The U-14 Windsor Wildcat¹s softball team overcame tough
competition and scorching heat last weekend to capture the Rohnert
Park tournament championship.
With temperatures hovering at around 106 degrees on both
Saturday and Sunday, the ladies turned back the San Francisco
Trimmers, 6-1, San Anselmo Storm, 5-1, Rohnert Park Rebels, 9-1,
Santa Rosa, 10-1, Petaluma Blue, 6-2, and defeated the Petaluma
White in the title game, 9-1.
It was the second straight tournament championship for the
Wildcats, who struck gold in San Anselmo on July 16.
³We won the San Anselmo tournament with defense, but it was
pitching and timely hitting that did the job for us this weekend,²
said winning coach Dennis Lucchesi. ³We were the only team in the
tournament that wasn¹t effected by the heat. Our girls just seemed
to play better and better each game.²
Playing all games on the Analy High School varsity field, the
ŒCats opened the tournament on Saturday morning with a 2-1 win over
the San Francisco Trimmers. Lacey Land tossed six innings of
three-hit ball and fanned eight to notch the win. Megan Hunt drove
in the winning run with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth.
Top hitters were: Hunt (2 for 2) and Colby Milliken (1 for 2).
Courtney Lucchesi climbed the hill for Windsor in game two, as
she fired a two-hit, nine strikeout gem to defeat San Anselmo, 5-1.
The ŒCats opened the game with four straight hits, including a
three-run double by Katie Delucchi to grab an early lead. Other top
hitters were Lucchesi (1 for 2) and Kayla Lowe (1 for 2).
The Wildcats jumped on host Rohnert Park for five runs in the
first inning of game three on Saturday, powering starting pitcher
Lacey Land (5 IP, 2 hits, 3 Ks) to a 9-1 victory. Leading the
hitting corps were Lowe (3 for 3), Land (1 for 2) and Chrissy
Pierce (1 for 2).
Windsor emerged from pool play as the top-seeded team in
Sunday¹s championship bracket. The ŒCats made short work of Santa
Rosa, easily winning 10-1. Lucchesi fired four innings of one-hit
ball and fanned five to post the win. Offensive leaders included
Land (1 for 3, 3B), Hunt (2 for 3, 2B), Paige Williams (1 for 2)
and Nellie Praetzel (1 for 2). Praetzel also chipped in the
defensive play of the game in the fourth inning with an
over-the-shoulder grab on a fly ball in right field to save a
couple of runs.
The Wildcats turned back the Petaluma Blue in the semi-final
game, 6-2. Land tossed four innings, allowing two hits and struck
out one in the winning effort. Top hitters were Lucchesi (1 for 2,
2B), Land (1 for 2, 3B), Lowe (1 for 2, 2B) and Hunt (2 for 2,
2B).
The victory set up a title clash with the Petaluma White, a team
that had beaten Windsor out of a championship in a tournament
earlier this summer. Petaluma took a 1-0 lead into the fourth
before the ŒCats exploded for five runs in the frame to grab a 5-1
lead. The key play in the inning was a perfectly executed suicide
squeeze bunt from Pierce that scored Land from third with the bases
loaded.
Lucchesi (3 1/3 IP) and Land (1 1/3 IP) combined on a
three-hitter and fanned three to give Windsor the title. Top
hitters included Land (2 for 3), Lowe (2 for 3, 2B) and Lucchesi (1
for 2, 2B).
