Hayward tournament wrap up

The final tournament of the 2009 season for the Wildcats would be the farthest distance and an overnight stay for most. An 8 am start on Saturday morning in Hayward with games spread out throughout the day tested the Wildcats focus. With each tournament the girls played in improvement was obvious and the final one was no different. Responding well to difficult situations is key in any sport, the Wildcats would use a tough early saturday loss to fire themselves up to play 2 of the best games of the season in back to back fashion. Temperatures approaching 100 degrees at 12:30 when the Wildcats took the field for a short notice double header. Bats would come alive throughout the lineup for the most part. Defense was solid, making the easy outs and mixing in a few tough ones. Catching was superb as it has been for the last 2 tournaments. Pitching was crisp and hard from start to finish. Sunday morning brought another new team for the Wildcats to face. The final sunday was the site of the best game played of the season be the girls. A 9-0, 5 inning shut out where the girls put everything together at the plate and in the field. All of the hard work in practice showed up as the Wildcats dominated from the first pitch ( a Big Mac double to right ) to the last ( Taylor striking out her 9th batter of the game ) A second straight third place finish for the first year travel team from west county. Some fantastic bordering on ridiculous performances were had in Hayward. Mackenzie Kearns would move up to the lead off spot and thrive, finishing the weekend 10-13 at the plate including a 4-4 performance in game 4. She would also play great defense at first throughout the weekend netting an unassisted double play and not letting anything past her glove. Haley Millerick once again played the entire weekend at the catcher position. Her play this weekend was stellar, squeezing the strikes, framing pitches for the umps to get a better look, and using her voice to command the defense to do what they are supposed to on every single play. At the plate Haley was 7-12 in the clean up spot. Hailey Elmore would battle the heat at second base for the entire weekend making the most of almost every ball hit to her with outs at the bags. She is always dangerous at the plate due to the speed 5-10 with 3 walks including 2 bunt singles gave her a chance to annoy the other teams on the bases with stolen bases at every chance. Taylor Christy once again was the only Wildcat in the circle for all 5 games, over 400 pitches to some top level teams. She was able to block out the cheers from the other squads and use her pitches, hit corners, and lead her team. Hitting in the 3 spot she found a way to go 8-10 with 2 walks. These are first year travel players playing to this level in after only 6 weeks of travel practice against high level pitching and hitting for the most part. Hopefully some pictures from the weekend will come my way soon so I can put them up for all to see.

field location change

Wildcats,

I made a mistake on the location of the field for games 2 & 3. It is not at the field on W. Tennyson. Games 2 & 3 are at the Alden E. Oliver sports park 2580 Eden Park Pl. It is about 5 minutes south of the field for game 1. I will have the correct directions to game 2 on Saturday morning at the game. Sorry about the mix up, Jason actually caught it and pointed it out to me. See everyone tomorrow morning 6:45 am at Standley field in Hayward 27182 Patrick Ave. Hayward. Gold uniforms with gold socks. Last tournament, lets make it special.

Hayward tournament info

Wildcats,

Our game schedule is official for this weekend in Hayward. Our first game is at Standley field at 8 am Saturday morning. Standley field is located at 27182 Patrick Ave. Hayward. The girls need to be at the field in uniform by 6:45 am. We have a long day ahead of us on Saturday with some breaks between games. Our second and third game are both at Mt. Eden park. Second game at 12:30 and third at 3:30. Eden park is located at 2451 W. Tennyson in Hayward. Gold uniforms of course on Saturday with gold socks. A couple of things with the Hayward fields. There is a gate fee at all fields, $ 3.00 for adults, $ 2.00 for kids 5-12. Players and (4) coaches are free. Also there is no coolers, ice chests, or food allowed. There is a full service snack bar available. Each team is allowed 1 ice chest for the girls that will need to be marked at entry. These were rules that they gave us, not our rules. Sunday's schedule will of course be determined by Saturday play. Everyone is scheduled to be there this weekend so the Wildcats will be at full strength.

Practice today 5-7 at Analy JV. Hitting practice, last one before the tournament. Last practice as the Wildcats. Lets make this tournament the most special.

tournament trophy picture

Vallejo tournament wrap up

The Vallejo tournament was another step forward for the Wildcats. Another weekend of firsts for the girls. First win on Sunday and first trophy. Third place in the tournament with only 13 games under their belt is pretty solid. Three games on Saturday in the Vallejo heat and two on Sunday with only 9 girls. Once again the story of two different teams. The team that comes to play ready and focused can play and beat anyone. The other unfocused and flat team has a tough time. An up and down Saturday saw the Wildcats get a big win to kick off the tournament. Bats were alive in the morning as they smashed out 16 hits while not allowing 1 on defense. Saja saw an inning in the circle striking out the side to close out a no hitter. After a break the second and third game saw a different Wildcats team take the field and the batters box. Very little fire and drive led to tough at bats for almost everyone. Pitching and catching was solid though. Defensive intensity was not there in games 2 & 3. Sunday morning would see the black uniforms out in force as a determined Wildcats team would take the field. A dominating performance in the first game saw a full 7 inning complete game for Taylor. She would strike out 12 in the game and get 2 hits at the plate. The Wildcats would play a complete game on Sunday morning, racking up 13 hits. Bases were stolen and runs were scored. Defense was tight. Katrina made a fantastic catch to save a run in right field. Mac E Chan would continue her great play at 3B with put outs on grounders and line drive to third. Hailey E would get 2 hits including beating out a bunt for a single. The game was stopped for 25 minutes due to a major leg injury to an opposing player on a play at the plate. When the game restarted the Wildcats would not let up. In the bottom of the 7th Taylor and Haley M would combine to strike out the side with the final out coming on a caught fouled third strike. Great game, first Sunday win. The second game on Sunday would see the Wildcats jump out early with Hailey E would single and steal her way to third and score on another Taylor hit. Shaky defense in the outfield in the first led to runs. There was a moment in the dugout where it was tough, the Wildcats were down and might have given in to the heat and pressure. They chose not to this time, and to fight. Taylor and Haley M show good leadership and support for the team. They would work hard to keep the girls focused. Bats came alive as Taylor C would single, Big Mac would put a fastball deep into right center for a double, and Haley M would also double to right center. Saja would fight hard at the plate as well with productive run scoring outs. Haley M would play as good as possible behind the plate. Stopping every ball, framing pitches, throwing out stealing runners, and tagging runners out at home while playing in her 5th game of the weekend behind the plate.Time was not on our side as the one opponent you cannot beat, the clock, would catch up to the Wildcats. Fantastic effort and determination. A few of the highlights were Taylor C going 7-11 at the plate without striking out once, as well as throwing over 400 pitches. Haley M stellar behind the plate and getting 5 hits. Hailey E would knock out 4 hits and play solid defense, showing good speed to the ball on grounders and stealing bases every chance she got. Saja would fight hard at the plate as well getting in with 4 hits of her own. Mac E Chan would chip in with 3 hits and more importantly play great at third base throwing out runners from third to first. Remember NO SUBSTITUTES, NO REST FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND. Once again the girls took a huge step forward and showed that they have it in them to get it down, they have it in them to dig deep and fight. The 9 girls who fought hard all weekend would bring home some hardware. A third place finish and the first Wildcat trophy. Congratulations to the Wildcats.

Vallejo tournament schedule

The Wildcats Vallejo tournament schedule was given out to the girls after practice yesterday. Here it is as well. Saturday Aug. 15th all games at North Vallejo Field on Fairgrounds Dr. just north of 6 Flags. We are Team # 3. First game at 9:30 am, second game at 2:00 pm, third game at 6:30 pm. The girls need to be at the field in uniform no later than 8:15 am on Saturday.

Practice yesterday was the best practice we have had all season. The girls came ready to play for start to finish. Crisp base running, lead offs, and steals started it off. Speed, speed and more speed on the bases. Lots of throwing short, middle, and long toss led to strong infield drills. Outfielding was worked as a group with much improved range being shown. Catchers continue to improve, pitching was right on. Thursday hit day is just around the corner with Vallejo on the horizon.

tournament week

Tournament week is here, actually back to back tournament weeks. This weekend in Vallejo and next in Vacaville. Practice will be taken up a notch as the Wildcats prepare for a hot weekend of softball. Key players will return to practice this week, hopefully giving the Wildcats a full squad this afternoon. Defense today with positions still up for grabs. The Wildcats will go to Vallejo without Linzey and Gillian for sure, so everyone will need to be prepared for the prospect of very little rest if any during the weekend. Some minor coaching tasks will be addressed this week looking forward to Vallejo. Drink plenty of water, take it easy this week. We will work hard this afternoon and on Thursday so be ready.

Two weeks until Vallejo

With the Novato tournament gone the Wildcats set their sights on Vallejo in 2 weeks. Quickly back to work on Tuesday with defense from start to finish, with a lot of running mixed in. Some areas of concern from the weekend were addressed. Aggressive leads and 1st and 2nd, and sliding into and through the bag. Harder hit ground balls at 2nd and SS forced the girls to stay down and field through the ball or balls would get through. Outfielders continue to improve moving to the ball and giving on the catch. Catchers got right back to work in the batting cage stopping balls and popping up to the throwing position. With only 7 Wildcats at practice each girl got at least 150 throws from short, middle and long distances. The girls were able to beat their best throwing time around the bases, they now have gotten the ball from H to 1 to 2 to 3 to H in 7.5 secs. Only 3 more practices until Vallejo. Hitting on thursday, lots of swings, lots of line drives, lots of bunts.

Novato recap/wrap up

The Wildcats second tournament was again a success. A Friday night game in Novato against a talented San Anselmo team would see the Wildcats play their best most complete game of the year. Coming together in the black uniforms making plays at every position. Belting out 14 hits at the plate. Consistent strong pitching led the way to a convincing win to start only the second tournament for the girls on a winning note. Haley M made one of the best catches you will ever see in foul territory behind third base crashing into the opposing teams dugout fence and holding on. Katrina was quick to a liner to right and fired to first for the out. Saja continued her solid outfield play squeezing two fly balls to left field. Taylor C would move up to the lead off spot to try to get the game started and continued her abuse of travel ball pitching. She would also end the game striking out the 2 & 3 hitters in the San Anselmo lineup looking. Saturday the Wildcats would have to fight, quiet bats and unusual miscues on defense made things difficult. Saja would see her first action in the circle for an inning striking out 1 and holding her own even when it was tough. Proving that she is a tough out Gillian would work pitchers for 5 walks to be on base every time. Haley M would be called on to catch every inning without the injured Rene. A game Mackenzie E would prove her worth playing CF, 1B, 3B, & 2B as well as hitting in both the 2 & 3 spot in the lineup. She would knock out 3 hits and work the count for walks as well. A different team showed up on Saturday, they weren't the team that dominated on Friday night. The Wildcats would need to find the team from Friday night to be able to compete on Sunday. Good news, those girls showed up. A different sense of drive and fire came with the Wildcats on Sunday morning. Playing against a veteran Novato team coming off of winning the Rohnert Park tournament the Wildcats would have to play solid to compete. The infield was tight as Isis finally got a chance to field a few, Friday nights Big Mac returned to stretch for outs at 1st. Taylor O would find the ball on a towering pop up to end an inning in CF. Playing against a tough Novato team and with some questionable calls from the men in blue was just a little too much for the travel rookie Wildcats. A 5-2 loss for those of you who where there doesn't do the girls justice, they battled to the end getting dirty and taking a little something from the Novato girls all the way. A lot was learned over the last 3 days in Novato. We learned once again that if we come determined and ready to win with it in our minds that we can we can play with and beat any team. We also learned that if we are lazy and question ourselves as a unit the game will be very, very tough. The first year Wildcats continue to lay what is hopefully the foundation for great teams and great players in the future. Like always the future is now for the current group of Wildcats, Tuesday practice is just around the corner. Only 4 practices until the girls go into battle again in Vallejo.