The Hollister Heat is turning up the burners on every team it
faces
With a record of 12-0 and an average margin of victory of more
than 10 runs a game, it’s safe to say the Heat is sizzlin’.
This season the league’s 10 and under (10U) B travel team has
been the hottest of the bunch and appear to be poised to make
another appearance at the U.S. Nationals, which takes place the
first week of August in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Hollister Heat is turning up the burners on every team it faces
With a record of 12-0 and an average margin of victory of more than 10 runs a game, it’s safe to say the Heat is sizzlin’.
This season the league’s 10 and under (10U) B travel team has been the hottest of the bunch and appear to be poised to make another appearance at the U.S. Nationals, which takes place the first week of August in St. Louis, Missouri.
“That is our goal again this year,” said Robert Burley, who has coached the same travel squad for the past three seasons.
Last year, the Heat’s 10U team finished 17th at Nationals, which took place in San Antonio, Texas.
This year the Heat 10U team kicked off its 2006 campaign with a tournament win in Hollister during Memorial weekend. In that tournament, the Hollister youngsters caught fire and eventually wound up ousting Mountain View Nova in the championship game.
Last weekend in Morgan Hill the 10U squad kept the momentum going by winning the Morgan Hill Slug Fest after shutting out San Carlos 5-0 in the title game.
“We’re good because we usually practice hard and put a lot of effort into the game,” said 10-year-old fifth-grader from Ladd Lane Elementary Morgan Didomenico, who plays catcher and second base for the Heat.
This weekend the Heat will be looking for their third tournament win in a row in Salinas before gearing up for the prestigious Nor Cal Softball Tournament, which takes place at Twin Creeks in Sunnyvale the following weekend.
“All of these tournaments are to get us prepared for Nor Cals,” Burley said.
The Nor Cal tournament is pivotal because a first- or second-place finish there automatically earns a spot in the national tournament. Teams that finish from third through sixth at Nor Cals must compete at a regional tournament in Atwater where they must win a handful of difficult ball games in order to earn a spot in the National tournament.
“We don’t want to go to Atwater,” said Burley said. “Our goal is to make Nationals by qualifying for them at Nor Cals.”
This year the Heat is getting the job done thanks to a solid core of players that know how to run the bases and manufacture runs.
Two of those players are returnees from last year’s team. One is Elizabeth Burley, the coach’s niece, who handles things at the hot corner. A year ago, Burley played second base but has thrived this year at third.
“I move her around where we need her,” said the 31-year-old coach. “She’s a very intense player, who wants to win. Some would say that she has a little attitude but she’s just really intense. She also hardly ever strikes out.”
Apparently, neither do the rest of the players on the Heat team. Of the 12 that are on the roster eight of them are batting above .300. Burley is batting .333
The other returnee on the Heat this year is Samantha “Sammy” Puentes. Puentes is also a versatile player who can play a number of positions. This season her time has been spent at shortstop, centerfield and on the pitcher’s mound.
Puentes believes that her team is good because of its strong roster.
“This is the best team I ever played on,” said Puentes, who is a fifth-grader at Seventh Day Adventist School in Hollister. “We have good players and good sportsmanship.”
Although Puentes is a good fielder, it’s her hitting statistics that have really jumped out.
“She’s a good leadoff hitter and she has a good eye,” Burley said. “She’s also so fast that if she gets on base, it’s almost a guaranteed run for us.”
So far this season Puentes is batting a whopping .470, which isn’t far behind her twin sister Sierra who is leading the team in batting with a .560 average.
Batting behind Sammy Puentes this season is Hayley Ashford, who also pitches and plays shortstop.
Ashford just recently turned 11 but still met the league’s age requirements. Although the fifth-grader from Sunnyslope Elementary recently pitched a no-hitter in the tournament win in Morgan Hill last week, she credits her success on the hill to the players that back her up.
“We have a really good defense and solid hitting,” she said. “(To go to Nationals) we definitely need to get our bats going. We’re doing alright but we could do better.”
In addition to Ashford’s no-hitter last weekend in the semifinals, the team’s other top pitcher, Brittany Sparrer, also tossed a no-hitter at the opposition in the title game to make it back-to-back for the smokin’ Heat.
“We have two top pitchers on this team,” Burley said. “Ashley has a very good changeup. Brittany throws a little harder and neither of them walks many batters. They are both really good.”
Burley also likes the way Sparrer holds her composure after falling behind in the count. Since she is batting over .400, he’s also impressed with her hitting prowess.
Since play in youth softball games isn’t as polished as it is at the higher levels, Burley believes that the key to giving his squad an advantage is to emphasize the importance of good base running and effective bunting.
“We’re good at manufacturing runs,” Burley said. “I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on our ability to play small ball. We should make Nationals again this season. Our team is very comparable to last year. I think this team and others from Hollister do well because the parents love the game and the kids do too. One of the great things about this town is that our youth seem to love the game and have a strong knowledge of it at a young age.”
