Bracket set for West Central District fastpitch tournament
May 19 2009, 1:57 PM · UPDATED
Four area teams will be in action this weekend when the West Central District fastpitch tournament kicks off at the Sprinker Recreation Center between Parkland and Spanaway.
At the conclusion of the South Puget Sound League 3A/Seamount League subdistrict tourney, which wrapped up Monday.
The Enumclaw High Hornets emerged as the No. 2 seed into district play, followed by No. 3 Bonney Lake, No. 8 Sumner and No. 9 White River.
In Monday's subdistrict games, also played at Sprinker, both Enumclaw and Bonney Lake whipped the highly-regarded Kennedy Lancers. Each club then lost to Mount Rainier, which claimed the No. 1 seed into district play.
Scores were:
Mount Rainier 3, Bonney Lake 1 (9 innings)
Bonney Lake 6, Kennedy 0
Mount Rainier 4, Enumclaw 3
White River 7, Hazen 0
Sumner 11, White River 5
Lindbergh 6, Sumner 5
Enumclaw 7, Kennedy 3
The West Central District tournament is a double-elimination affair. Friday's district bracket looks like this:
• Enumclaw plays at noon on Field 6 against Timberline High, the No. 2 seed from the Western Cascade Conference. If the Hornets win, they will play again at 6 p.m.; if they lose, their second game will be at 8 p.m. Either way, the second game will also be on Field 6.
• Bonney Lake plays Prairie High, the No. 3 seed from the Southwest League, at noon on Field 4. If the Panthers win, they will play again at 6 p.m.; if they lose, their second game will be at 8 p.m. Their second game will be on Field 5.
• Sumner plays at noon on Field 3 against Capital High, the No. 1 seed from the Southwest League. If the Spartans win, they will play again at 6 p.m.; if they lose, their second game will be at 8 p.m. Their second game will be on Field 5.
• White River plays at 2 p.m. on Field 6 against Mount Rainier. If WR wins, they will play again at 6 p.m.; if they lose, their second game will be at 8 p.m. Their second game will be on Field 8.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
UW Softball - Danielle Lawrie Player of the Year Award
Danielle Lawrie is the first Husky softball player to earn National Player of the Year honors.
Lawrie Named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the YearLawrie first Husky and first Canadian to win most prestigious college softball award May 26, 2009 OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -
The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today the selection of Washington's Danielle Lawrie (Langley, British Columbia) as the recipient of the 8th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award.Lawrie is the first Husky softball player to win any kind of National Player of the Year award. The announcement was made during the opening ceremonies for the 2009 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.The junior beat out Florida pitcher Stacey Nelson and Arizona State outfielder Kaitlin Cochran for the award, both of whom were seniors."I have to say congratulations to both Kaitlin (Cochran) and Stacey (Nelson) on a great season. It very well could have been either of them standing up here instead of me," Lawrie said at the ceremony. "I have to say thanks to my dad who has been such a great supporter of my career and also to my teammates, as I could not be here without them. They allow me to stand up here and receive this award so I am very grateful to them. Also, thanks to Coach Tarr who has helped me throughout my career to be the player I am."Lawrie has had a record-breaking season for the Huskies, establishing new single-season school records for wins (37), strikeouts (472) and shutouts (19) and also broke UW's career strikeout record early in the season. She has extended that record past the 1,000 and 1,200-career strikeout marks throughout the season and last weekend also went over the 1,300 mark. She currently has 1,316 strikeouts, good for fifth in Pac-10 history and 15th in NCAA history.After redshirting last season to play for the Canadian National Team in the Olympic Games, Lawrie came out stronger than ever this season, starting the 2009 campaign 15-0 with a 0.14 ERA as the Huskies jumped out to the best start in program history at 18-0. She beat such teams in the non-conference portion of the schedule as No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 Michigan and No. 12 Ohio State, all of which were shutouts. She was at her best in UW's thrilling nine-inning 1-0 victory over the Gators, striking out 12 and allowing just a pair of infield singles to out-duel Nelson.Lawrie carried her domination into the grueling Pac-10 schedule, where she fired no-hitters against two of the nation's most potent offenses in Arizona and UCLA. The two no-hitters made her the first pitcher in NCAA history to hold the Wildcats and Bruins hitless in a career, let alone a season. Lawrie went on to be named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year, leading the conference in wins, ERA, strikeouts and shutouts.The season has only gotten better for Lawrie since postseason play heated up, with the award possibly clinched over the last two weekends with a pair of huge performances. In the NCAA Regionals in Amherst, Mass., Lawrie went head-to-head with three-time All-American pitcher Brandice Balschmiter of UMass. In one of the greatest pitcher's duels in NCAA history, Lawrie outlasted Balschmiter in the deciding winner-take-all game, pitching every inning of UW's 15-inning, 6-1 victory. Her 24 strikeouts in the game were a school record and she became one of just three Pac-10 pitchers and 15 in NCAA history to fan at least 24 in a game.In last weekend's Super Regional finale, Lawrie also proved to be a dangerous two-way threat. In the Super Regional-clinching victory, Lawrie allowed just three hits and struck out eight but it was at the plate where she made the most impact, blasting a pair of two-run home runs to give UW a 7-0 win to advance to their second World Series in three years.Lawrie heads into the World Series with a 37-7 record, a 0.84 ERA and 472 strikeouts to go along with a .277 average, six home runs and 25 RBI."We've never had an award like this at Washington for softball," Washington head coach Heather Tarr said. "It's awesome thinking back four or five years ago when I was sitting with Danielle while we were trying to recruit her and how far she has come. I know the belief she has always had in herself and we have always had in her and its neat to see that finally come to fruition. I'm just really proud of her and what she has been able to do for our program. The fact that she has one more full year left is amazing." A replica of the award will be placed in a permanent display in the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, along with photos of the winner. An additional replica of the award will be presented to the player's academic institution at a designated event in the fall.Past winners of the award include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA-2002), Cat Osterman (Texas-2003, 2005, 2006), Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State-2004), Monica Abbott (Tennessee-2007) and Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech-2008).
The Huskies kick of the 2009 Women's College World Series on Thursday at 10 a.m. PT when they face No. 6 Georgia. The game will air live on ESPN.
Lawrie Named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the YearLawrie first Husky and first Canadian to win most prestigious college softball award May 26, 2009 OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -
The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today the selection of Washington's Danielle Lawrie (Langley, British Columbia) as the recipient of the 8th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award.Lawrie is the first Husky softball player to win any kind of National Player of the Year award. The announcement was made during the opening ceremonies for the 2009 Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.The junior beat out Florida pitcher Stacey Nelson and Arizona State outfielder Kaitlin Cochran for the award, both of whom were seniors."I have to say congratulations to both Kaitlin (Cochran) and Stacey (Nelson) on a great season. It very well could have been either of them standing up here instead of me," Lawrie said at the ceremony. "I have to say thanks to my dad who has been such a great supporter of my career and also to my teammates, as I could not be here without them. They allow me to stand up here and receive this award so I am very grateful to them. Also, thanks to Coach Tarr who has helped me throughout my career to be the player I am."Lawrie has had a record-breaking season for the Huskies, establishing new single-season school records for wins (37), strikeouts (472) and shutouts (19) and also broke UW's career strikeout record early in the season. She has extended that record past the 1,000 and 1,200-career strikeout marks throughout the season and last weekend also went over the 1,300 mark. She currently has 1,316 strikeouts, good for fifth in Pac-10 history and 15th in NCAA history.After redshirting last season to play for the Canadian National Team in the Olympic Games, Lawrie came out stronger than ever this season, starting the 2009 campaign 15-0 with a 0.14 ERA as the Huskies jumped out to the best start in program history at 18-0. She beat such teams in the non-conference portion of the schedule as No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 Michigan and No. 12 Ohio State, all of which were shutouts. She was at her best in UW's thrilling nine-inning 1-0 victory over the Gators, striking out 12 and allowing just a pair of infield singles to out-duel Nelson.Lawrie carried her domination into the grueling Pac-10 schedule, where she fired no-hitters against two of the nation's most potent offenses in Arizona and UCLA. The two no-hitters made her the first pitcher in NCAA history to hold the Wildcats and Bruins hitless in a career, let alone a season. Lawrie went on to be named the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year, leading the conference in wins, ERA, strikeouts and shutouts.The season has only gotten better for Lawrie since postseason play heated up, with the award possibly clinched over the last two weekends with a pair of huge performances. In the NCAA Regionals in Amherst, Mass., Lawrie went head-to-head with three-time All-American pitcher Brandice Balschmiter of UMass. In one of the greatest pitcher's duels in NCAA history, Lawrie outlasted Balschmiter in the deciding winner-take-all game, pitching every inning of UW's 15-inning, 6-1 victory. Her 24 strikeouts in the game were a school record and she became one of just three Pac-10 pitchers and 15 in NCAA history to fan at least 24 in a game.In last weekend's Super Regional finale, Lawrie also proved to be a dangerous two-way threat. In the Super Regional-clinching victory, Lawrie allowed just three hits and struck out eight but it was at the plate where she made the most impact, blasting a pair of two-run home runs to give UW a 7-0 win to advance to their second World Series in three years.Lawrie heads into the World Series with a 37-7 record, a 0.84 ERA and 472 strikeouts to go along with a .277 average, six home runs and 25 RBI."We've never had an award like this at Washington for softball," Washington head coach Heather Tarr said. "It's awesome thinking back four or five years ago when I was sitting with Danielle while we were trying to recruit her and how far she has come. I know the belief she has always had in herself and we have always had in her and its neat to see that finally come to fruition. I'm just really proud of her and what she has been able to do for our program. The fact that she has one more full year left is amazing." A replica of the award will be placed in a permanent display in the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, along with photos of the winner. An additional replica of the award will be presented to the player's academic institution at a designated event in the fall.Past winners of the award include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA-2002), Cat Osterman (Texas-2003, 2005, 2006), Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State-2004), Monica Abbott (Tennessee-2007) and Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech-2008).
The Huskies kick of the 2009 Women's College World Series on Thursday at 10 a.m. PT when they face No. 6 Georgia. The game will air live on ESPN.
(video)Slap Hitting Mechanics with Jessica Medoza
Friday, May 8, 2009
"Great Slappers can Hit Anything"
- coach Adam La Serna
Jessica Mendoza demonstrates the perfect slap hit with the mechanics used in slap hitting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjZMXgCRb2U
Slap Hitting objectives;
1. Get fast runners on 1st base.
2. Put Pressure on the defense.
3. Create RBI's with runners in scoring position.
Mechanics and Key Fundamentals:
"Every good trip starts with a good roadmap and a plan to get there. Great hitters know where they are going before they step into the batters box."
1.Proper footwork,momentum and footplacement mechanics.
2.Timing the Pitcher in order to slap-hit the ball opposite direction you're running.
3.The swing mechanics: Hand placement on bat, choke up for a soft-slap,choke down for a hard slap. Bat load is high hands, keep hands inside the ball during the swing. Front shoulder is down and in. Eyes are fixed on the ball before during and after contact.
4. Start the footwork with right foot-slide-step-to left foot for creating momentum and timing the pitch and its location for contact.
5. Cross over step to the pitcher and place the left foot very close to the line of the front of the box.
6. Right foot lifts up during the swing, steps over the top of the batter's box front line and points to the 1st base at foot plant.
A good slapper can get to 1st base in 2.9 seconds of faster. The Div 1 Scholar-Recruit will make it to first base in 2.5 seconds.Slapping Strategy:
In this video, the front of the box-line is non-visible. The slapper moves to the front of the box and hits the ball with front foot possibly over the line?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp1JVE6KgMY
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-softbl/ncaa-w-softbl-body.html
"Great Slappers can Hit Anything"
- coach Adam La Serna
Jessica Mendoza demonstrates the perfect slap hit with the mechanics used in slap hitting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjZMXgCRb2U
Slap Hitting objectives;
1. Get fast runners on 1st base.
2. Put Pressure on the defense.
3. Create RBI's with runners in scoring position.
Mechanics and Key Fundamentals:
"Every good trip starts with a good roadmap and a plan to get there. Great hitters know where they are going before they step into the batters box."
Coach Adam
1.Proper footwork,momentum and footplacement mechanics.
2.Timing the Pitcher in order to slap-hit the ball opposite direction you're running.
3.The swing mechanics: Hand placement on bat, choke up for a soft-slap,choke down for a hard slap. Bat load is high hands, keep hands inside the ball during the swing. Front shoulder is down and in. Eyes are fixed on the ball before during and after contact.
4. Start the footwork with right foot-slide-step-to left foot for creating momentum and timing the pitch and its location for contact.
5. Cross over step to the pitcher and place the left foot very close to the line of the front of the box.
6. Right foot lifts up during the swing, steps over the top of the batter's box front line and points to the 1st base at foot plant.
A good slapper can get to 1st base in 2.9 seconds of faster. The Div 1 Scholar-Recruit will make it to first base in 2.5 seconds.Slapping Strategy:
In this video, the front of the box-line is non-visible. The slapper moves to the front of the box and hits the ball with front foot possibly over the line?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp1JVE6KgMY
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-softbl/ncaa-w-softbl-body.html
Bunting
Sometimes our thoughts about hitting "the long ball for yardl" and "putting the ball in play" don't always go accordingly to our wishes in tough games. Ive seen some of the top team coaches simply forget about "THE POWER OF BUNTING" and lose games not because their team was not ready but because the coach was not strategizing but instead, "watching the game" instead of coaching the team to victory. With bases loaded or runners in scoring position while hitting against a pretty good pitcher, BUNTING can be unexpected and throw-off the defense.
" Bunting is really good invention, I don't know why the good coaches don't do good things all the time. They really could if they had a game-plan for a few key moments their team can be in during the tougher games, in good and low scoring games."
- Coach Adam
In this video the bunt throws off the defense and they get out of position to defend it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amFk1n9vf0c
Puyallup 12u Blue Jays Undefeated at TCFA
Tuesday, May 19
Undefeated at the Thurston County Fastpitch Association (TCFA) Tournament
The Bluejays had a phenomenal weekend in Olympia at the TCFA Tournament. Out of the 17 teams that entered the tourney, only two teams were undefeated and the Bluejays was one of them! Due to the players hard work and determination we ended up with the 3rd place trophy. The last two games were very nerve-racking for the coaches and parents. It started Sunday morning with a come-from-behind victory in the bottom of the last inning and ended Sunday afternoon with an extra-inning two-hour game victory! Awesome job ladies! Also, thanks to our parents/fans for their tremendous support. The girls really appreciated it. - Coach Darin
Undefeated at the Thurston County Fastpitch Association (TCFA) Tournament
"With great hitting and base-running from all the players, PBJ's really did well. Including "shut-out" pitching efforts by Kendahl and Cheyanne. The highlight of the weekend was finishing the game to the very end for the victory decided by an International Tie-Breaker with Kendahl scoring the winning run. Congratulations!" - coach Adam
The Bluejays had a phenomenal weekend in Olympia at the TCFA Tournament. Out of the 17 teams that entered the tourney, only two teams were undefeated and the Bluejays was one of them! Due to the players hard work and determination we ended up with the 3rd place trophy. The last two games were very nerve-racking for the coaches and parents. It started Sunday morning with a come-from-behind victory in the bottom of the last inning and ended Sunday afternoon with an extra-inning two-hour game victory! Awesome job ladies! Also, thanks to our parents/fans for their tremendous support. The girls really appreciated it. - Coach Darin
LFA would like to thank PBJ for their support and allowing us to be a Fastpitch Sponsor. La Serna Fastpitch Academy was able to train the Team in the following areas: Pitching, Hitting, Fielding and Throwing. " I don't come across too many players that have such great attitudes as PBJ's do. Attitude is key to any successful fastpitch program. From there add some quality instruction and let the kids practice with great coaches who are fearless and willing to try their new skills anytime-anywhere. Its the experience that pays off. I think the PBJ Team and organization is having alot of fun winning!" -Coach Adam
Coach Darin Sugai: "We enjoyed having Coach Adam as our Team Instructor. We began using Adam about 12 months ago for Pitching and Hitting and Conditioning at his Summer Camp. He helped us prepare in the 2008 Fall and then in 2009 Spring Pre-Season as well as continuing throughout the year with our Pitchers on Friday nights. We recommended Adam to Acers 12u where my daughter Kendahl is a Select pitcher on the team and is a starter. Any team looking for the edge to become more competitive can call coach Adam."
Thanks coach Adam!
For more information and how to contact Coach Darin about Puyallup Blue Jays click the link below:
http://www.eteamz.com/BluejaysFastpitch/
Remaining Tournaments:
Sat 6/6
Federal Way Girls Fastpitch Invite
All Day
Celebration Park / Steel Lake
Sun 6/7
Federal Way Girls Fastpitch Invite
All Day
Celebration Park / Steel Lake
Mon 6/8
Puyallup League Game #10 - Puyallup Bombers
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sam Peach Park
Mon 6/15
Puyallup League Game #11 - Orange Crush
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sam Peach Park
Wed 6/17
Puyallup League Game #12 - Orting Heat
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sam Peach Park
Thu 6/18
Puyallup League Game #1 - Riverside Fire & Rescue
5:30 PM - 7:20 PM
Wildwood Park
Thu 6/18
Puyallup League Game #4 - Riverside Fire & Rescue
7:20 PM - 9:20 PM
Wildwood Park
Sat 6/20
USSSA Girls 12U State Championship
All Day
Bishop Fields & Pioneer Park / Aberdeen
Sun 6/21
USSSA Girls 12U State Championship
All Day
Bishop Fields & Pioneer Park / Aberdeen
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