Lil Blaze

A Season To Remember

2009-08-06T05:37:00.000-07:00

A Season to Remember…

It would have been impossible when this all started back in January to think our team would have a year like this. All the had work we put in, practicing 3 times a week in the cold of April, stinging our hands while swinging ice cold bats, and tearing up knees during sliding practice. But what a result from all that work. Our list of accomplishments this year are impressive.

Champlin Early Bird 1st Place
Champlin Softballmania 1st Place
Andover Field of Dreams 1st Place
Richfield Summer Classic 1st Place
Sioux Falls Pride of Dakotas 1st Place
USSSA State Tournament 3rd Place
ASA State Championship 1st Place

With so many great moments during the season, we wanted to recognize certain things each girl stood out for this year. At our end of the season party, these are the awards we handed out…each one well deserved.

2009 Lil’ Blaze Season Awards

Momentum Changer- Mid June, the Richfield tournament and the championship game against our rival, Golden Valley. Already trailing by 3 in the top of the 7th, the Lightning has the bases loaded and their big hitter, Tia, at the plate. They could pretty much wrap up the game with another hit. But, she pops it up behind the plate, where this girl squeezes it for the third out. It was the spark we would need as we put up four runs in the bottom of the 7th to win the Richfield classic…Shelby Inskeep gets our Momentum Changer award.

Rubber Arm-At the beginning of the season, we were solid in every position except for pitcher. We had lost our two pitchers from last year to the 14u team, and came into this year unsure who would take it over. As the season moved on, this girl was relied on more and more to take the mound for the Lil Blaze. In the ASA State tournament, she pitched every game, leading us to the title. Our Rubber Arm award for best pitcher on the year goes to Elizabeth Boeder.

Most Improved Hitter-Last season, this girl consistently batted in the bottom of the order and showed signs of maybe becoming a better hitter. This year, those signs came through loud and clear. She put a ton of work into making herself better and started using the good bats to her advantage. Even though the swing is what you might call a tomahawk chop, she consistently hits the ball up the middle and held down our important third spot in the order most of the season…our Most Improved Hitter award for 2009 goes to Kylie Anderson.

Most Versatile-We usually coach our teams by finding one position, maybe two, where the girls can succeed. We think it’s the best way to get the girls to excel on defense, and as you saw through the season, our defense was pretty strong all year. But you need some players to be flexible…and that’s where this girl earned her award. She played all over the diamond, with big catches in the outfield, nice stops at third base, played a few games behind the plate, and even pitched in several games during the season. We would not have been so successful without her positive attitude to being moved around so much. Our Most Versatile award winner goes to Mackenzie Larson.

Pure Power Hitter-This award goes out to a girl who started to show flashes of power late last year, but this season, turned it up to a higher level. Nearly every time she came to the plate, no matter where the ball was pitched, she was able to put a great swing on the ball…and most times send it over some-body’s head in left field. Even when the other team did make a play, it was a hard out. She held down the 4th spot in my batting order almost all year, and earned this award in a big way…our Pure Power Hitter award for the season is Erica Lindsay.

Double Play-Heading into the season, this girl was new to our traveling team, but she was well known to the coaches from her in house success. After watching her in fielding frills at Velocity over the winter, we knew she had the instinct to become a great infielder. But there are some instincts you can’t coach, and that’s where this girl excelled. Several times throughout the season, locked in at her spot at 2nd base, she made plays on the ball, then tagged the runner heading to 2nd, and fired a strike to 1st base…double play. It sounds like an easy fundamental play, but the person has to have that feel to make it as well as she does… Our Double Play award goes to Jessica Edwards.

Best Base Runner-As the girls can agree, we spend a lot of time on base running. It is a skill that can mean all the difference between winning and losing, and it plays a huge role in being the aggressive team, and taking it to your opponent. A big part of this is listening to your coaches and making sure you know the scenario of the game, but its also knowing how to go from 1st to 3rd on a hit to the grass. Nobody had that ability this year like this girl, who often times did not even stop at second, instead, just kept going, and was never thrown out at third because of it. Our Best Base Runner award goes to Jasmyne Jefferson.

Biggest Hit of the Year- In a season filled with so many big hits, it’s hard to come up with just one to call the best. But when something like this happens, it’s one that you remember for years to come. This one happened way back in late May, in the Andover tournament, against who else, Golden Valley. Already up by a few runs, we would put this one out of reach with one swing of the bat. With the bases loaded, this girl stepped to the plate with the potential to hit it far, but you didn’t think this far. One powerful swing, and the ball sailed deep to left center field. As the outfielder went back, it looked like it had a chance…finally, she ran out of room as the ball cleared the fence. A Grand Slam home run over the fence…it lead to an easy win over the Lightening and a tournament championship in Andover.
Our Biggest Hit award for 2009 goes to Elizabeth Drusch.

Double Play of the Year-This award goes out to a girl who knows how to play in the field. In the years she has played for us she has moved from outfield to shortstop to 3rd base, 2nd base and back to the outfield…she even tried pitching a little early in the season. But her play in the ASA Championship game is what gets her this award. Locked in a tough game with Andover, we actually fell behind for a while as they looked to add to their total. With runners on 1st and second, a ball was hit to short left field, and it looked like a sure hit. But this girl came running in a full speed, made a great shoe string catch…got her feet set, then threw a strike to 2nd to complete a crucial double play. End of the inning, and a spark for our bats as we came back to beat Andover and win the state title. The Double Play of the Year award goes to Sam Gray.

Most Progress from the start of the season-This is a hard award to single out one player because so many have improved throughout the year. But this girl came probably farther than anyone. Back in January, when we started at Velocity, she was there almost ever Sunday night, taking batting practice and throwing. It was that hard work that got her a spot on the A Traveling team. At the first practices in April, she had a ways to go. We put her at positions in the field she had never played before, and slowly she developed into a very good catcher. Early in the season, plays at the plate did not happen. Later in the year, they did. She got over the little screams when the ball was hit to her and became rock solid behind the plate. Our Progress award goes to Vivien Tapia.

Hardest Worker-We could give this award to just about every girl on the roster, but one stood out, busting her butt, to make herself into not only a good fielder, but also a hitter who came on at the end of the year. Always willing to take extra batting practice, always taking ground balls in the infield, and always upset when she sat out, but not to the point of distracting and complaining. She is just very competitive and wants to play every inning. The potential for her swing was always there, and late in the season it really started to come around. Now we just need to keep her off the Lacrosse field. Our Hardest Worker award goes to Ally Larson.

Best Slide-Being that base running is such an important part of our game, we like to see the girls slide. In fact, a good part at the end of practice is spent sliding into 2nd and 3rd base. But it was a perfect slide performed by this girl that brought us a championship. In the Richfield Summer Classic, tied in the bottom of the 7th, she was stationed at 3rd base and knew she was the winning run. When the batter hit a simple fly ball to 2nd base, she was ready. Sent home by her coach, she slid in to home with a picture perfect slide, getting under the tag and scoring the winning run to give us the title. Our best slide of the year award goes to Mckenzie Svoboda.

Defensive Play of the Year- As with the offense, there are so many big plays during the year that picking just one is almost impossible. But it was a catch made by one of our outfielders at the biggest moment that takes the prize.
ASA State Championship game vs Andover, and we needed a spark. Andover had the bases loaded and looked to be getting the all important momentum. One of their hitters sent a line drive to right center field that had grand slam all over it. But suddenly, out of nowhere, comes this girl chasing the line drive. It appears the ball is already behind her, but at the last minute, she sticks out her glove, and with one hand makes a truly spectacular catch, It was a game saver. Our award for defensive play of the year, that catch, is given to Sarah Ruckes.

THANK YOU TO EVERY GIRL WHO WORKED THIER TAILS OFF THIS YEAR TO MAKE THIS SEASON SUCH A SUCCESS.

Thank you also to the parents, who not only helped out on the field, but in also making sure the girls made the practices and supported the team to no end at each of their games. It seemed like we always had the largest cheering section. Complete with Pom Poms and “the Wave”

Last but not least a huge thanks to my assistant coaches, John Lindsay and Mark Svoboda. Without the work they put in to help the girls, none of this happens. Their attitudes in working with the girls on the bases and on the bench reflected in how well we played all year. Thanks a bunch, Guys!

So that is pretty much our season. It seems weird not to have practice lined up this week. I hope you all had a great summer with many good memories and decide to come back to play again next year. I will be moving up to the 14U team…and who knows, we may have enough girls for two 14u teams next year. Sounds like there is already a ton of interest…and remember, January at Velocity is just around the corner.

Terry

Richfield 6-13 & 6-14

2009-06-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

Three tournament wins so far on the season had the Lil' Blaze full of confidence in heading to the annual Richfield Classic tournament at Taft Park. Last year we finished 2nd at the Classic, our best tourney finish, until the USSSA State tournament.
This year we were faced with a tough draw, having to open the tournament with Golden Valley. For some reason, our bats went silent in that first game, and we were beaten by the Lightening, 10-0. Not a good way to start the tournament, and really put us under the gun to do well in the rest of the games. It was a round robin tournament with the top 5 teams moving on to the playoffs...the others went to the consolation round. That meant we pretty much had to win our next two games to stay in the championship bracket.
We were able to rally over Bloomington on Saturday afternoon, then had to face Glen Lake on Sunday morning. The tie breaker was total runs allowed, and we were up the task. We shut out Glen Lake, which set us up as a four seed, and meant we would play the Blazers with the winner taking on top seeded Oakdale. We got by the always tough Blazers in five innings, then moved back to Taft Park to face the top seeded Sluggers.
A tight game with great defense moved to the top of the 7th with us leading by two. Oakdale got those two back to tie the score, but we had last at bats... That's when Elizabeth Drusch, who had struggled at the bat most of the tournament came through. She shot a line drive to right field, and by the time the ball came into 2nd base, she was on third. I sent her knowing she could make it home, and she did just that, scoring the game winning run on a homer, but in the process, crossing the plate in tears from an injured ankle.
That win set us up for a rematch with Golden Valley, with the championship on the line. The Lightening scored 3 early runs to take the lead, and although we were getting runners on base, we could not get the big hit to score any runs. With two runners on base. Drusch again came up big, as she shot a ball to right, then rounded the bases on a bum ankle to finish off a 3 run homer in the 3rd inning...but we still trailed.
Into the 7th, Golden Valley led by 3. They put two runners on base, with their power hitting shortstop up at the plate. She swung and hit the ball straight up in the air. Shelby, who was playing catcher, perfectly got under the ball, and made the biggest out of the game. We were able to get the third out without any more runs scoring.
That set up the bottom of the 7th and an inning that we will never forget. Boeder lined out when the Lightening had her played perfectly in right center. Drusch singles to right, A. Larson walked and Lindsay singles to score Drusch. Next up is Svoboda. Mac hits the ball between 1st and home and when nobody covers, is safe at first. M. Larson, who scuffled all weekend to find her stroke is next. Turns out her timing was perfect, because she laced a shot down the 3rd base line to score two runs and tie the game at 7. That leaves Svoboda at 3rd as the tying run.
Next up is Gray. With just a ball to the outfield needed, Sam pops it up to the catcher, but somehow, and in a huge break, she drops the ball.. That give Sam another chance to get the winning run home. The next pitch, Sam hits a fly ball to second base. The opportunity to score was there, and Svoboda was sent.
As if in slow motion, McKenzie slid across the plate after it looked like the ball beat her...but in classic Mac style, she got her legs across the plate before the tag was placed on her neck and scored the winning run in the championship game.
As the umpire declared her safe, our bench erupted, with several girls running out to congratulate Mac. But she had been injured in the tag at the plate and was in tears lying on home plate. It only took a minute of reminding her her what she had done for those tears to disappear. The Lil' Blaze had come back from a 3 run deficit in the bottom of the 7th inning to win the Richfield Classic - their 4th tournament win of the year. Absolutely amazing!
This was the kind of win that is a TOTAL team effort, with everybody playing a part.
Drusch - two huge home runs after struggling most of the weekend. Plus, gutting it out on one leg during the championship game, and some great defense in left center. Pitched a gem vs Oakdale.
Lindsay - Outstanding defense at 1st base all weekend, with some huge hits to help us beat Bloomington on Saturday.
Edwards - Miss double Play. At least 4 times over the weekend, Jess had huge double plays to Kill other teams' rallys. A couple of key hits also and fly ball catches on defense.
Svoboda - The game winning tournament slide in the championship, plus some great defense at short throughout the weekend.
A. Larson - Big double in the rally against Bloomington on Saturday. Huge walk in the 7th against Golden Valley
V. Tapia - Put in maybe more work than anybody all weekend, catching all games on Satuday and splitting time on Sunday...Great job.
Inskeep - Outstanding play in the 7th inning on Sunday to kill a GV rally, new to the position, she tossed the mask, got under the ball and squeezed it for out number 2...a huge out in the game that set the stage for our rally. Plus 2 big hits against the Blazers.
Boeder - Great pitching in the Blazer and GV game, decreasing the walks and giving her team a chance to win. Coming back from severe stomach pain early Sunday to throw two big games, plus go 5-5 against Bloomington on a must win on Saturday.
M. Larson - Started out as a tough weekend in trying to make contact, but the more she worked at it the better she got, lining the big double down the line on Sunday to set the stage for the game winning tag up.
Jefferson - Stepped up a lead off hitter in Boeder's absence, and did great, going 4-4 against Glen Lake on Sunday morning, then taking over in Left field for Sundays big rally games and coming up with a big catch.
Gray - As much as a pop up to second can be called a game winner, Sam came up huge in getting ball that deep. A couple of huge hits against the Blazers also set us up to make it to the Oakdale game...plus her always solid defense.
All the coaches are very proud of the girls, but also of the parents and fans who stuck with us all weekend, cheering and pushing us to bring home the championship.
When McKenzie was called safe in the championship game, the cheers and noise from our fans was amazing. That is what this is all about.
Thanks for all your support and let's head to South Dakota!

Softball Mania

2009-05-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

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.

Off and Running

2009-04-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

After a week full of 70 degrees and bright sunshine, hopes were high for a nice weekend of Softball to kick of the 12U-A season for 2009.

Sure enough, planning events in April means playing roulette with the weather.

The Lil’ Blaze had to wait until 2pm to get the season underway, playing the Early Bird tournament at Andrews Park in Champlin, a place near and dear to the 12’s as this is where we won the USSSA State Tournament last year.

1^st game on Saturday against the Spectators from Andover and both teams suffered from strike zone-itis early. A tight strike zone turned the game into a walk fest, with a few big key hits mixed in. When it was over the Lil’ Blaze had their first win of the year and moved on to face our little sisters, the 12U-B team.

The B-Lazers thanks to a huge hit by Sierra, jumped out to an early lead before the girls who played last year started to hit the ball. When they did, despite a good effort from the Lazers, the Lil’ Blaze moved to 2-0.

Our third game on Saturday had us facing Golden Valley, who had beaten us in our only meeting last year. This was a great game for the first weekend of the season. Great defense by both teams and some timely hitting had us up 6-3 into the 7^th. Golden Valley pushed across two runs to get within one, but a beautiful 4-6-3 double play, Edwards to Svoboda to Lindsay, closed out the game and the day in a big way, giving the Lil’ Blaze a perfect 3-0 record on the day.

Sunday morning brought rain…lot’s of rain, and it looked like no softball would be played. But after getting a call that the 16’s were fighting their way through the conditions, the forecast looked a little promising, and it made sense to make the long drive north.

Again, a 2pm starting time had us in a rematch with the B-Lazers. Elizabeth B and Mackenzie L. got the call to pitch the first game and got us through to the championship, despite another good effort from the B’s.

With on and off spitting rain, it set up another game with Golden Valley. The Lil’ Blaze jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but soon saw that lead lost as GV got their bats going, with one girl nearly hitting the fence on Champlins big fields. Another tough inning followed and after 2, we were down 10-3. These girls did not give up. Battling back with some key hits, we got back to within 10-9, GV got another but that would be all. The pitching of Drusch and the defense of Svoboda and Anderson shut the door, setting the stage for a 7^th inning comeback. Hits by Inskeep, Boeder, Drusch, and Anderson got us back to even before huge hits by Svoboda, Lindsay and Gray added on. By the time the 3^rd base coach-head coach screwed up and told Gray to leave early, the Lil’ Blaze had scored 5 times and took a 15-11 lead to the bottom of 7. The strong defense continued and when Gray caught the final out in left center, the Lil’ Blaze had their first title of the year, Champions of the Champlin Early Bird Tournament.