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 '93 A's Archive |
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Monday, October 30
Ronald McDonald Tournament - Oct. 27-29
The A’s traveled to Spring Texas this weekend to play in the prestigious Ronald McDonald Tournament. We met up with some very tough competitors, including the eventual 1st and 2nd place teams in this tournament. We went 1-2 in bracket play. We saw some of the best 14U teams in Texas. We now know what we need to work on to compete with these elite teams. We aspire to be where some of these teams are. Hard work and dedication is the recipe. The A’s will be back. Thanks again to our “older” sisters from the ’92 Ambassadors for helping us out this weekend and of course those parents (and aunt :-)) for your unwavering support.
Wednesday, October 18
Fall Comet Time Classic - Round Rock
The A's played in Round Rock this weekend. The girls came out strong despite the threat of rain looming. With a few strong guest players we were excited about our chances against the field of some strong 14U teams. In our first pool game, we came out smacking the ball and running the bases. Before we even warmed up, we ended with a 12-0 victory. We also had impressive offense from all our players. Second pool game we came out hungry again. Emily pitched a perfect game. The girls were hitting the ball and playing extremely tight defense. A scary moment occurred when one of our big boppers (Janna) hit a rocket shot back to the Shockers pitcher. She was hurt but thankfully not seriously- reminding us all that this is just a game and the well being of our girls is the important thing. We went on to win the game and get ready for our rematch with the ’92 Round Rock Blaze in our first elimination game.
Saturday was our day – we came out hungry and with fire in our eyes. The Blaze was in trouble. Our pitching (Emily) was right on target. Our hitters did what they needed to do (Amber, Janna, Chelsea E, Alexis, Jordan, Lindsey, Emily, Ashley, Coco, and Chelsea S ), and then the defense took over. Pitching got tighter, the defense buckled down and Hollywood’s (Lindsey’s) double play to end the comeback threat of the Blaze sent us on to Sunday undefeated. It was a great win to avenge a tough loss in Temple a few weeks back.
Sunday was a different story. We were sluggish in a loss to the ’92 Round Rock Thunder who sent us to the loser’s bracket. The ’92 Centex Sluggers sent us home early on Sunday with our second loss. What was encouraging about both of our losses is that we never gave up. When it looked like the floodgates were going to open and we were going to get routed, we buckled down and fought! We tightened up, we bunted, we hit, things happened to get us back in the games. We made it very exciting against the ’92 Sluggers losing 4-3. Amber’s homerun sparked the team and gave us some momentum. It was good softball. It always hurts to lose but the A’s realized that they played well and never gave up. The girls take each play and game as a learning experience. See you in Spring, TX at the Ronald McDonald Tournament.
Sunday, October 1
A's Place 5th at Harvest Fest in Temple - Sept. 30-Oct. 1
The A's tied for 5th out of 12 teams at the Harvest Fest in Temple. We won both pool games and went 3-2 in bracket play. The weather was great, the fields were nice, and the competition was excellent. We played some very close games that didn't always go our way, but the girls had a lot of fun and really stepped up when playing the 2nd year 14U teams.
Monday, September 18
A's Win All 3 at Triple Play Sportsplex - Sept. 17
The A's played in a 12 team round robin this weekend at Triple Play Sportsplex in Georgetown. We enjoyed playing some teams that we have never played before. We won our 3 games vs. Centex Hurricanes, Texas Comets, and No Limit.
Monday, August 28
A's Place 2nd in 3rd Annual Summer Slam - Aug. 26-27
The A's played in their first 14U tournament in San Marcos this weekend. We went undefeated in bracket play, but were defeated in ITB in the championship game vs. the SA Outlaws. There was no IF game.
Monday, July 17
A's Place 2nd in Summer Blowout IV Tournament in San Marcos
The A's placed 2nd in a 24 team tournament this weekend. After going undefeated in 4 bracket games, we met up with the Storm in our 5th consecutive bracket game and defeated them 4-3 in go-ahead game. We met up with the Groove in the championship and lost 11-5. There was no "if" game.
Saturday, July 29
What A Ride !!! 2nd Place at ASA Southern Nationals
What a ride this 2006 season has been for the '93 Austin Ambassadors. The team won 2nd place at the ASA Southern Nationals in Ft. Worth. The girls played great ball - never giving up in the games, hustling and fighting for 7 long innings. With just a touch of disappointment (our girls wanted this championship so bad) we raised the beautiful 2nd place trophy and received our bid for ASA Nationals 2007 for 14U.
Our first Nationals was filled with highlights. The fields were beautiful, the umpires top rate, and the facilities were awesome. This was truly a first rate run tournament. Kudos to the organizers for such attention to detail. The competion was also awesome. All the games we played were exciting and nailbiters. The A's defeated the Texas Lady Cats in the first bracket game to avenge our loss to them at the State Tournament. Second bracket game was against the very very tough '94 Texas Glory - with awesome hitting, great pitching, and some defense never seen before we shut them out and advanced to the next game. The Texas Cyclones from Katy sent us to the losers bracket with a tough loss. There we met up with the Texas Glory again, and defeated this very tough and well coached team. In the championship we lost to the Texas Cyclones, hats off to them for their great hitters - wow they can pound the ball.
We enjoyed this experience so very much. We made friends (we love you Lawton Lady Sooners) and we had fun. It also made us hungry for more. We will move up to 14U in the fall and start our new quest. What great girls we have, what great parents we have, what great fans and supporters we have. This team is special. What a ride !!!!!!
Monday, June 19
A's Qualify for 12U A ASA Regionals - 9th at State Tournament
The A's played this weekend in the ASA State Tournament held here in Austin. It was a weekend of highs and a weekend of lows. Despite the long rain delays the A's came ready to play. It was great to see teams from all over the great State of Texas in attendance. The girls got to meet some great competitors who were friendly on the field. Our first test was to play the Wichita Falls Blasters. It was a good opening game for the A's. We hit well and the pitching (Ashley) was right on time. We won the game and prepared for the next one - the New Braunfels Bombers (who had won their 1st game). After a good soaking on Saturday we did not resume play until after 10:00pm Saturday night. Nonetheless our girls were wired and had fire in their eyes. We played a great game and beat the Bombers 3-0. The defense was awesome and Emily fired in some great strikes for us. It was a great win over a good team. The stands were packed and we got some good inspiration from the crowd. Up next was the Splash. We knew that they were one of the best in Texas. It was not a good start for the A's in that game. The first 9 minutes of the game killed us. We allowed 6 runs and just when it looked like the flood gates were going to open the defense kicked in and shut them down the rest of the way. We managed 2 runs but our bats were not working like they do normally. We ended on a positive note despite losing 6-2. We were encouraged by our strong defensive play. Our outfielders (Allison and Katelyn) made some great plays on the ball. We then lost a heartbreaker to the TX Lady Cats. Despite leading 1-0 for most of the game, they came back to get us 2-1. Once again our offense stalled.
Our girls made some mistakes but we also created some highlights and learned some lessons. Winning is fun and sometimes losing can be a bitter pill to swallow but its all relative, another ball game is around the corner and the A's will be hitting, pitching, and playing "A" ball again.
Monday, May 29
A's Win Championship at Memorial Day Bash in Sugar Land
Adventure, Suspense, Surprises and Softball? That is what the A's and their fans got this weekend in Sugar Land. While preparing for the journey to Sugar Land we learned we be short 1 player. What? Traveling with just 9 players? Yikes - recipe for disaster? No - just more motivation for securing another 12U Championship. This was a great tournament for the A's. It forced our players to face adversity head on and make critical adjustments at the right time. It all came together at the right time and this championship was a little sweeter.
Thanks to the folks from Sugar Land for a great tournament, great fields, and great competition. We look forward to returning next year.
With just 9 players, all the girls were asked to contribute and they all did. We had some great plays this weekend for every one one of our girls. The pitching and catching were very instrumental in our success. When we demanded strikes - we got them. When we needed big hits we got them. When we needed strong defense we got it. Amber came out of her "mini slump" and gave us some towering hits that everyone took notice of. Katelyn gave us a highlight worthy of ESPN - a running catch in centerfield and a throw to 1st for a HUGE double play. Ashley gave us some great pitching - don't get her mad - she'll mow you down!!!! Lindsey "Potty Mouth" made some awesome double plays at 2nd and her hitting was great. Emily delivered strikes after strike to shut down upstart teams. Her powershot to centerfield got the team going at the right time. Meranda found her big bat and her strong defense and she made some great plays. Allison's strong play at 3rd and her big hits were ESPN highlights too. Merrissa came through with a great catch in RF to kill the momentum in our semi-final game. Her perfect bunt that was laid at homeplate was totally awesome. And finally Imani - our catcher was awesome. With only 1 break she caught the whole tourney for us. She was the backstop that denied opposing players from scoring.
This team is special. See you at the next tournament.
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