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Posts Tagged ‘Island rivalry win’

Hammerheads drop the … hammer

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on May 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Combining big hits, tons of walks, and aggressive base-running, the Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad has outscored foes 225-53 this season. (Photo by Jackie Saia)

The middle of the Island controls things.

The Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball team is dominating play early on in a four-team “Softball Classic,” and now the path to the title runs through Coupeville.

Thumping a North Whidbey team for the second-straight day, the Hammerheads improved to 13-1 on the season and 2-0 in the tourney.

This time around the opponent was the North Whidbey Dragons, who fell 15-0.

In the tourney’s other game Saturday, the North Whidbey Bandits rebounded from a loss to Central Whidbey to paste South Whidbey 20-5, eliminating the latter team.

The two Oak Harbor squads, who sit at 1-1 in the tourney, play Monday, with the survivor advancing to face the Hammerheads in the championship.

Central Whidbey needs just one win to clinch the title, while either North Whidbey team would have to win Tuesday AND Wednesday to deny Coupeville’s band of hit-happy sluggers.

Saturday, the Hammerheads, even missing key players in Savina Wells (playing in a juniors game), Katie Marti (4H show), and Teagan Calkins (wedding), were unstoppable.

“Team was very efficient on offense and defense,” said CWLL coach Fred Farris.

Central Whidbey, playing with just nine girls, finished things quickly, dropping five runs in the first, tacking on another six in the second, then closing things with a four-spot in the third frame.

Chloe Marzocca stalked the pitcher’s circle, denying North Whidbey even a whiff of success, while Madison McMillan was on a torrid roll at the plate.

She finished with a flawless 3-for-3 performance, blasting a single, double, and home run, while driving in five runs.

For her performance, McMillan received a golden game ball presented by the other team.

Mia Farris added three hits of her own, while Taylor Brotemarkle (2), Marzocca (2), and Jada Heaton (1) all chipped in with base-knocks.

Mayleen Weatherford (2), Brionna Blouin (2), Aleksia Jump (1), Allison Nastali (1), and Marzocca (1) eked out walks as Central Whidbey kept the runners churning bag to bag.

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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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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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Some kind of magic

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 9, 2019| 1 Comment »

Taylor Brotemarkle charges in to snag a hot ground ball Thursday, as the Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad bounces its arch-rivals. (Photos by Jackie Saia)

Katie Marti (right) celebrates with teammate Allison Nastali, who dropped down the game-winning bunt single.

“My heart is still rapidly beating. Really was a great game.”

Fred Farris has seen a lot of games play out, as an athlete and a coach, but what went down Thursday night might have been a first for him.

His Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball team rallied from two runs down, then KO’d their arch-rivals on a walk-off bunt single.

When Allison Nastali dropped a madly-spinning ball which kissed the first-base line and somehow, miraculously, stayed fair, it sent Hammerheads teammate Taylor Brotemarkle screaming home with the winning run.

And the 5-4 victory, over the visiting North Whidbey Bandits, was major payback for Central Whidbey’s only loss of the season, which came just two days ago.

Now sitting at a shiny 8-1 on the season, the Hammerheads proved they can win any way you like, by blowing out other teams, or by going toe-to-toe with their best rival.

It was a game which could have gone either way, but, in the end, fell in the win column for a team which “kept their cool and refused to lose.”

Central Whidbey pitcher Chloe Marzocca, who whiffed four in a complete-game performance, kept the Bandits at bay for four innings.

She got big-time help from her defense, and led 2-0 headed into the top of the fifth in a six-inning game.

“We played almost flawless defense for four innings and Chloe was awesome on the mound,” Farris said.

“Brionna (Blouin) was absolutely phenomenal at third, gunning down four runners at first,” he added. “Mia (Farris) was equally impressive with her stretches on those plays and had four unassisted putouts at first, including a dive back to the bag to barely get a runner.”

The defense finally cracked – for just a bit – in the fifth, and North Whidbey took advantage, scraping out four runs to snatch the lead away.

But with Mayleen Weatherford “leading the way in keeping the girls believing they were going to come back and win,” the Hammerheads did exactly that.

Notching a run of their own in the fifth, thanks to Mia Farris showcasing some nicely aggressive base-running, Central Whidbey clamped down in the top of the sixth, holding their rivals scoreless.

Coming up for their final at-bats, the Hammerheads needed one to tie, two to win, and were facing North Whidbey’s ace, Reese Wasinger, who had baffled them two days ago.

This time, though, the bats won the battle.

Central Whidbey tied the royal rumble, then went for broke with Nastali at the plate, Brotemarkle dancing at third base, and down to its last out.

The bunt came off Nastali’s bat and danced a dangerous path right down the line, as Fred Farris and Co. went wild.

“Ball started just fair and spun for what seemed like a week before dying on the first baseline chalk,” the Hammerheads coach said.

“Taylor was up the line and crossing home before the ball had a second bounce,” Farris added. “Allison was up the line quick; their only hope was to let it go foul. I can’t believe it didn’t!”

The bunt single capped a two-hit day for Nastali, who also thumped a double.

Marzocca added two hits and a walk, with Brotemarkle (2), Teagan Calkins (2), Aleksia Jump (1), Weatherford (1), and Mia Farris also eking out free passes.

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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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