Washington Hurricanes Fastpitch - canesfastpitch

The Washington Hurricanes finished 2nd at the 16A ASA Western Nationals in Kent, Washington, August 1-7.  That accomplishment was rewarded with an invitation to play in the ASA Nationals next year in Alabama!  Only the top two teams in the 44 team tournament received that invitation.
 
In addition, the Hurricanes recently won the Triple Crown Fastpitch World Series in Park City, Utah.  55 teams competed in 16A and the 'Canes became the first ever Washington state team to win a championship at that tournament at any level.

 

The Hurricanes won 6 straight bracket games after pool play in that Championship run, logging victories against teams from Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, and ultimately a friendly Washington foe, the Snohomish Shock, in the finals.  The scores were 9-1, 5-2, 14-0, 9-5, 6-5, and 10-1 in the Championship game.

The Hurricanes then added 7 more consecutive victories in the ASA Western Nationals before falling twice to the Castro Valley Synergy of California in the Championship series.  Game 1 was a genuine back and forth battle, finally going into extra innings and resulting in a 6-5 loss for the 'Canes.  It was the 2nd International tie breaker for the 'Canes, having won a thrilling 9 inning game earlier in the week.  The Synergy took control of momentum early in game 2, winning 8-1.  Hurricane wins during the 6 day tournament included scores of 8-0, 6-4, 4-2, 3-2, 14-4, 8-4, and 4-2 over 3 teams from California, 2 from Nevada, and 2 from Washington.

After winning both the spring and fall USSSA State Championships and finishing 2nd at the NSA State Championship, as well as grabbing another 2nd in the ASA Regionals in 2010, the ladies made aggressive National competition goals as a first year team at the 16 year old level.  As such, they skipped the state tournaments this time around.
 
While last year a great deal was made of the team's 53 victories (against 19 losses), this year's team was only able to play 53 games total as the ladies first had to finish their High School seasons.  After starting 19-2, the 'Canes hit a real rough patch mid-season, but they re-committed to one another and their goals and finished extremely strong.  In the end, they had compiled a 37-16 record, including winning streaks of 12 and 13 games, the latter coming in the two National tournaments!
 
Coach Mitch offered the following thoughts in addition to the summary above, "It was a true testiment to commitment and dedication as the ladies did not play well at all in late June and early July.  They had to take a hard look at where they were compared to where they started and where they wanted to be and made an incredible run!  In the end they definitely surpassed expectations.  Their belief in one another and what they could potentially accomplish, and the effort they were willing to put forth while chasing those dreams was a wonderful thing to be a part of.  While that represents a coach's perspective, I believe every parent is equally proud of their daughter's contributions while facing and overcoming such challenges as a team.  These are skills that will propel them in life, which is of course the hope, the ultimate goal, the real reason we coaches have dedicated our time to this endeavor."

The 'Canes are now looking forward to Fall Ball, winter workouts, and High School play in preparation for college exposure tournaments and representing their state at Nationals next summer.

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The Canes won 6 straight games, 12 overall, before falling to the very talented Snohomish County Express Black in the Championship game by a score of 6-2.
 
Saturday pool play included a 13-1 win vs. the Titans, a 9-3 victory against the Renegades from White Rock, Canada, and finally an 12-6 triumph over the Lady Bombers.  All three games were marked by hard hitting, inspired fielding, and solid pitching.
 
Those victories were rewarded with a number 1 seed, a first round bye, a later start Sunday, and the opportunity to play an 18U team in an exhibition game.  The down side was knowing they would have to play 4 straight if they could continue their winning ways in the Gold Championship bracket.
 
The Canes drew the Bellevue Blast in the 18U exhibition game, got off to a good start in the first inning and held on for a 5-1 victory to start the day.
 
Immediately following was the 16U quarter-final matchup with the Fusion, another solid Canadian team.  The Canes trailed for several innings but were sparked by a tremendous defensive double play in the bottom of the 4th and a pair of solo home runs to start the 5th!  This ignited a huge rally leading to at least a dozen hits and a 15-4 final score.
 
Next up was the Seattle Fastpitch Intensity in the semi-final.  The Canes continued clicking on all cylinders and ended the game early with an 11-0 victory.
 
Finally, the Championship matchup with the Express.  They too had a 6-0 record and had won by similar scores, including a 10-0 win in their semi-final matchup with the Speed.
 
The Canes made several uncharacteristic miscues and left the bases loaded several times, including one final 7th inning rally, before falling to the better team that day.
 
The tourney allowed the Canes to extend their record over the last four tournaments to 19-3, earning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes (the 4th tourney was pool play only - no championship brackets).  This week they are off to Portland to test their skills in front of college coaches in the 176 team Valley Invite

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The Canes traveled to Selah, WA to play in the Tormaschy Memorial tournament June 4th & 5th.  The weather was great, 80 to 85 degrees all weekend, but the Canes were hotter!  Saturday, the team whipped the Kittitas County Hurricanes 13 to 0, throttled the Kelso Vengance 12 to 1, and finished with a well played victory over the Walla Walla Impact 6 to 2.
 
Their stellar play earned the Canes a #1 seed going into Sunday bracket play, however, it wasn't clear how big a statement that was until the first round Sunday, when all the teams from the Canes bracket won!
 
The Canes Sunday path to the Championship included walloping the Lady Warriors from Othello 12 to 2 and beating the Vengance again 11 to 5.
 
As was the case Saturday, the Impact proved to be a very worthy opponent in the Championship Game, taking a 3-0 first inning lead.  The Canes scored 1 in the third and later exploded to take a 7-3 lead, which they held throughout with fabulous pitching and tremendous defense.
 
In all, the Canes tallied 61 runs while allowing only 13.  They scored runs in 20 of the 30 innings and "Won the Inning" 19 times, while losing it only 3 (8 ties).  The team hit .361, amassing 62 hits and striking out a mere 9 times.  Canes pitching and defense was stellar as well, holding opponents to a .212 batting average and scoreless in 22 of 30 innings, while committing only 6 errors all weekend.
 
What a way to come out of High School ball; immediately displaying tremendous energy and focused teamwork throughout 6 games!  It's summer Canes' fans - there's no better time of year!

Redmond Reporter

 

Woodinville Weekly

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