ABGSL Sting

Sting LBA 12U placed 17th in a field of 46 teams at the ASA Western Nationals tournament in Las Cruces, New Mexico, August 1-5, 2007. The teams were divided into twelve pools where each team played two games. For the second game of pool play, winners played winners and losers played losers. Winning the first game meant finishing first or second in the pool, while losing guaranteed third or fourth place.

Sting’s first pool game was against a San Diego county team, Bonita Valley, which won the tournament last year. Bonita Valley took an early lead as their first two batters both reached base and scored in the first inning. Sting was able to hold them in the second but gave up two more runs in the third. Facing one of the best pitchers they had encountered all season, Sting only had base runners in one of five innings as Anna Moore and Alex Hickey both singled in the second. The final score was 9-0 in favor of Bonita Valley.

In the second pool game, Sting easily defeated the Lady Hawks of Prescott, Arizona, 8-2. In the first inning, with two outs, Sting got consecutive singles from Kate Moore, Izzy Lubin-Brown, Jordan Baker, Katie Nordahl and Alex Hickey to take a 3-0 lead. Sting added a run in the second inning and two more in both the third and fourth. Kate Moore pitched the first three innings for Sting, giving up no hits or runs while striking out eight. Cory Labov then took over in the pitching circle, allowing only one run in the fourth and one in the fifth as the Lady Hawks were unable to get back in the game.

Bracket play was double elimination. In the first round, Sting won 11-6 against the Calaveras Sliders of Valley Springs, California. Sting struck early as consecutive hits by Anna and Kate Moore scored one run in the first inning. Sting pitcher Izzy Lubin-Brown kept the Sliders from scoring through four innings, allowing only one runner in each inning as she struck out four Sliders. But the game stayed close as Sting scored one run in the third and two more in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. In the fifth inning, the Sliders finally broke through, taking over the lead, 5-4, on two walks, a single and two doubles. Sting answered back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning on singles by Anna Moore and Katie Nordahl. Sting was finally able to put the game away in the sixth inning. Lindsey Baker got the inning started, hitting a single over the shortstop’s head. Calaveras then contributed to Sting’s cause as the next three batters reached base on fielding errors. Kate Moore then hit a sacrifice fly and Lubin-Brown hit a two run single to put the game out of reach for the Sliders. The New Mexican monsoon season kept things interesting as thunder, lightning and a light rain disrupted the last inning. Needing only one more out to end the game, Lubin-Brown was having difficulty getting a grip on the ball, as she slipped off the pitching rubber. A walk and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. With the tying run in the on deck circle, Lubin-Brown finally induced a ground ball to first base for the final out.

In the second round of elimination play, Sting faced another strong southern California team, South Huntington Beach, losing 2-0. The SHB pitcher kept Sting batters off balance, allowing only four hits and one walk while striking out nine in seven innings. Pitching for Sting, Jordan Baker kept SHB scoreless in the first two innings. In the third, with two outs, a towering pop up fell in the infield leaving runners at first and third. The next batter singled to score the first run of the game. Baker set down the batters in order in the fourth and fifth before SHB was able to push the final run of the game across in the sixth inning.

Falling into the losers’ bracket, one more loss means elimination. Sting won their first elimination game against the Santa Clara PAL Sparks, 12-1. Sting struck first in the top of the first inning. Clara Obstfeld singled on the first pitch of the game. Two batters later, Izzy Lubin-Brown singled, scoring Obstfeld. In the bottom of the first, the Sparks mounted a threat of their own as the first four batters reached base. Playing excellent defense, Sting held the Sparks to one run, tagging out three runners at third base. Izzy Lubin-Brown took over pitching and didn’t allow any more runs through the next four innings. In the top of the second, Sting re-took the lead as Alex Hickey laid down a beautiful bunt, then raced all the way around the bases as the Sparks committed three errors on the play. The game remained 2-1 until the fourth when a walk to Lindsey Baker followed by singles from Cory Labov, Obstfeld, Lubin-Brown and Kate Moore netted three more runs. In the fifth, Sting busted the game wide open, sending eleven batters to the plate. Sting only needed two hits and one walk to score seven runs, as the Sparks suffered a defensive breakdown, committing five errors in the inning.

In the second elimination game, Sting defeated the Orcutt All-Stars, 10-8 in a hotly contested game. Sting made it look like they would cruise to victory in the top of the first. Anna Moore and Izzy Lubin-Brown both walked before Kate Moore singled to load the bases for Jordan Baker. Baker blasted a double up the middle, scoring all three runs. In the bottom of the first, Fuego answered back, taking advantage of a walk, an error and consecutive singles to score two runs of their own. In the top of the second, the Fuego pitcher struggled, hitting both Clara Obstfeld and Lubin-Brown with a pitch. Kate Moore knocked both hit batters in to take a 5-2 lead. In the bottom of the second, Kate Moore and Cory Labov both struggled in the pitcher’s circle, giving up two runs each before Lubin-Brown came in to get Sting out of the inning, down 5-6. In the top of the third, Alex Hickey got things started with another beautiful bunt for a single. Cory Labov, Obstfeld and Anna Moore followed with singles before Kate Moore knocked a two-run double. Sting lead 9-6. Fuego took advantage of lead-off walks in the third and the fifth to add one run in each inning, while Sting added a run of their own in the top of the fifth for the 10-8 victory.

In their final game of the tournament, Sting lost a heartbreaker to the Poway Diamonds, 7-11. Sting looked like a winner in the first inning as Clara Obstfeld lead off the game with a walk and Anna Moore reached on an error. With one out, Sting scored on three consecutive plays as Kate Moore singled, Jordan Baker hit a hard grounder and Katie Nordahl singled for a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Sting held the Diamonds scoreless despite two singles and a walk. Sting then expanded their lead as Cory Labov and Izzy Lubin-Brown both walked in the inning while Anna Moore contributed an RBI single and Kate Moore a two RBI double. As the first batter to face a new Diamonds pitcher, Katie Nordahl knocked in another run to make the score 7-0. The Diamonds pitcher then set down the next twelve Sting batters in a row. On offense, the Diamonds started to peck away at the seven-run deficit, scoring one run in the bottom of the second and three in the third. In the fourth, the first two Diamond batters scored without a hit as Sting fielders committed errors. In the fifth inning, the Diamonds used two singles, two doubles and another Sting error to score five more runs to take a 7-11 lead. After the Diamonds’ coaching staff failed to stall long enough to reach the time limit, Sting attempted a comeback in the sixth as Obstfeld reached base on an error and Anna Moore hit a long double down the right field line. With the tying run in the on-deck circle, the Diamonds recorded the last out.

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