they reused it.

Bashing a foe 21-5 for the second-straight game, the Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad ran La Conner right out of town Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the scorching-hot hitters who call themselves the Hammerheads improved to 5-0 on the season, having outscored their rivals 95-20.

They also reclaimed the title of highest-scoring softball team in Coupeville.

Sitting at an even 19 runs a game, the Hammerheads edge ahead of the CWLL Juniors, who are tossing “just” 18.7 runs a night on the scoreboard.

La Conner actually led the game through an inning and a half Saturday, as hard as that might be to believe.

The visitors pushed three runs across in the top of the first, then after Central Whidbey tied the game back up, notched two more scores in the second.

And then death and destruction came raining down, as the Hammerheads used their bats to inflict grave damage on the hapless softball.

By the time Central Whidbey was done peppering hits in the bottom of the second, it had plated 14 runners and turned a 5-3 deficit into a 17-5 lead.

Four more runs in the bottom of the third, after Allison Nastali threw a perfect inning in the top half of the frame, whiffing two La Conner hitters, ended things.

Nastali, who was making her debut in the pitcher’s circle, teamed up with Taylor Brotemarkle and Chloe Marzocca to baffle the La Conner hitters.

While the Hammerhead hurlers were zipping fastballs past their rivals, the Central Whidbey bats were booming.

Mia Farris filled up the stat sheet, collecting three hits, including a triple, while knocking in a pair of runs and scoring four times herself.

And that was just the start of the offensive bonanza, as Madison McMillan used two hits to pick up five RBI, including a walk-off three-run double which ended the game, thanks to the mercy rule.

Teagan Calkins, Brionna Blouin, Marzocca, and Jada Heaton chipped in with two hits apiece, while Nastali, Mayleen Weatherford, and Katie Marti also had base-knocks.

“Everyone contributed and Allison was awesome on the mound,” said Central coach Fred Farris.

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Winning is kind of their thing

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on April 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Powered by a high-octane offense, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball team is 6-0 on the season. (Susan Farris photo)

In a season of blow-outs, they had to work for this one.

The Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball team has been destroying foes this season, culminating with a 19-3 romp Thursday over South Skagit.

Saturday afternoon the Wolves had a rematch, but on their home turf, and jumped out to a big lead.

And then, to everyone’s surprise, gave back their entire six-run lead, fell behind by a run, and had to rally for a 15-9 win in a game that went the full seven innings.

Romp or somewhat of a nail-biter, a win is a win, and this one improves Central Whidbey to a crisp 6-0 on the season.

A Wolf team which has outscored foes 112-35 so far came out swinging hot, plating seven runs in the bottom of the first to stake themselves to an early 7-1 lead.

The first seven hitters to stride to the plate reached base safely, with the trio of Jill Prince, Savina Wells, and Sofia Peters coming up big with back-to-back-to-back base hits.

But, as quickly as the offense turned on, it (somewhat surprisingly) turned off, with the Wolves going down 1-2-3 in both the second and third innings.

That slow-down gave Skagit a chance to fight its way back into the game, and the visitors did just that, scraping together a run in the second, then tossing three on the board in each of the next two innings.

The onslaught left Central Whidbey in a rare position, trailing 8-7 headed to the bottom of the fourth.

But there was no panic in the Wolf dugout, just a lot of stone-cold killers flexing their biceps as they hefted their bats and prepared to unleash a second round of “let’s whup on the pitcher.”

Just like in the first inning, it was the same hot-swinging trio who did the most damage, only with a bigger base-knock in the middle.

Prince and Peters both ripped singles, but Wells went two bases better, bashing a two-run triple to safely put Central Whidbey back in front.

The Wolves tacked on a single run in both the fifth and sixth, just to pad the lead out a bit, then coasted home with their record still unblemished.

Peters paced the offensive attack, collecting three singles, with Prince and Wells backing her with two hits apiece.

Melanie Navarro rounded out the hit parade with the team’s eighth base-knock on the afternoon.

The Wolves also walked eight times, with Gwen Gustafson, Vivian Farris, and birthday girl Maddie Georges getting aboard twice each thanks to wayward pitching.

Adrian Burrows and Navarro both walked once, with Cypress Socha, Hayley Fiedler, and Karyme Castro also seeing playing time.

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Bats blazing, Hammerheads on a tear

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , , on April 26, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Taylor Brotemarkle (top) and Mia Farris get mentally prepared for Friday night softball. (Susan Farris photo)

It’s like the 1927 Yankees have been reborn, but as hit-happy young women.

Central Whidbey Little League has two softball diamond squads, and both are tearing the hide off the ball this spring.

The Juniors team is 5-0 and averaging 19.4 runs a game.

And then there’s the Majors squad, which won another game Friday night, torching host North Whidbey 21-5 in a game called after three innings.

The Hammerheads are putting 18.5 runs a game up on the scoreboard, having outscored their foes 74-15 en route to a 4-0 start to the season.

Friday night was quick, it was efficient, and it was an offensive bonanza, as Central Whidbey dropped 11 runs in the top of the first and never looked back.

After adding a modest two runs in the second, the Hammerheads tossed another eight runs into the mix in the third, stretching their lead out to 21-1 at one point.

North Whidbey got a little bit back in the final inning, but CWLL pitcher Chloe Marzocca was virtually unhittable.

She got eight of her nine outs via a strikeout, and surrendered just two hits.

Marzocca also had her bat poppin’, pounding a liner into the gap for a game-busting RBI triple.

Everywhere you looked, there was a different Hammerhead hitter swinging a hot stick, with Taylor Brotemarkle leading the way with four hits, four runs, and three RBI’s.

Madison McMillan (three hits, two runs, two RBI), Mia Farris (two hits, three runs, two RBI), Teagan Calkins (two hits, three runs), and Allison Nastali (two hits, two RBI) also filled up the stat sheet.

“Allison laid down a great bunt,” Central coach Fred Farris said. “And Brionna (Blouin) had a great game behind the plate.”

Mayleen Weatherford (a hit, two runs), Jada Heaton (a hit, two runs), Katie Marti (two runs) and Aleksia Jump rounded out the roster that is coming for all the wins.

All of them, I said.

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Hit machine remains on fire

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on April 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball team, averaging almost 20 runs a game, is a crisp 5-0 on the season. (Suzan Georges photo)

The only thing that can slow them down is the weather.

Put the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball team on the field this season, and they’re unstoppable.

Back in action Thursday after a rain-out delayed their last game, the Wolves pounded host South Skagit 19-3.

With 29 runners getting aboard, thanks to 12 hits, 16 walks, and a dropped third strike, Central Whidbey easily rolled to their fifth win in as many games.

The high-flying, hard-hitting Wolves have outscored their foes 97-26 this season.

Thursday’s game was over almost before it began, as CWLL ripped off an 11-batter, seven-run top of the first.

Mixing in four walks with singles from Allie Lucero, Hayley Fiedler, and Maya Lucero, plus an inning-capping double off the bat of Gwen Gustafson, the Wolf rained down destruction on the hometown pitchers.

And it only got worse (or better, if you’re a Wolf fan) from there, as the second inning was a 14-batter, eight-run affair.

With the game well in hand, Wolf coach Lark Gustafson was able to use all 13 of his players, with 10 of them scoring.

Maya Lucero smacked three singles to lead her team’s run of hits, while Gustafson (2B, 1B) and Allie Lucero (two singles) were hot on her heels.

Maddie Georges, Jill Prince, Sofia Peters, Savina Wells, and Fiedler added singles, with Vivian Farris, Karyme Castro, and Cypress Socha combining for five walks.

Socha also alertly scrambled to first, then later came around to score, after the South Skagit catcher couldn’t handle a third strike.

Rounding out the Central Whidbey roster Thursday were Adrian Burrows and Melanie Navarro, who both saw field time.

The Wolves return to action this Saturday, when they get a rematch with the team they just shellacked.

South Skagit comes to Rhododendron Park in Coupeville, and first pitch is 2 PM.

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The hits keep on rainin’ down

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

Maddie Georges (left) and Karyme Castro endure the rain while pursuing their softball dreams. (Suzan Georges photos)

Georges and Sofia Peters share a moment with a friendly rival.

Our game, our Island.

At every level this spring, Coupeville is ruling the softball field, and taking special delight in bushwhacking Oak Harbor, their big-city neighbors to the North.

Thursday night the latest beat-down came courtesy the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors squad, which rolled up the Island and torched North Whidbey 20-8.

The win lifts the Wolves to 4-0 on the season, not surprising for a team which has outscored its rivals 78-23.

Central Whidbey came out primed to rumble Thursday, dropping runs in every inning, with nine of 13 players scoring at least once.

The Wolves put up four in the top of the first, and kept the scoreboard humming all night, with six runs in the second, two in the third, then eight in the fourth to spring the 10-run mercy rule.

Everyone swung the bat well, with the 2-3-4-5 hitters particularly dangerous.

Savina Wells and Melanie Navarro paced the Wolves with three hits apiece, both blasting a double and two singles, while Jill Prince had a double and single, and Sofia Peters whacked a pair of singles.

The battlin’ Lucero sisters rounded out the hit attack, as Allie plunked a double and Maya drilled a single, with Cypress Socha, Prince, and Peters walking twice apiece.

Central Whidbey had 11 walks to go with its 12 hits, as Gwen Gustafson, Hayley Fiedler, Vivian Farris, Maddie Georges, and Allie Lucero also earned free passes.

Adrian Burrows and Karyme Castro also saw playing time for the Wolves, who kicked off a three-game road trip Thursday night.

The squad travels to Sedro-Woolley Apr. 20, then faces South Skagit Apr. 25, not returning to play at Rhododendron Park again until Apr. 27.

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