Sting 12-LBA Places Second in Pleasanton July 14-15
Posted by mfakaji on Jul 15 2007 | Tagged as: 12-LBA
In the Pleasanton Tournament on July 14 and 15, 2007, Sting 12U-LBA took second place for the second straight weekend, losing in the Championship Game to a hard-hitting Pleasanton Phantom team.
In pool play on Saturday, Sting won all three games easily. In the first game, Sting defeated the Half Moon Bay Waves, 12-3. The game was close through the first three innings. Sting opened the scoring in the first inning with singles by Jordan Baker and Kate Moore, followed by a two-RBI single by Anna Moore. Sting added another run in the third with a double by Izzy Lubin-Brown and a double by Katie Nordahl to knock in the run. The Waves tied the game with one run in the second and two in the third. In the fourth inning, Sting put the game out of reach with a nine-run outburst. The inning started with consecutive hits by J. Baker, K. Moore, Lubin-Brown and A. Moore. With one out, Sting renewed the attack with consecutive hits by Lila Rosenfeld, Cory Labov, Clara Obstfeld, J. Baker and K. Moore. Lubin-Brown pitched the entire game, giving up three hits and striking out four.
In the second game on Saturday, Sting defeated North Valley Rapids from Redding, California, 7-1. With Cory Labov pitching, the Rapids scored their run in the first inning and were then held scoreless through five innings. Sting answered back in the first inning, scoring two runs on a single by Alex Hickey, a walk to Jordan Baker and a two-run double by Izzy Lubin-Brown. Sting added one in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth to complete the scoring. Clara Obstfeld went three-for-four with an RBI.
The last game on Saturday featured a rematch from the Metro Tournament with Livermore Smoke Black. The result was the same, as Sting won 7-2. Sting struck early. The first seven batters reached base and scored in the bottom of the first inning. Izzy Lubin-Brown, Jordan Baker, Kate Moore, Katie Nordahl and Cory Labov all recorded an RBI each as the Smoke pitcher helped out with three walks. J. Baker pitched the entire game, allowing only one hit but walking five to assist the Smoke attack. The only real threat came in the fifth and last inning as the first batter was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Smoke’s three-four hitters both singled to make the score 7-2. A walk loaded the bases before Baker got the final out on a comeback ground ball.
In the first game in bracket elimination play on Sunday, Sting defeated the San Ramon Stompers South, 6-1. Sting opened the scoring in the top of the second with two runs on singles by Anna Moore and Alex Hickey and a sacrifice bunt by Lindsey Baker. Sting added two more in the third on a double by Clara Obstfeld and singles by Kate Moore and Izzy Lubin-Brown. In the fifth, Lubin-Brown led off with a triple and scored on a single by Katie Nordahl. L. Baker recorded another sacrifice bunt and RBI to complete the scoring. Pitching duties were shared by Cory Labov and K. Moore. Labov pitched the first two innings, allowing one run on two hits. K. Moore pitched the next three, shutting out the Stompers and allowing one hit while striking out four.
Izzy Lubin-Brown threw a seven inning no-hit shut out (4-0) as Sting again faced the Livermore Smoke Black in the second round. Lubin-Brown faced only three batters over the minimum, walking two while one reached on an error. As in the game on Saturday against Smoke, Sting struck early, scoring three runs in the first inning. Jordan Baker and Kate Moore singled. Lubin-Brown doubled to bring in a run and Anna Moore followed with a two-run double. Sting added their last run in the third on singles by K. Moore and Lubin-Brown.
The third game proved the most exciting, as Sting defeated a strong Castro Valley Synergy Green team 3-2 in nine innings. With Izzy Lubin-Brown pitching, Synergy had base runners in each of the first five innings. They were only able to break through in the third, scoring on an error after two singles. In the same inning, with two outs, a walk loaded the bases before a ground out to Kate Moore at shortstop prevented further damage. Synergy threatened again in the fifth, loading the bases on three consecutive singles. Jordan Baker took over pitching and got out of the inning without allowing a run, as Anna Moore (3rd base) threw a runner out at the plate and caught a pop fly. As in the third inning, a bases-loaded ground out to shortstop ended the threat. Sting went into the bottom of the sixth down 1-0 after stranding runners at third in the first and second innings. Clara Obstfeld reached third base after a single by Alex Hickey, two fielder’s choices, a wild pitch and an error by the Synergy second baseman. Obstfeld scored the tying run on another error by the second baseman. Both teams had a runner reach second base in the seventh but did not score, forcing the game into extra innings. Using the international tie-breaker rules starting each half inning with a runner at second base, Synergy scored in the eighth inning on a single by their number nine hitter to take a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Sting answered back, tying the game again on a single by J. Baker. The inning ended with the winning run on third base. In the top of the ninth, Synergy’s number four batter singled on the first pitch to move the runner to third. After stealing second, Synergy had second and third with no outs. Lubin-Brown took back over at pitcher and retired the next three batters to preserve the tie. In the bottom of the ninth, Katie Nordahl led off, booming the first pitch over the center fielder’s head for a double, scoring the tie-break runner for the win and advancement to the Championship Game.
In the Championship Game, Sting faced the tournament host Pleasanton Phantom team. Phantom took control right away, scoring the first three batters in the top of the first inning on two singles and a double. Sting was unable to get anything going as they were held to two base runners through the first five innings while the Phantom pitcher struck out seven Stingsters. Sting finally broke through with three singles in the sixth inning to score a run, but this was not enough, as Phantom won the game and the tournament 9-1.
