After 1-2 record in pool play, Hollister fastpitch softball team
rebounds to finish at 5-2 mark, advances to USSSA World Series
FREMONT
In its first tournament of the season the Hollister Havoc 14U fastpitch softball team went 5-2 and beat out 10 other teams to take the championship at the USSSA State/World Series Qualifier in Fremont last weekend.
“I knew we had a lot of talent on this team,” Havoc manager Nick Daleo said in a statement, “but with only two practices we rushed into this tournament as a test to see what we really had.”
What the Havoc had was a 5-4 victory to open the tournament.
“We were elated to have our first win under our belts and looking forward to how the rest of the weekend would unfold,” Daleo added.
The next two games were close but both yielded one-run losses, as the Havoc entered Sunday’s single-elimination play after earning the No. 9 seed with a 1-2 record.
“Even though we were 1-2 on Saturday, we didn’t feel like a ninth seed,” Daleo said. “We had some confidence and felt like we could play with any of the 10 teams.”
Sunday started off with a strong 6-0 victory against California Spin, giving the Havoc an opportunity to face the top-seeded California Crossfire.
“Crossfire was a really good team with a lot of speed,” Daleo said. “It took excellent defense to keep them from putting up a lot of runs and we were able to get the outs when we needed them.”
The Havoc managed to pull out a 5-4 victory against Crossfire, setting up a semifinal match with the Morgan Hill Pride in which Hollister jumped out front 7-2 after the first inning and never relinquished the lead, winning the game by a final score of 10-5.
“For a lot of different reasons I think the coaches, players and parents were especially happy about coming this far in our first tournament,” Daleo said. “As excited as we were to get to the final game, we wanted the win and we were ready to play our fourth game of the day.”
In the championship game, the Havoc found itself up against a very strong Visalia Elite team. The teams traded runs throughout the game, and defense was tight on both sides, but the Havoc showed that it had more gas in the tank and pulled off a 7-5 victory.
“I’ve been part of good teams in the past but nothing can compare to this championship with this group of girls.” Daleo said. “We played like a team that’s been together for a long time and every single player made a Sunday contribution. I can’t wait to get to work and see how much better we can get.”
All Sunday long, Morgan Daleo and Brittany Sparrer shared pitching duties with Carly Snook behind the plate. Madison Kennedy, not bothered by the black eye she got from a bad hop on Saturday, played solid at first base, while Mia Vodanovich, Brittany Sparrer and Morgan Daleo locked down the middle infield and Kim Sparrer handled the hot shots at third base.
Roaming the outfield were Alicia Frost, Becky Hval, Taylor Lange, Tiffany Maielya, Gabriela Medina and Cassy Torrez.
