Ft. Zumwalt West Tourney Recap

 Apologies for the tardiness of this entry. About midway through yesterday’s tournament, Coach Cerutti noted, “I can tell I’m older this year.” Were I young and hip (which, actually, I never was; well, I guess I was young once) I would have replied, “Word,” or “Truth,” or whatever happens to be the young hip expression du jour. Because there were numerous players within earshot I also didn’t respond, “No – uh – kidding.” I just said, “Me, too.” But better late than never (also not a young, hip, phrase, but at least an expression that’s actually older than we are).

To be honest, looking at the bracket for our third trip to the Ft. Zumwalt West JV Tournament at Ozzie Smith Sports Complex in O’Fallon, I might have predicted a 1-2 outcome. The day ended with that outcome but left me feeling a little disappointed. Not in the girls, but I just felt we had a real opportunity to walk away with the Consolation Championship Plaque and, as we entered the final game against St. Dominic, was hopeful, almost confident, that we could walk away a winner. And we came close.

Don’t misunderstand, there were lots of positives to come out of this tournament. We fell behind in each game, but battled back in each game to either tie or take the lead. We hung on in the middle game against Summit, when their coach (prematurely) pulled her starting pitcher (and catcher) and we rallied with 7 runs, added on 2 more after she re-entered her starters, and held on for a 9-6 victory. I don’t expect her to repeat that strategy when we face Summit again on Tuesday.

We played 20 of the 21 innings possible, which, on the JV level with an hour and a half time limit, is kind of remarkable and a testament to our pitchers not walking lots of girls or getting into many deep counts. 

With injuries, illness, and absences we were a little short-handed, although we’re kind of used to that; we played almost all last season with 11 players, and occasionally just 10. The girls just bowed their necks and went to work, not giving less than their best until the last out closed out the day. This is a fine group of young women and it’s a pleasure to work with them.

We had a large parent contingent out to cheer their players, and that’s always welcome. The umpiring was, um, a little uneven but I appreciated our girls and fans for living up to our high expectations for sportsmanship.

So here are the box scores and some pictures the kids took during the day.

 

First baseman Emmy Gary keeps her composure to corral a loose ball and get the out at 1.

Coaching girls is different. Just sayin'....

Pitcher Olivia Leaver gets the easy out at first.

Getting ready to fight for the Consolation Championship v. St. Dominic

Players, please note. The Summit runner is getting a TERRIBLE jump!

BaileyAllen rounds third, heading for home on Morgan Lawrence's triple.

Maddie K had a double in each game. Here she becomes better acquainted with second base as Summit changes pitchers.

Coach Cerutti and Caitlyn Boyle

Should make someone's cover photo for some social media platform, don't you think?

Freshman Bailey Allen  signals 2 outs to her teammates.

FZW Tourney: Third Place

If you were expecting this earlier, I apologize. I needed a nap. #joysofaging Of course it was more than that. What a day!

Game 1: Webster 21, Timberland 5

The cool morning didn’t put a chill on the JV-Black’s enthusiasm – or their bats as we faced a Timberland team that had only lost one game coming into this tournament. In last year’s contest against the Wolves we threw a 12-spot on the board in the first inning, effectively ending the contest. So, unlike the 2017 tournament, Timberland wasn’t as stunned by the six runs we put up, highlighted by Marko’s first of two triples. They answered with two runs of their own, but were shut down by a DP on a nice play by Nicola Rikand, who had to have set some kind of record by notching 3 outs AND an assist in that inning.

Seven runs went up on the scoreboard in the second as Taylor Smith joined in the “Triple Your Fun” promotion that we were apparently running. To Timberland’s credit, they didn’t give up and added three of their own tallies. However the synchronicity of 8 runs in the third subdued the Wolves and they whimpered quietly in their dens as the game came to an end and our winning streak stretched to 9.

Game 2: Francis Howell Central 12, Webster 0

All good things must come to an end and Francis Howell Central sent a wake-up call. The eventual winners of the tournament are a very strong team and I probably made a strategic error in choosing “Home” when we won the toss (well, technically, they lost the toss and I got to pick). I strongly, if briefly, considered batting first and, hopefully, grabbing the momentum. I went with conventional wisdom, though, and FHC started strong with 2 runs. Their good pitcher wiggled out of 2-on, 2-out jam and we never really gained traction after that, managing only two more hits and whiffing 8 times in the four innings.

When they added 3 more runs in the third and we were generating nothing in the way of offense, I pulled TK to save some pitches for the final game and to give the Spartans a different look. Despite our throwing strikes, their offense was on a roll (we know how that goes) and didn’t slow down; the game ended on a time-limit ruling with Webster’s winning streak and hope for a championship rematch with Fort Zumwalt West dashed.

Game 3: Webster 17, Ft. Zumwalt West 14

It may have been a Saturday afternoon, but despite the score this was not a football game. Both teams had on their hitting shoes and ball was flying. So was our CF, Alyssa (Venus Flytrap) Moran, who recorded 5 putouts, including 3 spectacular ones (see pic below).

In our post-mortem of the previous game, after our first loss and definitely our most poorly played contest (taking nothing away from FHC – I think we can give them a better game, but if we played them 10 times, I think they’d probably win most of them), we talked about the character of a team being defined by how it responds to adversity, how it bounces back.

If you weren’t sure of the character of this team, this game put it on a 3-story mural for all to see. And we did it against the team we had hoped to play in a rematch of the 2017 championship game, the team that ended our winning streak last year in the final of this same tournament, Fort Zumwalt West. Both their coach and I were happy to have a rematch, based on last year’s great contest, just not in the third place game!

We jumped out to a 6-run lead in our first AB, but the Jaguars responded with 5 of their own, and countered our two in the second (HR by Marko! – no courtesy runner needed, but thanks to JV-Orange’s Maci Rekart for spending the day with us and serving in that important role) with two of their own. We traded scoreless third innings with no real threats by either side and we added a run in the fourth on Alyssa Moran’s second triple and great base running dash home on a short passed ball.

But the Jags put up 4 in the fifth and 2 more in the sixth and despite the sunshine (finally!) things looked dark for the Statesmen as we headed into the seventh down by 4 runs.

Character? Believe it, the same way these girls believe in themselves. Taylor Graning, with her second double of the day, chased home Nicola and Maci to put us within 2 and advanced to third on the throw. Caitlyn Boyle did her thing to put herself on first (and then second with a stolen base) and bring in Friday (on Saturday. #sorrynotsorry). Taylor Smith sewed up the tie with a base hit and we headed into the bottom of the seventh all even.

Pitcher Taylor Knapp bowed her back and put the heart of the Jaguars’ order down 1-2-3, setting the stage for another 4-run inning. FZW answered with a long bomb and two more hits to start the eighth, but a well played bunt by Lydia Beggs and 2 Ks from TK ended a great game with an exclamation point and a third place trophy.

I could not be more proud of this team. They could have quit but just refused to do. That’s an attribute that goes well beyond softball, as is their support for each other. The next winning streak has started and I’m looking forward to this week to see how far it can run. We travel to Hazelwood West on Tuesday, we play after the varsity at Affton Athletic on Wednesday (full game, they have lights, just not quite enough players) and then host Kirkwood on Friday. I hope you’ll be able to find the time to join us and cheer on this great group of girls.

We have a few pics from today, but check back later either tomorrow or Monday evening because I hope to add some more. Captions will also be included , but this first pairing deserves special treatment, as you see Venus (Flytrap) Moran’s amazing catch and her teammates’ reaction to it! (Photo Credit Karen Smith)

Tigers Declawed: Webster 10, Festus 0

As we head into the tough FZW Tournament this weekend we are playing good ball and remain undefeated after taking down the Tigers from Festus 10-0, in an all around solid effort against a pitcher who splits time with the varsity. And she wasn’t the only varsity player to make the trip from Jefferson County.

Nevertheless behind Taylor Knapp’s consistent pitching, solid defense, good base running, and hitting that adjusted (including Myah King’s first home run) with some solid knocks, the game was never really in doubt. Festus never mounted a threat to dent the plate and it was only a question of how many innings it would take to end the contest. The Festus coach put in a new pitcher in the fifth inning (and she wasn’t bad, although not varsity caliber), we scored the five runs we needed to trigger the 10-run rule, and that was that.

We head out to St. Charles this weekend for the rescheduled FZW tournament (Gordon washed us out two weeks ago), opening against Timberland; it looks like we’re going to be a bit short-handed with injuries and family emergencies. But we have a solid core of players; even those on the bench on any given day are good ballplayers who contribute to our team and its culture. 

Before complaining though, let’s just be thankful that’s ALL we have to deal with, and nothing like Florence in the Carolinas. When you get spoiled by success, and I am, it’s important to remind yourself that we’re not playing for world peace (or even whirled peas). That’s more advice I’m giving myself than anyone else. The weather forecast is much less ominous than two weeks ago so I’m going for cautious optimism we’ll get this one in. Hope to see you out there.

As always, thanks to Andrew Graning and the girls for the pics that follow.

Caitlyn Boyle continues to develop her LH slap/bunt skills, as well as playing an excellent RF on defense.

Friday Graning uses the backhand dart flip to get the lead runner at second as Nicola Rikand takes the toss.

TK picked up her eighth win, is on pace to set new JV season & career win marks.

Alyssa Moran stung the ball in her last three ABs, including this rocket to end the game.

This was one of the two hits allowed by TK, a swinging pop bunt just out of everyone's reach.

I could not be more pleased at this team's chemistry, love for the game, desire to improve, and sportsmanship.

The post game post mortem includes mostly compliments, a rare critique (today it was if you're on deck, help your teammate coming home by pointing where to slide), and an occasional appearance by a "Spirit Animal."

Time to Start a New Streak: Championship Final, Ft. Z West 10, Webster 6

All good things must come to an end. Maybe.

Certainly our 10-game winning streak ended, with a 10-6 loss in the championship game of the Fort Zumwalt West Tournament. If you’re going to lose in a tournament, the championship finale is what you’d pick, with the second place plaque to take home.

But here’s what has not come to an end, and what I’m looking forward to seeing continue all the way to October: the heart and chemistry of this team that makes them a joy to be around. Our mantra, “Win with class, Lose with class” was manifest today. Much to the annoyance of our Jaguar hosts, we refused to roll over when they took the lead and fought our way back into the game, tying at 2 and then coming back with 3 after FZW had put up a 4-spot in the top of the fourth.

The team was loud and rocking even in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t to be this afternoon. Had we actually won I would have been happier, but not prouder, of both our team and our fans. The umpire didn’t have to yell at our fans or tell me to get them under control. We’ll just leave it at that.

There were lots of highlights to the day, but I want to make a special note of one player. The only outs our catcher, Hannah Jansen, made were as she exited the bus on the way in, and then leaving the Ozzie Smith Sports Complex in O’Fallon. In three games she went 8-for-8 with two home runs and a triple. She also threw out the first (and only) Jaguar to try to steal in the championship game and picked off a Warrior in the Fox tilt, all while working with our pitchers and keeping them on track. A pretty good day’s work.

Game 1: Webster 13, Timberland 6

Another first for the Statesmen, a win over Timberland, a young but pretty strong program. Once again, we jumped out early, with 2 in the first, then 6 in the second. By the time we added another 3 in the fourth, the game was essentially over, although Timberland added some runs late, but never really threatened as we ran our season-opening winning streak to 9 games and gave Kelly Collins her fifth victory. Overheard in the Timberland dugout, “ALL those girls can hit!”

Game 2: Webster 16, Fox 1

Now it can be told. I had lineups prepared for both our potential 2^nd round opponents, Francis Howell Central’s Spartans (last Wednesday opponents) and Fox’s Warriors (whom we will see again in a couple weeks), but, based on advanced scouting, I expected to FH Central after victory in Game 1 or Fox had we lost. I admit I was surprised to see Fox emerge in the winner’s bracket.

We really didn’t hit like we’re capable of, as the Warrior pitcher’s pace was a little soft and we had trouble staying back. Of course, that didn’t stop us from putting up 10 runs in the first, taking advantage of a lack of crispness from the Fox defense, but also really good base running, taking off on contact from third and pressuring the opposition. We added 6 more in the top of the 3^rd and, behind Taylor Knapp in the circle, pushed our winning streak to 10.

Game 3: Championship Final: Fort Zumwalt West 10, Webster 6

The Jaguar’s trip to the finals was similar to ours, with victories over St. Dominic and a rout of Summit. It was clear they expected a similar outcome facing us. I actually toyed with batting first after we won the toss, hoping to stun them into confusion as we had done so often. For better or worse, I went with the conventional wisdom and took “home.” Until FZW added four in the top of the 6^th it looked like “tried and true” might have been a winning strategy.

Maybe it’s just me, but I seemed to sense that Fort Z was irked that we refused to concede their superiority and actually play the game. As noted above, I was proud of the girls, their effort, their energy, their support for each other. We could not win another game and the year would still be magical. Pretty sure we’re going to win more than few more, although this week’s schedule is a challenge with an away game at Lindbergh, home against Marquette (whose varsity is undefeated and ranked #1), and then away against Festus, always a challenge (one of our four losses last year). Good softball on tap. And check back later for pictures.