Vallejo Tournament - 12U 12U Sting goes 3-2 in Season Opener at Vallejo. Saturday, June 12
Game 1: Alameda Blaze 7; ABGSL Sting 2
Dawn broke over a glorious day in Berkeley, which posed a quandary for both 12U parents and players alike, as they faced an unusual 2 p.m. start time in the debut of their 2010 Summer season.
The morning’s calm was abruptly broken by Head Coach Carrie Arth as she beckoned her players to begin their warm ups at Jesse Bethel High School.
Miya Keilin took the hill on a windy, 90 degree afternoon as Sting kicked off its season. Joining her were Jules Rosenberg (C), Derby Gill (3B), Cielo Franco (SS), Imani Hiller-Bateau (1B), Erin Hoynes (2B), Mariel Rosenberg (LF), Julia Sparer (CF) and Sara Cerami (CF). Skye Salas, Bonnie Coulman, Tatiana Jellinek, Briahna Jackson and Lila Simpson cheered on their teammates and sat ready to join the action.
Miya’s
first pitch as a 12U, and Sting’s first of the season, was low and
outside. She took the Blaze’s first batter to a full count, but
surrendered a walk. With no outs and runners at 2nd and 3rd,
she struck the third batter out swinging for the first out. Batter
four walked and the bases were loaded with one out. Batter five
grounded out to Derby at 3rd. With two out and a 2/2 count Miya struck out batter six swinging and the crowd erupted. Sting had arrived and the season was underway. A shout from Coach Carrie was: “Hey girls workin hard out there!”
A team cheer of “Hit, Hit, Hit” sent Cielo, Sara and Julia to the plate to unveil the Sting offense. Cielo grounded out to 3rd. Julia’s hit to 2nd was bobbled and she was safe at 1st. Julia wasted no time in stealing 2nd, and as one parent summed it up --“That’s speed!” Julia quick trip to 3rd base followed in short order. Sara’s at bat resulted in a dropped third strike with the throw to 1st being bobbled. In the confusion, Julia scored from 3rd for Sting’s first run of the season, and the Hive buzzed with excitement. Sara stole 2nd, then 3rd beating a late throw from home. Mariel hit an enormous high
fly that was caught by the pitcher. Bonnie Coulman then strode to the
plate and smacked the first pitch far over the head of the 2nd baseman to score Sara and Sting led 2 to 1. Erin flied out with a hard hit to left for the third out but Sting was hitting well.
In the top of the second, walks and passed balls resulted in the bases loaded and no outs. After a fly out, a hit to Miya at pitcher was bounced back to Jules at catcher for an out at home. With two out and a 2/2 count, the Blaze batter whacked a hard hit to right which was bobbled and two runs scored. With two outs, the Blaze erupted with a number of hits and runs to pull ahead. The Sting batters had little luck in the bottom of the second as the Blaze pitcher continued to confound but not overpower the Sting batters. In the top of the third, Miya sat down the side with lots of strikes and a glorious third out on a huge fly to Julia in left. In the bottom of the fourth, Cielo popped a hit to the pitcher but beat out the throw. Speed followed speed, as Julia beat the throw to 1st on a dropped third strike and Cielo advanced to 2nd. Three outs followed and the side retired with the score 6-1 Blaze. Top of the fifth, two outs, bases loaded, 3-2 count, ball four—ouch! Stinged once again by the Blaze. Then, more hits, more runs, and a final score of 11 to 1. Some great pitching and hitting by Sting, lots of hard work behind the plate by Jules, and the score was not reflective of Sting’s effort But with two outs in many situations they could not extinguish the Blaze batters. A home plate umpire with a strike zone the size of Rhode Island was no help either. Game 2: ABGSL Sting 6; San Jose Quicksilver 5
Cielo Franco got the nod at pitcher for this 5 p.m. game, backed by teammates Skye Salas (C), Derby Gill (LF), Tatiana Jellinek (RF), Lila Simpson (2B), Miya Keilin (1B), Erin Hoynes (3B), Mariel Rosenberg (CF), Julia Sparer (CF) and Sara Cerami (SS). The Quicksilver were clad in white jerseys with red numerals over mercury-toned pants.
San
Jose’s first batter popped a hit to left but was held at first with a
strong throw to 2nd. Sara racked up an out with a shot to her at short
stop that was quickly dispatched to 1st. The Quicks
went on to score 5 runs in the top of the first, mostly on walks,
stolen bases and hard hits to the outfield. The dramatic third out to
end the inning was a three throw pickle between Sara and Miya. San
Jose was proving to be a huge and fast team that would surely test
Sting’s mettle. As parent Dave Simpson pointed out, “looks as if you
only have to be the sister or the mother of a 12 year old to be on this
team.” They grow them big in the south bay, but neither size nor
stature intimidates the girls from the 94701 thru 94710.
In
the bottom of the first, Cielo knocked a hard hit to center on the
first pitch. Skye followed with a hit up the middle that took her to 1st while Cielo was thrown out at 2nd.
Franco questioned the call, and the umpire response was to ask her to
remind her parents not to park in the spaces marked, "Reserved for
Umpires." End of conversation! Bonnie drew a walk and Skye moved to 3rd
on a passed ball. Then with two outs the Sting, resolute warriors that
they are, began a majestic two out rally. Mariel unleashed a monster
hit to center to score Bonnie from 2nd.
Miya followed suit with a hard hit to center on two strikes to score
Erin. The Hive was alive and the San Jose center fielder was feeling
the Sting when Lila Simpson corked another hard hit to center to score
Mariel.
In the top of the second, with a score of 5-4, Sting went to work to quickly sit down the Quickies. Cielo strike out; Skye nabbed a pop up fly at catcher; hit to Cielo at pitcher and a throw to Miya at 1st. Take a seat San Jose! Sting failed to score in the second and Imani climbed onto the hilltop at the top of the third. Briahna Jackson (#8) entered the game in right field in her first appearance for Albany-Berkeley. With Imani throwing smoke, a hard hit to Cielo at short was fired back to Miya at 1st for the out. A smack to Lila at 2nd was scooped up and she tagged the runner coming past her to 2nd, and nearly had a double play at 1st. The third out was a foul ball fly out to Erin at 3rd to end two scoreless innings. Still 5-4 Quicksilver.
In the bottom of the third, Sara smashed a ball to 3rd but was thrown out at 1st. Bonnie pounded numerous foul balls over the 1st fence and finally settled on a walk to 1st . She then became a base bandit, stealing 2nd, then 3rd. Erin walked, stole 2nd, and Bonnie came home on the throw 2nd to tie the game at 5-5. Erin stole 3rd on a wild pitch, and Mariel ground out to 1st but brought Erin home for a 6-5 Sting lead.
Bonnie’s tenacity at the plate, taking close to 15 pitches, to draw a walk proved to be a huge game changer. In the top of the fourth, Imani took control firing strike after strike to help deliver the win. The first batter struck out looking and the second batter was thrown out on a dropped third strike.
The game ended with high drama as a the third batter shot one up the
middle which Lila backhanded in a spectacular, it popped from her
glove, Cielo scooped up the loose ball, and threw it to Skye to prevent
the tying run at home. Game over- Sting was the victor! Coach Arth and coach Salas set fierce tone, having lit the green light for all three lamps in the stop light for Sting’s base runners. The Quicksilver had been ahead 5-0 in the first, but Sting slowed them down for a 6-5 win.
Game 3: ABGSL Sting 10; Marin Blue Angels 6
After a 15 minute break between games, Sting emerged from the dugout for a game against their neighbors from the coast. Game captain Lila Simpson (#24) strode
to the plate with Coach Arth to greet the opponents for a 6:30 pm start
time. The Blue Angels looked devilish in their in royal blue and
yellow uniforms. Tatiana Jellinek got her first 12U start on the
mound in the bottom of the first,
backed by Jules Rosenberg (C), Derby Gill (3B), Cielo Franco (SS),
Imani Hiller-Bateau (1B), Erin Hoynes (2B), Mariel Rosenberg (LF),
Julia Sparer (CF) and Sara Cerami (CF).
Marin (actually Mill Valley) was home so Sting stepped to the plate and nearly batted around in the top of the first. Cielo’s
hard, high hit to center was barely caught will a basket catch by the
Angel outfielder. Skye struck out on called third strike and things
were looking grim for Albany-Berkeley (Kensington, El Cerrito and
Richmond are represented on the team as well). But a two out rally
took flight that would down the Blue Angels. Sara hit a hard looper over the 3rd basewomen’s head. With Jules (lefty #7) at bat, Sara stole 2nd with a slide to beat the throw from the plate. Jules walked and Sara stole 3rd. Miya popped an infield fly that was dropped to score Sara. With runners at 2nd and 3rd and two outs, Derby smashed a hard hit off the glove of the 3rd base- angel to score Jules and Miya. Holy two out rally! Mariel clobber a double to center to score Derby from 2nd, and Sting had a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Tati
took the mound to cap a defense of Miya (1B), Skye (2B), Derby (3B),
Cielo (SS), Julia (LF), Sara (CF), Briahna (RF) and Jules (C). Ahead
0-2, Tati walked the first batter, then hit Marin batter number two to put runners at 1st and 2nd. A hard hit to left scored two Blue Angels and Marin came
flying back into the game. With the bases loaded, a line drive to left
scored two Marin runners to give the royal blue and yellow clad Angels
a 5-4 lead in a mistake prone inning for the Sting.
Briahna led off in the top of the second for her first at bat as a Stinger. She didn’t disappoint the fans and spanked hard hit to center for to initiate a distinctive 1.000 Sting career batting average. Cielo walked and the runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd. Skye was thrown out at 1st and Briahna at home in a double play. Sting failed to score even though there were runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. The Halos clearly had divinity on their side. In the bottom of the third, Imani was throwning smoke to Lila at catcher, but it was an all-Cielo inning. Grounder to Cielo at short- out at first; pop up to Cielo at short- out; line drive to Cielo at short- out at 1st to quickly clip the Angels’ wings. Sting went to work in the top of the third with Jules dropping a fly over the head of the first baseman. Miya punched a line drive and Jules slid into 3rd to dislodge the ball from the baseman’s glove. The Blue Angel’s coach stormed onto the field (again!) to protest the call but was quickly sent back to the bench. With no outs, Derby’s base hit scored Jules .Julia came home on a wild pitch to tie the score 6-6. Derby beat the slide at home on another wild pitch to put Sting ahead 7-6. Coach Arth clearly does not like company at 3rd base. Ahead 7-6 with no outs, Imani’s double through the legs of the 2nd baseman scored Julia from 2nd on a great slide to beat the throw. Briahna padded her batting average with strong base hit to center to score Imani. Cielo then punched a high fly to center for an out that scored Briahna. Sting 10, Blue Angels 6.
Late in the game and time running out, Coach Arth gathered her infielders on the mound to steady their nerves. She also took the opportunity to gather their input on the age old question of why they play “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the seventh inning when you are already there? The Angel’s 3rd base coach grumble of “bush league” during the time out drew a sharp look from Coach Arth and a reminder that Obama was now president. Coach Arth’s advice to the team as she sent them home for the night was, “Win, Sleep, Repeat.” On the way to the car Lila Simpson remarked that "If things get any better that this, I may have to hire someone to help me enjoy it."
Sunday, June 13
Game 1: ABGSL Sting 13, Cloverdale Fire and Ice 2
Sting
drew another unfamiliar 11am start time on Sunday for its single
elimination game against the number 3 seed from the A pool. Sting’s 2
and 1 record on Saturday earned it the number 2 seed in the B pool of this 16 team tournament. Sting
faced off against the Cloverdale Fire and Ice, who dressed in white
jerseys over red and royal blue shorts. Cloverdale is a town of 6,831
people along Highway 101 in far northern Sonoma County that hosts the
Cloverdale Old-Time Fiddle Festival, and even has an airport! Game
captain Jules Rosenberg accompanied Coach Arth to home plate to meet
the umps and Cloverdale’s two women coaches to start the game. The
11am start time slipped as the umpires were late in arriving at the
field, likely due to their unwillingness to part with $3 for the
executive parking lot.
In the top of the second, Mariel knocked high double to center field. Derby followed suit by pounding a
hard hit to center to score Mariel. The hit parade continued with
Cielo hitting to right, Julia bunting and beating a throw to 1st.
Derby then stole home and beat the throw with a slide that produced
more dust than Pigpen swinging his blanket. With two outs Erin
launched a high hit to center to score two Sting runners. In the
bottom of the second, Tati came in to hurl a combination of strikes and balls to the Fire and Ice. With runner at 1st and 2nd, a shot to Julia in left was drilled back to Derby at 3rd for an out. It was déjà vu all over again with a hard hit to Julia in left fired back to Derby at 3rd for a second out to hold the runners at 1st and 2nd. A hard hit grounder to shortstop was well handled for a put out at 3rd. Sting led 7-2 with 30mniutes to play.
In the top of the third Imani banged a high hit off the 3rd baseman’s glove for a single, then beat the throw to 2nd on a steal. Jules walked, and twin sister Mariel exploded with a wallop to deep, deep left field to score Imani and pinch runner Lila. Derby responded with a shot up the middle to score Mariel, then advanced to 2nd on an overthrow to 1st. With the bases loaded and no outs, Bonnie crushed a double to center to score two runners. Erin continued the Sting pounding of the Fire and Ice with a blast to center to score Julia. Sting 13-2. It was clear that fire and ice are not a good mix, as Cloverdale melted under the constant buzz of the Sting bats. In the bottom of the third, it was three up and three down with Tati throwing only five pitches to end the game for a Sting victory on Tournament Sunday.
Game 2: Alameda Blaze 11, ABGSL Sting 1
Sting faced the island girls for the second time in as many days, and hoped to right the wrong from that previous day to keep heading for the hardware. Expectations were high for this 2 p.m. game, played in 90 degree heat that would have brought sweat to the brow of Prometheus. Sting played well against the Blaze the morning before, and Commissioner Cerami had stoked Sting’s boilers with luscious French toast, elderberry syrup and sausages at the intermission, and the hive was alive.
The second and third innings saw very little offense from either team for a 5-1 score at the top of the fourth. Tati came in at pitcher and the Blaze seesawed between bunts and hard hits to confound the Sting fielders. Jellinek commented that “trying to get a fast ball past those batters was like trying to sneak the sunrise past a roster.” Tati threw lots of strikes but the Blaze replied with an equal number of hard hit balls. So like Nixon in his 1960 presidential campaign narrowly losing to JFK, and in an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of California in 1962, Sting lost. The Blaze pitcher held Sting spellbound throughout the game. Sting failed to extinguish the Blaze and their dreams of advancing in the tournament went up in smoke.
The Blaze eventually emerged as the first place team in the 16 team tournament later that evening. The
San Jose Quicksilver, which Sting beat 6-5 in the second game on
Saturday, ended up in 3rd place in the 16 team tournament. Sting finished 5th and will one day burn the Blaze. A great Sting effort this weekend where everyone played well, with two thrilling come from behind wins.
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 ABGSL Sting: Competitive Softball |
Vallejo Tournament - 12U |
