Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Little League’ Category

Elimination? Not today, buddy!!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on July 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Sarah Wright gets an Orange Crush for hammering a homer over the fence. (Joe Lippo photo)

  Sarah Wright gets an Orange Crush for hammering a homer over the fence. (Joe Lippo photo)

The Venom listen to coach Kevin McGranahan prior to their game. (John Fisken photo)

The Venom, led by Veronica Crownover (8) and Katrina McGranahan (1) listen to coach Kevin McGranahan prior to the game. (John Fisken photo)

Sarah Wright with dad Ron (left) and the lil' president of her fan club. (Rob Smith photo)

  Wright with dad Ron (left) and the lil’ president of her fan club, cousin Jackson Smith. (Rob Smith photo)

How does Robin Cedillo celebrate the biggest RBI of her career? By takin' the girls to IHOP! (Dawn Hesselgrave photo)

  How does Robin Cedillo celebrate the biggest RBI of her career? By takin’ the girls to IHOP! (Dawn Hesselgrave photo)

The dream lives on.

Bouncing back from its first loss of the season, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors All-Star softball squad rode Sarah Wright’s epic two-run home run to a 4-1 win over Mercer Island Sunday at the state tournament in Shoreline.

Now 18-1 on the season, the Venom stay alive in the double-elimination tourney and will play Woodinville 4 PM Monday.

With two teams eliminated Sunday, Central Whidbey is one of six squads left with a chance to win a state crown.

Wright’s blast, a shot that cleared the fence some 250 feet away, broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fifth.

She had the chance to go yard because Katrina McGranahan, hitting in front of her, had kept the inning alive with a two-out single.

Central Whidbey, which benefited greatly from a top-notch, nine-strikeout performance from hurler Bella Northup, trailed 1-0 into the fourth inning.

Up until that point the Venom were putting runners on, with Emily Licence making it to third in the second, but also stranding them.

That changed in the fourth, when Robin Cedillo ripped an RBI single to left, scoring Northup with the tying run.

The Venom tacked on an insurance run in the sixth, thanks to a sac fly off the bat of Hope Lodell.

With the game on the line, Central Whidbey was flawless in the seventh, taking Mercer Island down one-two-three to make them the first team to exit the tourney.

Lauren Rose snagged a ball and gunned out the runner with a flawless throw to Veronica Crownover at first, followed by Northup throwing nasty heat, whiffing a hapless Mercer Island batter.

Keep up to date with the state tourney bracket:

http://www.littleleaguewa.org/washington-state-little-league-tournaments/bracket/521-Junior-Softball-State

Read Full Post »

Sizzlin’ Sisters singed by scorchin’ sun!!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on July 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

New uniforms made everyone happy. 106 degree weather, not so much. (Katy Wells photo)

New uniforms made everyone happy. 106 degree weather, not so much. (Katy Wells photo)

Sun stroke city.

Having traveled to the furnace that is Asotin for the state tournament, the Sizzlin’ Sisters found themselves beset on two sides Saturday.

The all-star (9/10) softball team, which brings together players from Central and South Whidbey, faced perhaps the best team in the tourney, while also experiencing what it’s like to play in weather that’s just plain inhumane.

On the scoreboard, Whidbey fell 15-0 to Woodinville. But just surviving the day is a win in itself.

“It was tough!!,” said coach Mimi Johnson. “It hit 106 and we played at 3 PM today – definitely not what we are used to.”

There was a brief respite for the Sisters, mid-game.

“They stopped the game once to wet the field and let the girls run through the sprinkler,” Johnson said.

The Sizzlin’ Sisters return to action on the surface of the sun Sunday, when they play their second game in the double-elimination tournament.

Read Full Post »

Errors kill!!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on July 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Sarah Wright

Sarah Wright, seen here catching in the district playoffs, has been a team leader all season, both at the plate and behind it. (John Fisken photo)

The perfect season is gone. The hunt for a state title still lives.

Too many errors in the field conspired to deflate the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors All-Star softball squad Saturday, as the Venom fell 11-4 to Ridgefield in the opening game of the state tournament.

The loss snapped a 17-game winning streak for Central Whidbey, but it gets a chance to bounce right back Sunday in a loser-out game at 4 PM in Shoreline.

Win there and the Venom keep on playing Monday.

It’s a tall order, but if they reel off six wins in a row, they would join the 2010 Central Whidbey Juniors baseball squad as state champions.

Central entered the state tourney having ten-runned all of its opponents, jumping on rival pitchers quickly and with ferocity.

Unfortunately, that ended against a talented Ridgefield pitcher, who struck out five over the first two innings, putting the Venom on their heels.

Trailing 7-0 entering the bottom of the third — the victim of a rash of errors in the field — Central finally broke through.

Robin Cedillo reached base, scooted to third, then scored on a hit by Hope Lodell.

Things looked to be getting better in the fourth, as the Venom, down 9-1, put together its first sustained rally.

Katrina McGranahan and Sarah Wright had back-to-back hits to lead things off, then Emily Licence loaded the bags.

Two runs came home, with McGranahan stealing home and Wright scoring when a third strike was dropped.

That was it, however, as the rally sputtered out.

Central fought until the end, with McGranahan cranking a lead-off triple in the bottom of the sixth. She came around to tally the Venom’s final run.

Even down by seven with no one on and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Venom refused to go meekly. Lodell drilled a pitch back up the middle for a single, but an epic comeback was not to be.

 

To stay on top of the state tourney bracket pop over to:

http://www.littleleaguewa.org/washington-state-little-league-tournaments/bracket/521-Junior-Softball-State

Read Full Post »

Hit the road!!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , on July 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

98.2% of the unbeaten 17-0 Central Whidbey Little League Juniors All-Star softball squad. One girl is missing from the photo. (Dawn Hesselgrave photos)

  98.2% of the unbeaten Central Whidbey Little League Juniors All-Star softball squad. One girl is missing from the photo. (Dawn Hesselgrave photos)

Their chariots await...

Their chariots await…

But first, coffee.

But first, coffee.

They’re on their way.

Central Whidbey sent off two little league softball teams to state tournaments Friday, fueled by coffee and, possibly, free Slushies, since it was 7-11.

And, while it was toasty on Whidbey, give them a few miles and they’ll miss a land where there is at least a breeze.

The Sizzlin’ Sisters (9/10) are off to Asotin, on the Idaho border, and the possibility of triple digit temps.

The Venom (13/14), pictured above, will take their 17-0 record to Shoreline.

Let’s get ready to rumble.

Read Full Post »

No sleep! EVER!!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , on July 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

"We are ... goin' ... to ... STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Katy Wells photo)

“We are … goin’ … to … STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!” (Katy Wells photo)

It’s like Christmas, Halloween, the first day of school and the start of summer vacation all wrapped into one.

The night before a team leaves for the state tournament is filled with excitement, maybe a few nerves and a lot of bouncin’-off-the-walls energy.

Two Central Whidbey Little League softball squads hit the road Friday, possibly with very little sleep.

The Venom (13/14) are off to Shoreline, while the Sizzlin’ Sisters (9/10) are trekking to the very farthest tip of the state to Asotin for their tourney.

Will they win? Will they write a new legend to put up along side that of the state champion 2010 Juniors baseball team?

And, maybe more important, will the parents along for the trip survive with all their sanity still intact?

Only time will tell.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »