|
|
Post by thedoanezone on Jun 22, 2009 7:15:09 GMT -5
Congratulations Teal on your unbelievable (to some!) run to get to the Championship game and your two great championship game wins. No one ever doubted that you were the best team out there and you girls proved it this weekend!
Road to the Championship:
Pool play rained out. (blind draw for championship play)
Championship Bracket game 1 - Oak Lawn Ice 2 Hawks 1
Loser Bracket game 1 - Hawks 1 Quad City Blast 0
Loser Bracket game 2 - Hawks 7 Fusion 1
Loser Bracket game 3 - Hawks 7 Illinois Chill 0
Loser Bracket game 4 - Hawks 3 ChiTown White 2
Loser Bracket game 5 - Hawks 4 Bridgeview Redbirds 3 (2 ITB)
Loser Bracket game 6 - Hawks 4 Lemont Rockers MO 2
Loser Bracket game 7 - Hawks 3 Midwest Sluggers 0
Championship game 1 - Hawks 4 Bulls-Sox Academy 3 (ITB)
Championship game 2 - Hawks 3 Bulls-Sox Academy 0
Great job, team!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Homer Hawks Site Administrator on Jun 22, 2009 7:24:02 GMT -5
AWESOME JOB!!!! BACK TO BACK STATE CHAMPS!!! WAY TO ROCK AND ROLL!
|
|
|
|
Post by warpaint on Jun 22, 2009 7:26:24 GMT -5
That is awesome. Way to go girls!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Sarah's Mom on Jun 22, 2009 7:57:55 GMT -5
You ladies did all us proud! Considering the heat & humidity that you dealt with along with the number of games you had to play to win it all, was absolutely incredible. We LOVE you all!!! It was unbelievable and you deserved this championship.
|
|
|
|
Post by katetam on Jun 22, 2009 19:44:20 GMT -5
Congratulations to the Hawks Teal. Awesome job of working all the way back to the top!
Kathy and Bridget
|
|
|
|
Post by roamom on Jun 23, 2009 8:16:18 GMT -5
GREAT JOB LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You showed what Great Champions are made of when it came
to crunch time.......
Congrats Ladies!!!!!!
Homer Hawk Parents, you played a big roll this past weekend
by telling the girls to dig deep down inside and pull together.....
Great Job!!!!!!!
Let's Get'em At Metros Hawks!!!!!!!!!!
Coach 'Popeye' Roa
|
|
|
|
Post by Homer Hawks Site Administrator on Jun 24, 2009 7:23:44 GMT -5
Where is the Doane Zone report??? We are waiting for all the details ... keep up the greta job Jimmy!
|
|
|
|
Post by thedoanezone on Jun 24, 2009 17:57:24 GMT -5
Sorry....still recovering from the wild ride on Sunday....seven games with only one being by a margin of more than 3 runs!! Makes for some interesting (and nerve-wracking) games.
Here are summaries from OL Ice, QC Blast, Illinois Fusion, Illinois Chill and Chi-Town White. Still to come are Redbirds, Rockers, Midwest Sluggers, and the two championship games against Bulls-Sox.
Things did not start out well for the pre-tournament favorite Hawks at the NSA State Championship tournament as they fell to the Oak Lawn Ice by a score of 2-1 in their opening game. The early defeat sent Homer to the loser’s side of the bracket with the daunting task of securing seven consecutive wins to have even a chance at the title. With games on Saturday cut to one hour because of the lost field time due to the storms of Thursday and Friday, it was important to score early. Oak Lawn, knowing this as well, did everything they could to take advantage of a game opening base on balls. The Diamonds number two batter did her job, advancing the runner to second on a groundout. Hawks starter Alyssa Koziol was one pitch from escaping the jam but instead gave up the first of only three hits by the Diamonds. The sharply hit single was fielded on the run by centerfielder Sarah Thompson who threw a strike to the plate hoping to nail the OL runner, but a missed tag had the Hawks looking at a 1-0 deficit instead. Homer was able to tie the game in the fourth inning on consecutive hits by Maddi Doane, Miranda Cavin and Dominique Roa to open the frame but could not do any more damage. With time expired in the fifth inning Oak Lawn led off the bottom of the inning with a single off reliever Elaine Heflin, who had come on to pitch in the beginning of the second inning. With everyone expecting a bunt, the putout at first was easily made on the sacrifice but a wild throw over the head of the shortstop trying to get an out on a (hopefully) napping base runner was the only mistake Oak Lawn needed to pull out the win as the runner on second easily scored on the miscue.
The long road back began with a matchup against one of three teams from the Quad City area, the QC Blast. In the end, the Hawks were able to squeak out a 1-0 win in a hard fought pitcher’s duel. Elaine Heflin got the call in the circle for Homer and threw a five inning shutout, striking out seven, walking one and giving up two hits, a two out single in the fourth and another to open the fifth. The shutout was never in much danger as neither runner was able to advance past second base. Homer was able to score the only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, again with time expired. Alyssa Koziol led off with a single and was moved to second on a sac bunt by Ashley Parenti. Pitcher Heflin legged out an infield hit and number nine batter Ali Michalik drew a free pass, loading the bases. Leadoff batter Sarah Thompson drove the first pitch she saw right back up the middle, plating Koziol with the game winning run and sending the Hawks a little further along in the loser’s bracket.
Homer’s third and final game of the day had none other than Elaine Heflin given the assignment of shutting down the Illinois Fusion. For the most part she did her job, allowing the Fusion to score only once on a walk, stolen base and single, all in the last inning and after Homer had built a nice seven run cushion. Sarah Thompson, Maddi Doane and Miranda Cavin, the Hawks’ 1-2-3 hitters, accounted for six of the nine hits by the Hawks with two each. Dominique Roa, Emily Hastings and Heflin had the other three hits with Hasting’s first inning single driving in Thompson (3R, 1RBI) and Doane (2R) with all the scoring the Hawks would need.
Sunday’s possible schedule had the Hawks playing at 8, 11, 12:30, 2, and 3:30 just to get to the Championship game(s) slated for 5:00 and 6:30. Homers first game of the day was against the Illinois Chill and it wasn’t long before the Hawks were the ones putting them on ice with a 7-0 win. Alyssa Koziol saw her first action of the tournament since her opening game, one inning stint, and pitched a gem, giving up just three infield hits. The Chill mounted their only real threat in the fourth as their first two batters reached safely. They were able to move up sixty feet but the rally was snuffed as Koziol fielded a one hopper and threw out the Chill runner trying to score from third. A harmless ground out ended the frame. Offensively, the Hawks made the most of their nine hits with Miranda Cavin and Dominique Roa perfect on the day with two hits and a walk each. Cavin drive in two runs with a double in the fourth as did Sarah Thompson in the fifth inning with a double of her own. Cavin’s RBI double scored Madison Widhalm and Ali Michalik before she was driven in with an RBI single by Dominique Roa. Ashley Parenti came off the bench to pinch hit and singled sharply to left to begin the Hawks 2 run fifth inning but was out at the plate later in the inning trying to score on a safety squeeze.
Next up for the Hawks were the girls of Chi Town White and the game proved to be one of the better ones of the day. The Hawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first on a single by Maddi Doane, a double by Miranda Cavin and a walk to Dominique Roa. Cavin’s hit drove in Doane and Cavin scored on a delayed double steal with Roa going to second and Cavin streaking home ahead of the throw by the CT infielder. Elaine Heflin started for the Hawks and threw hard, striking out 12 Chi Town batters. She ran into trouble in the top of the fifth, loading the bases on walks and surrendering just her third hit of the game, a single that tied the game at two. That’s where the score stood as the Hawks came up to bat in the bottom half of the frame. Sarah Thompson was put out on a nice running catch by the CT centerfielder to open the bottom of the fifth. Next up was Maddi Doane and she delivered with a single. She was forced out at second on a grounder to short by Miranda Cavin who switched places with Doane at first. Dominique Roa drew her third free pass of the game before Emily Hastings provided the heroics with a walk off single to right to score Cavin with the winning run. Maddi Doane added two other hits to go 3 for 3 on the game with a run scored.
|
|
|
|
Post by thedoanezone on Jun 24, 2009 21:07:26 GMT -5
Game 6 (Sunday, 12:30 pm)
The Hawks longest game of the weekend was against the Bridgeview Redbirds, a team the Hawks had previously faced this season, winning a six inning decision in April, 1-0, behind a 12 K performance by Elaine Heflin. Homer eventually prevailed in nine innings with Alyssa Koziol (3.0 IP, 1 ER, 4H, 1BB) and Elaine Heflin (6.0 IP, 1ER, 6H, 6K, 1BB) combining for the 4-3 win. The Hawks never trailed, leading 1-0, 2-0, and 2-1 before Bridgeview tied it in the sixth. The Hawks leadoff batter, Sarah Thompson, opened the game with a double and scored two batters later on Miranda Cavin’s (2H, 1R) double. The top of the order started things again in the 3rd inning with the first three batters reaching. Thompson started by reaching on an infield error but was thrown out trying to advance to third on a Maddi Doane single, her first of four hits (2 doubles) for the game. Doane scored when Miranda Cavin reached on a throwing error by the ‘Birds 3rd baseman. The Hawks returned the favor as Cavin was doubled off second after a catch by Bridgeview’s centerfielder to end the Homer threat. The Redbirds climbed right back into the game on a walk and two hits in the third, cutting Homer’s lead in half. Reliever Heflin came on in the 4th, pitching two scoreless innings before the Redbirds tied the game in the 6th on an unearned run. After a leadoff double, Heflin was able to get the next two batters out on bunted popups, but an error on a 2 out bunt attempt allowed the tying run to come across. The score stayed knotted at two through seven and moved into International Tie Breaker territory. In the first ITB, batting as the visiting team, Miranda Cavin, starting the inning on second base, was driven in on a single by Emily Hastings. The Redbirds were able to tie it again on a two out single, keeping their chances alive for at least one more inning. In the 9th, Heflin helped her cause, laying down a perfect sac bunt and putting the go ahead run in the person of Madison Widhalm just 60 feet away. Ali Michalik provided the spark this inning doing what was necessary to get the bat on the ball and scoring Widhalm from third. The Hawks tried to add another but the rally ended when Michalik was thrown out at third trying to advance on a Doane base hit. In the last of the ninth, the Bridgeview runner advanced to third on a putout by the first basemen but was stranded there to end the game as Heflin struck out the next batter, walked the following one (just to add some suspense, as if we needed more!!), and retired the last Redbird chance on a popup to the shortstop.
Game 7 (Sunday, 2pm)
With little rest and just enough time to warm up starting pitcher Alyssa Koziol, the Hawks faced off against another well known opponent, the Lemont Rockers (MO). Koziol got the win, pitching the complete game and scattering six hits along the way, while striking out three and walking just one. The pitching tandem of sisters Erin and Shannon Hohman were able to keep their team in it, surrendering just seven hits in the six innings pitched. Six of those hits were split evenly between Sarah Thompson (3-3, 1BB, 1R, 1RBI) and Miranda Cavin (3-3 (triple), 1R) with Ali Michalik getting the last Hawk’s hit, a second inning, two out single. But Homer seemed to take advantage of every miscue (3) that Lemont made with 3 of the 4 runs scored by Homer being unearned. On the other side, Lemont had to battle for everything they got with the Hawks playing error free ball in the field and coming up big in the third inning when Madison Widhalm snared a liner and doubled off the Lemont runner on first to end the threat; this all after Lemont had already scored once to cut the lead in half and had the bases loaded. Koziol faced just one batter over the minimum the rest of the way as the Hawks put themselves just one win away from getting to the Championship game.
Game 8 (Sunday, 3:30 pm)
Facing off against another team from the Quad Cities, the Midwest Sluggers, the Hawks were expecting a battle to see who would earn the right to play in the Championship game. Elaine Heflin took the ball, and the challenge, and pitched a beauty. In her six innings worked, Heflin gave up no hits, struck out 12 and walked three en route to the complete game win. Homer continued to outhit their opponents, totaling nine hits, three by Miranda Cavin and two each by Dominique Roa and Alyssa Koziol. Ashley Parenti and Emily Hastings accounted for the balance. RBI’s for the game were credited to Roa (2) and Heflin (1). The victory put the Hawks into the Championship game needing two victories against a fresh(er) Bulls-Sox team to claim the title of “The Best in Illinois”.
Championship game 1 (Sunday, 5:00 pm)
Things looked gloomy for the Hawks in the contest as Bulls-Sox were able to jump out to an early 2-0 lead in the 1st inning, scoring on two hits and two errors. Starting pitcher Alyssa Koziol lasted just two batters into the contest surrendering singles to the first two girls she faced. With little or no margin for error, Coach Cavin made the call to the pen bringing in Elaine Heflin. For Heflin it was her eighth appearance in nine games in the tournament and it was hoped that she still had enough in the tank to get the Hawks at least out of the inning. And get out of it she almost did, striking out the first batter she faced. But an error on a spinning popup and a tough chance on a grounder to second that found its way into right center field was enough to give the Bulls-Sox a 2-0 lead, one of only three times the Hawks were behind in the tournament. Homer’s opponent continued to get runners on base in every inning except the 6th but could not get the timely hits necessary to drive girls in. The Hawks also mounted rallies in a number of innings, but were unable to get a runner in scoring position until the 4th inning. In the 5th, Homer was finally able to break through, tying the game on hits by Koziol, Madison Widhalm, Ashley Parenti and Ali Michalik. That’s the way the game ended in regulation, forcing an International Tie Breaker inning. Bulls-Sox were able to push across one in their half of the frame but a base running miscue cost them a second run when their runner did not tag up from third on a deep fly out to center. That one mistake was all the Hawks needed as they came to bat in the bottom half of the inning. With Koziol starting the inning at second, the Hawks were depending on the bottom of the order to get the job done….and they came through. Widhalm had her second hit of the game, moving Koziol to third. Parenti continued the hit parade with a sharp single to left, plating Koziol with the tying run and advancing Widhalm to third. With two outs, Homer was looking for just a little more magic from leadoff hitter Sarah Thompson. Looking at a 3-1 count Thompson was able to barely get the ball past the second basemen and into right field for the game winner, forcing the “if necessary” game for the championship.
Even though the focus throughout Homer’s climb through the loser’s bracket was always on the game at hand, there can be no doubt that players, coaches, parents and fans occasionally thought about the only other game that would matter…the “if necessary” Championship game. Getting here meant eight wins in a row, two on Saturday and six on Sunday (five back to back to back to back to back). Getting here meant facing off against some of the best teams in Illinois and coming out on top. Getting here meant that the girls not only showed talent, but teamwork, conditioning and a unwavering belief in achieving their goals. If, along the way somewhere, they found themselves on the wrong end of a final score, it certainly would not have been for lack of effort. Every girl and every opposing player that the Hawks faced can hold their head high knowing that they gave it their best, something quite remarkable given the hot and humid conditions.
Championship “if necessary” game (Sunday, 6:30 pm)
Alyssa Koziol started the last game of the weekend and threw all six innings as Homer took the final game by a score of 3-0. Koziol allowed just three hits in the complete game victory, striking out three. The Bulls-Sox were able to mount just one rally on a single and a misplayed fly ball to left. But a groundball right at the pulled in shortstop was the second out of the inning with the runners having to hold at 2nd and 3rd base. Koziol was able to get the next batter on a routine second to first putout, one of thirteen groundball outs she was able to induce, with none of the games recorded outs made by an outfielder. (Sarah Thompson did have an assist, throwing out a runner trying to stretch a single.) Homer scored all the runs they needed in the 1st inning on back to back hits by Miranda Cavin (single) and Dominique Roa (RBI double). Each girl would add another hit later in the contest, two more singles in the scoreless 5th inning. By that time all the damage had been done as the Hawks were able to tack on two runs in the 4th, giving Koziol a three run lead to work with. Emily Hastings and Koziol reached to start the two run 4th with both girls scoring on consecutive infield groundouts. In the circle, Koziol was able to face just two batters over the minimum the rest of the way, earning a well deserved win and giving the Hawks the right to call themselves Illinois Champions!
Looking at the tournament as a whole, the Hawk's defense played well in the field, turning 3 double plays (four if you count the safe call on the missed 6-4-3), and made only seven errors for the entire tournament. Defensive highlight plays were made by Ali Michalik and Sarah Thompson in the outfield along with a number of web gems by middle infielders, Miranda Cavin and Madison Widhalm. The catching corps, led by Emily Hastings (49 of 59 innings), allowed just three stolen bases for the tournament. WTG defense! Offensively, the team hit over .300 (.302) with Miranda Cavin skewing the curve with an amazing 18 for 28 performance (.643!). Two other girls hit over .400 for the tournament, Maddi Doane (.444) and Dominique Roa (.409). Both girls added walks and HBP to record an even .500 on base percentage. The pitching….what can you say? Great job by both girls, ten games in two days with Alyssa making six appearances and Elaine pulling duty in eight of the tens games. Each girl gave up just 4 earned runs for the whole tournament. (The Hawks outscored their opponents 37-12). The Hawks duo was able to get 64 opponents out via the strikeout (58 for the “L” Train!). (On the other side of the coin, Homer went down by the K just 22 times, almost a 3:1 ratio.) It was a total team effort and couldn’t have been done without each and every one of the girls. You ladies are truly Champions…in every sense of the word!
|
|
|
|
Post by tealfan on Jun 25, 2009 10:57:50 GMT -5
DoaneZone - giddup - we play again in 29 hours!
|
|
|
|
Post by PistolPete on Jun 25, 2009 15:58:56 GMT -5
Correction to Game #9
The game tying run played like this...
Alyssa was at 3rd when Ashley's first pitch was a line shot that hit Alyssa in foul territory, square in the back. The second pitch was a hard ground ball thru the 5-6 hole to bring Alyssa home to tie the game.
Madison advanced to 3rd when Sara drove her home to win the game.
|
|
|
|
Post by thedoanezone on Jun 25, 2009 16:33:44 GMT -5
As I make other mistakes (nobody's perfect!), in these summaries or future ones, e-mail me with the correction and I can fix it inline rather than as an addendum....you can see how this might get sloppy if there are multiple corrections. (I go back myself multiple times with modifiications.) And in case anyone is looking for the half inning in question, it was game 9, the ITB game against the Bulls-Sox which now should have the correct sequence of events, sans Alyssa getting hit by the foul line drive!.
|
|
|
|
Post by CrzyMiniMom on Jun 25, 2009 20:43:28 GMT -5
Congrats the the Teal gals and coaches once again ;D Way to fight back to take the championship...
GO HAWKS!!
|
|
