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Posts Tagged ‘Hammerheads’

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.”

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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.

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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.

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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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Sluggers hold birthday bash-a-thon!!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Fred Farris has his Central Whidbey Little League Minors softball squad rolling along. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

One run for every birthday candle.

OK, maybe not, but close.

Playing on mom Jennifer’s birthday Wednesday, Chloe Marzocca sparkled in the pitcher’s circle, while her teammates rained down runs in support.

By the time the younger Marzocca and Co. were done, the Central Whidbey Little League Minors softball squad had crushed the host North Whidbey Dragons 15-6.

Chloe Marzocca started and tossed two shut-down innings for the Hammerheads, while Mia Farris came on to close the game with two solid frames of her own.

CWLL scored the maximum five runs in each of the first two innings to roll out to a 10-1 lead and never looked back.

Taylor Brotemarkle, who “played awesome at shortstop” according to coach Fred Farris, paced the Hammerheads with two hits.

She was joined on the hit parade by Teagan Calkins, Madison McMillan, Chloe Marzocca, Mayleen Weatherford and Naosha Rose, who each added a base-knock.

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