Heat go 2-2-1 in Hayward, earn trip to Seattle for 2009 USSSA
World Series
HAYWARD
In just their second tournament as a team, the Hollister Heat 10U travel softball team finished runner-up at the Bay Area Bash tournament in Hayward recently, compiling a 2-2-1 record and qualifying for the 2009 USSSA World Series next year.
The team was formed in late August, and although the girls know one another from previous teams, the Bay Area Bash marked just the second tourney they’ve played in.
“They haven’t been playing together that long,” manager George Ramirez said. “And they’ve come together quite nicely.”
The Heat went 1-1-1 on Saturday, Sept. 27 to earn the No. 1 seed out of their bracket. After losing to the Victory 2-0, they went on to tie the Sun Devils 6-6 and defeat the Napa Road Runners 8-4.
The top seed earned them a first-round bye on Sunday, placing them into the semifinal round where they shut out the Raptors, 8-0.
“We hit well. We fielded well. We ran the bases well,” Ramirez said. “We did everything right in that game.”
In the championship, although Hollister lost to the Insanity 10-5, their second-place standing qualified them for the USSSA World Series, which is slated for the fall of 2009 in Seattle.
Taylor Shutts and Madisyn Gutirrez-Urban led the Heat at the plate for the weekend, batting 8 of 12 and 6 of 12, respectively.
Hollister will play in another tournament this weekend in San Jose.
