Softball Mania

Softball Mania in Champlin was tournament number two on the season for the Lil'
Blaze on the 2009 season.  It would turn out to be another great weekend.

First up, we met up with a team from Champlin, and although they had the home
field advantage, the Lil' Blaze , thanks to a patient eye and big hits from
Boeder and Svoboda, would move on.  A first inning double play set the stage
for a 15-0 win.

The second game of the day had us facing the Sparks from Coon Rapids. Again, the
Lil' Blaze came out hitting, with Drusch knocking a pair of homers and Boeder
with one. They also teamed up to pitch another shutout, and after two games the
Lil' Blaze, with some great defense was yet to give up a run, winning, 18-0.

Game 3 on Saturday gave us a great test.  The Burnsville 12U B-Lazers have been
practicing with us on a regular basis, and this is the tournament where they
started to gell.  The final game of the day had us playing each other, with the
top seed on Sunday at stake.  This was a great game, with the B-Lazers taking
the lead, the Lil' Blaze coming back, playing some great defense, and finally
scoring some late runs to push us to the win.  Something told us we would see
each other again.

Sunday, with our first game at 11am, gave the sun a chance to warm up and it was
a beautiful day to play two.  Game one had us in a rematch with Champlin, and
again, the girls came ready to play.  The bats were on early, we took advantage
of a few walks, and great defense from Jefferson and Edwards at 2nd base gave us
win number 4 and a berth in the championship game.

That game would be a rematch with the B-Lazers, who had thier own impressive win
in game one.  After 3 competitive games of pepper to get the blood flowing, the
Lil' Blaze were ready. As they did all weekend, the girls started strong.  A
triple by Boeder and Home Run by Drusch set the stage, then key hits by
Svoboda,
M. Larson, Gray, Lindsay and Jefferson got us out to an early 7-0 lead.
Another Home Run, this one a shot deep into left field by M.Larson in the second
would help to pad the score, plus a big double by Tapia got the bench cheering.
From there the defense took over, and it's a good thing, because the B-Lazers
are improving every game.  It was great to see some of the talent show through,
especially with the bats.

In the end, a putout at second would end the game after 5, with the Lil' Blaze
winning thier second tournament of the season.  We didnt win our second tourney
last year until the Cancer Benefit in September, so we are far ahead of last
year.

Congrats go out  to the rest of the Burnsville Traveling girls. 2nd place in the
12's, 14's and 16's says alot about our program and where it's come in such a
short time.

Way to go to all players and coaches.

Andover next at the end of May.