Hanover Thunder Fastpitch Softball!!

Thunder Pride...

Thunder Blue finishes season with 50 wins...

           In the final tournament of the 2007 season, Thunder Blue won 3 pool-play games to earn a bye in the 1st round of the Gold division play on Sunday.  The PONY Trick-or-Treat Bash tournament was played October 20-21 at Mathis Park in Hopewell.

           Brianna J, Ashley B, and Shawna K helped the Thunder put up 4 runs in the 2nd inning of the 1st pool-play game against the Colonial Height Blitz and then held on for the 4-3 win.  Ashley B came up big again in the next game against the Wakefield Hornets — she contributed the game winning RBI in the top of the last inning to cap a 2-run inning that put the Thunder up 7-6 (final score).  Shannon A struck out 3 for the 5 inning win.  In the 3rd game of the day, against the Virginia Batbusters, the Thunder held a 4 to 2 lead going into the top of the last inning — however, the Batbusters pushed across 3 runs to take a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the final frame.  Brianna J set things up with a bunt single to put 2 on-base.  After a couple of walks (including a game tying bases-load walk), Lindsey N provided the final blow with a game winning RBI single to left to secure a 6-5 win.  In the 4th game Saturday, one that didn’t count toward Sunday qualification, the Thunder finally dropped a 1-run game 7-6 to the Virginia Cougars.

           On Sunday, the Thunder faced a team they have battled hard in the past—the Virginia Lady Titans.  Unfortunately, the Thunder couldn’t get any momentum going and gave up a 4-spot in the 2nd inning on their way to the 6-0 loss.  The last game of the tournament  was yet another exciting 1-run game (that went to ITB).  Going into their last at-bat, the Thunder trailed by 3 runs (5-2) — showing what they’re made of, the Thunder got contributions throughout the line-up to put up the 3 runs needed to extend the game.  The Batbusters scored 2 in their half of the inning while the Thunder fell just short scoring 1 in the inning.

           The tournament was the 5th 14U tournament for the Thunder team in 2007 (two 3rd place finishes and a 16-12-1 record) and proved that they will be able to successfully compete at the next level in 2008!

Thunder Snippets:

¨ Lynnse C led the Thunder bats, going 4 for 11 (0.364) with a triple and 3 RBI…

¨ Katie W, Lindsay W, Lindsey N, and Traci S all batted over 0.300 in the tournament…

¨ Traci S allowed only 2 hits in 5 innings on the mound…

¨ Shawna K led the team in RBIs with 5…

¨ Courtney D and Lindsey N went the entire tournament without a strikeout — Megan I, Shannon A, Lindsay W, and Traci S had only 1…

¨ Thanks to Katie W for playing with us again — she was a welcome addition, as always — Katie had the biggest blast of the weekend with a rocket-shot to left field that hit the 200-foot fence on 1-hop...

 

Thunder Pics:

Shawna K set a goal to earn an MVP medal — which she achieved in the 1st game of the tournament — luckily for the Thunder she decided to stay around for the rest of the weekend!

Thunder Blue completes 2007 season — Finishes with 50 Wins!

 

    Thunder Blue wrapped up their 2007 campaign and began preparing for the upcoming season by playing in 2 14U tournaments.  Over the October 13-14 weekend, Thunder Blue reached the Gold Bracket quarter-finals, before falling in Internation Tie-Breaker (ITB) to a tough Richmond Storm squad.  Click on link for more on the SoftballNation Movin’ Up Classic.  The final tournament of the year was played at Mathis Park in Hopewell, the PONY Trick-or-Treat Bash.  The Thunder went 3-0 in pool play to take top-seed going into Gold division play Sunday.  The 3 wins pushed the Thunder Blue win total to 50 games for the year!  After a tough loss to the Titans on Sunday, the Thunder came up just short in the Silver championship game, dropping another ITB game 7-6 to the Batbusters.  For more on the tournament click Trick-or-Treat…

      Check back in a few weeks for the “2007 Year in Review”...