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Posts Tagged ‘Central Whidbey Little League’

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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Hammerheads droppin’ haymakers

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 15, 2019| 1 Comment »

When you introduce yourself to the umpire. “I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I’m so mean I make medicine sick!” (Jackie Saia photo)

The bats have spoken, one more time.

Cracking 20 runs for the sixth time this spring, the Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball team rained down sweet destruction on yet another foe.

This time out, the rival was the North Whidbey Dragons, and they fell hard, losing 20-2 Tuesday to the sweet-swingin’, home plate-tappin’ Hammerheads.

With the victory, Central Whidbey rises to 11-1 on the season, having outscored opposing teams 199-52.

There was a moment – a very brief moment – when North Whidbey looked like it had a chance, as the visitors slapped two runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first at Rhododendron Park.

That changed, rapidly, as the Hammerheads responded with nine runs in their half of the first, before tossing in another 11 runs in the second inning, just for good measure.

North Whidbey could do very little against Central’s one-two combo in the pitcher’s circle, as Hammerhead hurlers Chloe Marzocca and Allison Nastali combined for five strikeouts in three innings of work.

Meanwhile, the only thing which could slow down CWLL at the plate was the fact the mercy rule went into effect after the top of the third, preventing the Hammerheads from hitting a third time.

Nastali pounded out three hits to lead the Central offense, while Marzocca added two, and Jada Heaton, Brionna Blouin, Katie Marti, Mia Farris, and Madison McMillan smacked a base-knock apiece.

The Hammerheads also picked up 12 walks, with Teagan Calkins, Taylor Brotemarkle, Mayleen Weatherford, and Aleksia Jump getting aboard that way.

All 11 Central Whidbey players scored at least once, as Nastali and McMillan zipped across home three times each.

Things get a little different in the coming days, as the Hammerheads host a four-team, double-elimination “Softball Classic” featuring teams from all sections of the Island.

Games run from Thursday, May 16, through Wednesday, May 22 (if the championship goes to two games) and pit Central Whidbey against South Whidbey, as well as both North Whidbey teams, the Bandits and Dragons.

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Young Wolves storm to big win

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on May 14, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Central Whidbey sluggers celebrate a win Monday. L to r, it’s John Rachal, Alex Smith, Aiden O’Neill, Landon Roberts, Jacob Schooley, Camden Glover, Chase Anderson, and Jordan Bradford. (Carron Chernobieff photo)

They’ve got the bounce-back perfected.

Rebounding from a close loss Thursday, the Central Whidbey Little League Majors baseball team returned to their home field Tuesday and promptly drilled the North Whidbey Diamondbacks 9-4.

The win at Rhododendron Park lifts the Wolves to 7-2 on the season.

After surrendering a run in the top of the first Tuesday, Central Whidbey immediately responded, throwing down a five-run rally in the bottom half of the frame.

Aiden O’Neill ripped a lead-off triple, then, with the rival pitcher dazed and confused, the Wolves added singles off the bats of Chase Anderson, Camden Glover, Jordan Bradford, and Jacob Schooley.

From there, Central Whidbey added a run in the fourth, thanks to a single from Landon Roberts and an RBI double launched by Glover, before putting the game on ice with a three-run fifth.

Eagle eyes helped in the fifth, as John Rachal, Anderson, Glover and Marcelo Gebhard eked out walks, while Roberts and Bradford plunked singles.

The Wolves used three pitchers to stifle their Island rivals, with Bradford getting the start and tossing four solid innings.

After whiffing five, he handed the ball to Glover, who struck out two more batters.

From there, Anderson came in to close things out, also K’ing up another two North Whidbey sluggers.

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Goodnight, but not goodbye

Posted in In Memorium, tagged , , , , on May 12, 2019| 1 Comment »

Father and son working the diamond together, as Jim (left) and Joel Wheat ump a softball game in 2018. (Connie Lippo photo)

Family, friends, and the community came together Saturday afternoon to remember Joel Wheat, who passed away Mar. 25 from complications with diabetes.

A 2007 graduate of Coupeville High School, he worked as a mechanic for the Boeing Co., but was best known for his work volunteering as a coach and umpire with Central Whidbey Little League.

Joel was following in the path of his dad, Jim, and the photo above captures a game where the duo umped together at the CHS softball diamond.

The video below is a beautiful tribute to a much-loved young man.

 

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Hammerheads chomp Skagit twice

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , , on May 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“Scoring runs? It’s kind of my thing!” (Jackie Saia photos)

Brionna Blouin gets some planking in during a pause in the action.

Teagan Calkins stands tall behind the plate.

“You thought you might beat us? You thought wrong!”

Find a way to win.

The Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad kept its season-long hot streak alive Saturday, sweeping a road double header against South Skagit with two very different victories.

The Hammerheads opened the twin-bill at Mt. Baker Middle School by pulling out an 11-8 win in extra innings, then dominated in the nightcap, pounding their foes 16-2 in a game shortened by the mercy rule.

With the sweep, the Majors mashers return home sporting a 10-1 record on the season.

How it played out Saturday:

 

Game 1:

Chloe Marzocca ripped off 16 strikeouts from the pitcher’s circle for the Hammerheads, but Central Whidbey had to overcome being caught in a triple play and losing the lead late.

After building an 8-2 margin, thanks to a four-run first inning and then a steady drip of one-run frames, CWLL stumbled, briefly, giving up six runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Never blinking, the Hammerheads calmly regrouped, moved into the unexpected seventh and dropped three runs on the board to seal the deal.

Central Whidbey finished the game with 11 hits, as Mia Farris, Madison McMillan, Brionna Blouin, and Allison Nastali led the way with two base-knocks apiece.

McMillan blasted a triple, while Teagan Calkins, Jada Heaton, and Mayleen Weatherford chipped in with singles.

The Hammerheads also showed patience at the plate, picking up seven walks, with Taylor Brotemarkle earning two free passes.

Calkins, Heaton, McMillan, Aleksia Jump, and Katie Marti also won duels with the South Skagit hurler, then bolted to first to claim their base.

 

Game 2:

Nastali replaced Marzocca in the pitcher’s circle, whiffing three across four innings, while her catcher, Blouin, was on fire.

The Hammerheads backstop picked off a runner on the base-paths and twice tracked down foul balls behind the plate, pulling in the rapidly-dropping balls for crucial outs.

At the plate, Central Whidbey jumped on everything, taking advantage of five dropped third strikes, while also pounding out seven hits, many of the extra-bases variety.

Nastali and McMillan had two hits apiece, with McMillan garnering another triple.

Marti matched her with a three-bagger of her own, Calkins swatted a double, and Brotemarkle singed the grass for a single.

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