Tennessee Xplosion '98: Welcome
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Welcome to the Home of
14U TN XPLOSION '98 FAST PITCH
SPRING 2010 USSSA 12U STATE CHAMPIONS
AFFILIATE OF THE TN XPLOSION FASTPITCH ORGANIZATION (www.tnxplosion.com)
AFFILIATE OF THE EAST WILLIAMSON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (www.ewasports.com)
J Please be part of the Xplosion '98 Nation and follow the team on Twitter – @Xplosion98.
FALL 2011 SEASON/SPRING 2012 SEASON: Fall 2011 14U-Open USFA Fall Bash 11 - 1st Place; Fall 2011 14U-Open USSSA Rebel Yell: 2nd Place; Fall 2011 14U-Open USSSA Rocket City Fall Brawl: 1st Place; Fall 2011 14U-Open USGF 4th Annual Curve Ball Classic: 4th Place; Fall 2011 14U-Open USFA Gallatin Fall Friendly 6: 3rd Place; Fall 2011 14U-Open ASA Play 4 Tay Benefit Tournament: 3rd Place
FALL 2010 SEASON/SPRING 2011 SEASON: Spring 2011 12U 4th Annual USSSA Red, White, and Blue Bash: 1st Place; Spring 2011 12U 4th Annual USSSA Heat in the 'Boro: 1st Place; Spring 2011 12U USFA Spring Fever Classic 3: 1st Place; Spring 2011 12U USFA 2nd Annual Mother's Day Celebration: 2nd Place; Spring 2011 12U USFA 2nd Annual Worth Spring Classic: 4th Place; Fall 2010 12U USFA Fall State: 4th Place; Fall 2010 14U-C USSSA 10th Annual Pumpkin Patch Rumble: 1st Place; Fall 2010 12U USFA Gallatin Fall Friendly 5: 1st Place; Fall 2010 12U 2nd Annual NSA Fall “Free” Tournament: 1st Place
FALL 2009/SPRING 2010 SEASON: Spring 2010 11U USSSA National Power Rating: 6th; Spring 2010 11U USSSA National Points Ranking: 6th; Spring 2010 11U USSSA Tennessee State Power Rating: 1st; Spring 2010 11U USSSA Tennessee State Points Ranking: 1st; Spring 2010 11U USSSA World Series: 3rd Place; Spring 2010 11U USSSA World Series: Team Sportsmanship Award; Spring 2010 12U-C USSSA State Tournament: 1st Place; Spring 2010 12U-B USSSA Heat in the ‘Boro: 3rd Place; Spring 2010 12U-Open USGF Batter’s Up Blowout: 1st Place
FALL 2008/SPRING 2009 SEASON: Spring 2009 10U-C USSSA State Tournament: 2nd Place
CONFIDENCE - COMPOSURE - COMMITMENT
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Unwritten by Natashia Beddingfield
Entering the spring 2012 season, the Diamond Jaxx will begin their fourth season as the 14U (’98) team in the Tennessee Xplosion Fastpitch Softball Organization. This win-win partnership will begin a new chapter for the team with a focus on offering expanded opportunities to the hard-working, motivated, talented athletes on the team and offer expanded insight for these young ladies to help them achieve their long-term, softball goals.
Saturday morning, the girls entered battle near home in Franklin at Fly Park on yet another beautiful, fall day and competed in the one-day, USFA 14U-Open Fall Bash 11. Their pool play started one of their best all-around days of softball of the fall with a 9-0 victory. They carried this momentum into elimination play following up their pool game win with an 8-0 victory. They followed this up with a 12-0 win, earning them a spot in their third straight championship game in as many tournaments against the Giles County Slammers. They continued their stellar play taking a 4-0 lead in the finale. The Slammers plated a run in the third, but the Jaxx answered in the bottom of the inning with three more runs ultimately claiming a 7-1 victory. Over the course of the day, the Jaxx combined consistent hitting, stifling defense, and excellent pitching to earn their second tournament championship of the fall.
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Saturday morning, the girls traveled south to the Liberty Park Sports Complex in Birmingham, AL on another beautiful, fall day to compete in the one-day, 4th Annual USSSA 14U-Open Rebel Yell and found the competition stiff. Their pool play started sluggishly with a 7-4 loss to the Diamond Divas at noon, but the Jaxx rebounded in their second pool game @ 3:00pm where they pulled out a tough 2-1 victory over the Alabama Twisters. This earned the Jaxx a #3 seed entering elimination play which slated them for battle with the Birmingham Crush. The girls combined strong pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting to earn a 3-1 victory and a semi-final rematch against the Twisters. They found themselves trailing 3-2 after the first inning but surged to a 7-3 win sending them to the championship game. Their day started early and ended very late due to an extra-inning contest which left the Jaxx waiting for over an hour for an opponent in the championship game and turned their day into a 17-hour marathon. Their bid for their second straight tournament championship fell short as fatigue set in near midnight, and they fell to the Birmingham Bandits ’97. Over the entire day, the ladies combined improving defensive, solid pitching, and potent offense against talented teams to earn a spot in their second championship in as many tournaments.
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The girls traveled to the Huntsville Sportsplex on a beautiful, fall Saturday to do battle in the USSSA 14U-Open Rocket City Fall Brawl. They chopped wood for 14 hours to overcome their opponents. On Saturday morning @ 10:30am, the girls got off to a solid start in the tournament with a toughly-contested, pool-game win, holding off the North Alabama Rockets (6-4). They followed this up with a convincing pool win over the AL Sliders (11-3) to earn a #2 seed in the single-elimination bracketology. That evening @ 6:00pm, they continued their solid play in their first elimination game with a hard-fought second defeat of the Rockets (4-1) earning themselves a spot in the tournament final. The ladies combined excellent defensive, pitching, and offense to earn their first title of the fall over the #1-seed, Madison Mayhem (9-1).
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The ladies hit the diamond @ Mt. Juliet Rotary Park in Mt. Juliet, TN on Saturday and Sunday of the holiday weekend to compete in the 4th Annual USSSA Red, White, & Blue Bash. They fought the elements (95 degree temperatures and high humidity), time (22 ½ hours at the park), and their opponents (9 games in two days). On Saturday morning @ 9:00am, the girls got off to a quick start in the tournament with a commanding pool-game win, defeating the Clarksville Envy (9-1). They followed this up with a second solid pool win over the Tennessee Heat (5-2) to earn a #1 seed in the double-elimination bracketology. That evening @ 8:00pm, they continued their solid play in their first elimination game with a dismantling of the Crieve Hall Katz (14-1). In their second-round elimination game on Saturday night @ 11:00pm, they hit a bump in the road with a disappointing performance against the Tennessee Heat (2-7) that sent them into the loser’s bracket for Sunday morning. The girls arrived at the park on Sunday morning needing five straight wins to earn the tournament championship. They took the first step down the road to the title on Sunday morning @ 10:30am by sending the Music City Mustangs (4-1) home to advance to play the Marshall Co. Madness. This second game on Sunday proved to provide the pivot moment in the tournament as the Jaxx came from behind to eliminate the Madness (5-4) in 8 innings on a dramatic two-out, two-strike, walk-off, two-run double off the centerfield fence!! This set up a rematch with the Tennessee Heat with the winner earning an opportunity to play in the tournament championship. The ladies combined excellent defensive, pitching, and offensive fundamentals to eliminate the Heat (5-0). This set up a tall task for the girls needing to defeat the Tennessee Ballhawks twice to earn the tournament title. They began the 1st championship game in resounding fashion with five straight hits plating four runs in the first inning and went on to a 9-1 victory forcing the “If-Game” to decide the championship. In the finale, the girls went up early with a quick run in the top of the 1st inning. The Ballhawks countered with a run of their own in the bottom of the 3rd. The girls showed their determination answering with two more runs of their own in the top of the 4th inning followed by some “shut-down” defense to close out an amazing run for their third championship in their last three tournaments. The girls completed the Herculean effort on Sunday compiling an 8-and-1 record over the two days, displaying examples of sportsmanship and team-softball, showing great determination, focus, talent, and, most-of-all, unwavering HEART, and proving that push-ups, poles, “killers”, and wall-sits do pay off J.
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