Rounding Up the Longhorns; Webster 18, Parkway West 3

This wasn’t the game I would have picked as the warm-up to three upcoming tough games and the Hancock Tournament, but the girls did as good a job as possible of playing their own game and not letting down to the level of the opposition. We also inaugurated the striped socks to good effect. I was especially pleased that they did a much better job than previously of staying back and driving the ball against a very slow pitcher.

We enjoyed welcoming Olivia Weik back with two hits, as she was finally cleared to play and got rid of the cast on her hand. This was actually her first action on the field and she did a great job of staying involved and being a great teammate despite her own inability to play; she worked hard at the one thing she could do, base run. ACB was her usually steady self and notched her 8^th win as we moved our overall record to 11-6. Kate Nieman drove in the walk-off game-ender with her second hit and third RBI. We got some additional playing time for some of the girls who are not regular starters and I feel good about being prepared for the tournament on Saturday.

As a reminded, we will start on Field 5 at Affton Athletic Association, and I’d like all the girls to be ready to warm up by 7:20. Based on the weather forecast, I don’t expect we’ll have any trouble playing the tournament, but from experience I can tell you it will be chilly when we start. Wearing the long-sleeve shirt under the uniform will be helpful, as will gloves (not softball gloves, although those are essential). It may not feel that bad walking out the door at 7 a.m., but it will standing around a little later. If we get some sunshine, things should be pleasant – about the time the tournament is over, say 12:30 or so.

The No Fun Tourney; Francis Howell Tournament

When even the game you win isn’t fun, or even competitive, you may begin to question whether this is the right tournament for your team. You might be able to learn a little from getting clobbered 15-0 by a superior opponent, buy you learn almost nothing (except how to be a gracious winner, perhaps) from winning 23-3 (and 3 of the 9 outs made by the opponents coming from deliberately leaving the base early). Even the third game, which could or should have been the most competitive, wasn’t, at least in part because the first two games didn’t prepare us for anything. (We lost to Timberland, 11-1; we’re better than that, but I don’t want to claim how much better.)

We dropped out of the Parkway Tournament a few years ago because we couldn’t compete with most of the teams. I think that has changed. Perhaps I’m being premature, because we have even played for the championship in the Francis Howell Tournament; perhaps the last two years have represented a bad run or draw. On the other hand, if I’m putting together my own tournament, I schedule my first game against a beatable opponent, and we’ve faced host Francis Howell the past two seasons, and they have been loaded. In previous years, when we had been successful, we found ourselves facing the defending champion. Maybe I am being paranoid, but remember, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they're NOT out to get you.

Still, the results were what they were, and it’s time to move on to our last week, a tough one, with a 10-6 composite record, and the Hancock Tournament ahead, where we are the defending champions. The box scores, such as they are, are below, with some pix by Amy Love.

    We will practice on Monday, have our last home game on Tuesday (Sophomore Day, although that designation means less than in other years, with only three sophomores who are already key starters), against Parkway West.

With apologies in advance (although I want to point out that the coaching staff is not subject to HIPA rules*), I’m going to share some statistics from last year (on the blog in the season summary) that I think are significant. Our captain, Hannah Love, played in only 17 of the 23 games last season, with only 37 plate appearances. Our lead pitcher, AnnaClaire Bryant, played in only 16 of the 23, with just 26 plate appearances. Even Maggie Pool, who was more of a starter last year, only saw action in 20 of the 23 and made it the plate just 48 times. Their response to their limited playing time was to go to work to get better and work hard during the off-season. Their reward: lots of time this year and an expanded role on and off the field. Coach Gibson is looking forward to their continued improvement and joining him on the Varsity Squad next year.

We are road warriors Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as we travel to Fox, Hazelwood West, and Marquette, respectively. All will be challenging games. Our final game will be at McCluer North,, Coach Poe’s alma mater (and a school that didn’t even exist when I did my student teaching up in Ferg-Flor) next Tuesday.

We are looking forward to the Hancock Tournament next weekend. We take advantage of the “Bat the Lineup” and “Free Substitution” rules, and use this tournament as a showcase event that gives our players a chance to show off their skills and their parents a chance to see the same. When we win the plastic, as we did last year, it’s a bonus.

We do NOT provide transportation to that tournament, based on the fact that some kids could get to Affton Athletic almost as quickly as they could get to the high school to take a bus. The first game starts at 8:00 a.m., the games are on a strict 1-hour 20 minute time limit, and we’ll be done by 12:30 at the latest. I would like the girls to be at AAA ready to warm up no later than 7:20, so they can help get the equipment to our first field, (Field #5, against Parkway South).

HIPA Joke of the Day: Knock knock; Who’s there?; HIPA; HIPA Who? Sorry, can’t tell you.

Coming Together. Webster 15, Nerinx 0

It’s a testament to how much the girls have improved that we just took care of business this afternoon and beat Nerinx decisively, 15-0, in a game postponed from August. We didn’t play down to the level of a lesser opponent, but neither did we rub their noses in the dirt. We played good defense, ran well, hit a decent pitcher pretty well, and made a couple very good plays.

What I am most pleased about is the growth and maturity this team demonstrates every day. We were a very young team, featuring 11 freshmen to start the year, albeit a bunch of freshmen who had played a fair amount of softball. But that had nothing to do with their approach to the game and each other, and that progress has been tremendous. We’re starting to do things instinctively, sometimes approaching unconscious competence, which is the ultimate goal we set for our players.

We have a tough challenge tomorrow out at Francis Howell, but I’m looking forward to the girls demonstrating what they can do against pretty good competition (generally). If we approach these games the way we’ve gone about the last three, it should make for some entertaining softball for our fans who have been so good in supporting us, cheering for all the girls, not just their own.

Cracking the Whip on the Lions: Webster 9, Northwest 4

The girls did a nice job of taking care of the ball today. They were backed up with another solid pitching performance by AC Bryant (or is that Bryant AC?), who chilled every Lions rally. Karlee Scholtes led the offense with a 4 for 5 afternoon; AC helped her own cause with 3 singles and Becca DeGreeff and Nicole Preston each added a pair at the bottom of the lineup. The Lions had trouble fielding the ball on their own hardpack and made this, while not a laugher, certainly a comfortable win.

Several girls added to their experience levels, and while there are certainly areas where we can improve (like base running, as we handed Northwest at least three outs they didn’t deserve, although we also put pressure on their defense, to our benefit), we’re feeling pretty good at the halfway point and heading into tournament time. Every girl now has both a batting average and fielding average as we start the second half with an 8-4 record.

I am perhaps most pleased with the increasing level of team cohesion. We are seeing the girls come together with a team chemistry mix that is very satisfying to all the coaches. The girls are truly rooting for each other, celebrating both team and individual successes. The growing maturity is meeting one of the goals, perhaps the most important one and we look forward to continued progress on that front.

We will play Nerinx Hall in the makeup game tomorrow. It will be at our field, although we may be the visiting team as the original game, cancelled for reasons we didn’t quite understand early in the season, had us as visitors out at KAA. In any case, Plymouth will be the site.

See below for the bracket for this weekend’s Francis Howell tournament.

The bus will be at the high school in front of Roberts Gym by 7:30 and I’d like to be loaded and on our way as quickly as possible after that. It sounds like a beautiful weekend for softball. I will have Gatorade™, granola bars and individual bags of trail mix, plus water of course. The girls are talking about a team breakfast, maybe at Breadco (this is an eating bunch, I must say) and I’ve heard from several parents who are arranging other food, so it would appear we won’t starve.

In any case, enjoy the box score and Amy Love’s pix.