Thunder
Blue earns another 3rd place finish
in USSSA Halloween Bash
In a rain shortened tournament in Hopewell, the Thunder Blue team battled to get
within 1 win of the finals. The tournament featured 2 "A" level
teams (Riviera Beach Spirit - MD, VA Lady Eagles) in addition to 4 other
competitive teams. Saturday was rained-out which set up a
double-elimination bracket for the 7-teams on Sunday.
The Thunder dropped a tough one in their first game of the
day, falling to the X-Treme Fury 6-5. Dropping to the "loser's
bracket" left an uphill journey for the Thunder. Not bowing to the
challenge, the Thunder reeled off 3 straight convincing wins, including a win
against the Fury team it had lost to earlier in the day. For a chance to
play the winner of the "winner's bracket", the Thunder played solid
ball but couldn't quite get the bats going against a top-level Spirit team
4-0. The Spirit beat the Lady Eagles twice late Sunday to win the
tournament.
Once again, Thunder Blue showed improvement and proved that
they can play and compete with any team out there -- congratulations on another
outstanding tournament!
Thunder
Finishes Strong in 1-day Tourney!
After a rough start, losing to the X-Treme Fury in the first game on Sunday -
the Thunder Blue showed that they were not ready to go home early. In the
second game of the day, the Thunder scored 5 in the first inning and cruised to
a 7-1 win over the Titans. In the next game, against the Rampage, the
Thunder posted a 10-3 win. In their third elimination game of the day, in
a revenge match against the Fury, the Thunder scored 5 in a 3rd inning rally on
their way to an 8-3 win. The final game of the day for the Thunder was a
defensive battle. After the Riviera Beach Spirit went on top 2-0 on a home
run in the 1st, defensive and pitching took over. The Thunder bats never
quite materialized and the Spirit added a couple in the final inning for the 4-0
final.
Thunder coaches, parents, and supporters recognized and
appreciated the heart and determination of the Thunder girls to come back from
the early defeat. Even in the loss against the Spirit, the Thunder played
a solid, virtually mistake free game. The team is looking forward to it's
season finale in Portsmouth November 11-12!
Link>>
Game
Summaries and Tournament Stats
Quick
Quips:
 | Ashley B was 2 for 7 for the day and again showed her defensive
prowess in center field... |
| Sarah B allowed only 1 hit and struck out 7 pitching in the first
game of the day... |
| Lynnse C led the team in hitting, batting 0.600 (6-10) and also
led the team in put-outs at second base... |
| Madison C continued her hot hitting (4-11, 2 doubles) scoring 4
runs and also had an on-base average over 0.500... |
| Courtney D was 5 for 14 (0.357) including a couple of
picture-perfect bunts... |
| Megan D strength and spirit were once again an inspiration - she
continues to improve... |
| Taylor D pitched 9 strong innings in 2 appearances and held the
Spirit to just 5 hits in the final game of the day... |
| Brianna J had the defensive gem of the day with a key catch in
right field and throw-out to 1st base for a double play at a critical point
in the 2nd game of the day against the Fury... |
| Shawna K was 4 for 12 leading the team in RBI (4) and gets the
"coach's award" for best (aggressive) base-running... |
| Lacie M was 5 for 14, 3 of her hits for extra-bases (2 doubles and
a HR) - she also had a team-high 4 RBI... |
| Lindsey N struck out 14 in 9 innings on the mound and also batted
0.333 (4 for 12) for the day... |
| Lindsay W had a team-high 5 runs scored while batting 4 for 12
including a double... |
