Tag Archive for: Travel Softball

STORM BUST OUT TO GREAT START

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WILLOUGHBY OH- After having to settle for a tie on Friday night to open pool play in Willoughby, they broke out the bats to open their Saturday slate. The Storm thundered their way to a 14-1 victory over Willoughby Starzz.

Sophia Rivera drove in the most runs for the offense as she made the most out of a 1-3 day with 4 RBI.  Raegan Cool was perfect at the plate going 2-2 with a walk, and 3 RBI.  Christina Montgomery went 1-3 with a run scored, and a pair of RBI.  Gretchen Bartels added a RBI on a 2-3 day.  Gabby Goddard went 2-2 with 3 runs scored.

Lilly Ditz was voted the game MVP by the Willoughby Starzz. She dazzled in the circle going 3 innings and only giving up 1 hit. She struck out 4 and avoided walking anyone.

Postgame Interview With Lilly Ditz:

STORM WIN SILVER BRACKET CHAMPIONSHIP

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STREETSBORO OH-  It was a long day for the Steel Valley Storm. They played four games in 8 hours. In their fourth game, the Silver Bracket Championship they found victory, and some hardware.  An eight-run third inning led Steel Valley Storm to a 13-3 win. Steel Valley Storm’s offense in the inning was led by Leah Habeger, Christina Montgomery, Maddie Wymer, Gabby Goddard, and Raegan Cool, all sending runners across the plate with RBIs in the inning.

Steel Valley Storm opened up scoring in the first inning when Olivia LaCivita singled on a 2-2 count, scoring two runs.

Steel Valley Storm took the lead for good with two runs in the second inning. In the second Montgomery grounded out, scoring one run.

Steel Valley Storm put up eight runs in the third inning. The offensive onslaught came from singles by Montgomery, Goddard, and Habeger, a walk by Wymer, a fielder’s choice by Cool, and a double by Habeger.

Sophia LaCivita earned the victory in the pitcher’s circle for Steel Valley Storm. The righty went four innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and walking one.

Sydney Hillyard took the loss for the Akron Racers. Hillyard allowed seven hits and five runs over two and two-thirds innings, walking one.

Steel Valley Storm had 11 hits in the game. Goddard, Habeger, Wymer, and Montgomery each racked up multiple hits. Montgomery, Wymer, Habeger, and Goddard each managed two hits to lead. Ava Freeborough was voted as the MVP of the championship game by the Akron Racers.

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Postgame Interview With Ava Freeborough:

 

 

STEEL VALLEY BOUNCES BACK IN BIG WAY

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STREETSBORO OH-  After dropping a game in the Gold Bracket to Ohio Blast, Steel Valley Storm had to wait 3 hours to get back on the field, but they made the wait well worth it. Leah Habeger didn’t allow a single run against T3 Mavs Bliss, throwing a complete game shutout and leading the Storm to a 6-0 victory on Sunday.

Steel Valley Storm got things moving in the first inning, when Christina Montgomery singled on a 0-1 count, scoring one run.

One bright spot for T3 Mavs Bliss was a single by Kylie Handa in the fourth inning.

Habeger earned the victory in the pitcher’s circle for Steel Valley Storm. The righthander lasted five innings, allowing five hits and zero runs while striking out five and walking one.

Kaylee Raibel took the loss for T3 Mavs Bliss. The lefty lasted four and two-thirds innings, allowing nine hits and six runs.

Steel Valley Storm had nine hits in the game. Raegan Cool, Habeger, and Montgomery each had multiple hits. Montgomery, Habeger, and Cool each collected two hits to lead the Storm. Steel Valley Storm didn’t commit a single error in the field. Olivia LaCivita had five chances in the field, the most on the team.

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STORM CAN’T OVERCOME OHIO BLAST

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STREETSBORO OH-  Steel Valley Storm stayed in it until the end, but Ohio Blast pulled away late in a 6-4 victory on Sunday. The game was tied at four with Ohio Blast batting in the bottom of the fourth when an error scored one run.

Steel Valley Storm got on the board in the first inning when Gabby Goddard singled on a 1-0 count, scoring one run.

Emilee Waggoner got the win for Ohio Blast. The righthander surrendered four runs on six hits over five innings, striking out two.

Lilly Ditz took the loss for Steel Valley Storm. Ditz lasted two and a third innings, allowing four hits and three runs while striking out three and walking one.

Steel Valley Storm tallied six hits in the game. Goddard and Gretchen Bartels each had multiple hits. Bartels and Goddard each managed two hits to lead.

Ohio Blast collected six hits. Shaye Bailey and Tori Druschel all managed multiple hits.

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STORM OPEN THE DAY WITH WALK OFF WIN

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STREETSBORO OH-  Steel Valley Storm defeated the Akron Racers 5-3 on Sunday thanks to a walk-off single. The game was tied at three with the Storm batting in the bottom of the sixth when Olivia LaCivita singled on a 1-2 count, scoring two runs.

Sophia LaCivita was credited with the victory for Steel Valley Storm. The pitcher went six innings, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out three.

Sydney Hillyard took the loss for the Racers. The hurler surrendered five runs on three hits over five innings, striking out two.

LaCivita, Gretchen Bartels, and Gabby Goddard each collected one hit to lead Steel Valley Storm.

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STEEL VALLEY LOOKS TO REGAIN MOMENTUM IN BRACKET PLAY

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STREETSBORO OH- After a disappointing result in their second game of the day, Steel Valley Storm couldn’t find momentum in their pool play finale as the fell to the Chardon Storm 14-0.

Maddie Wymer went 1-2 for the Storm at the top of the lineup. Olivia LaCivita was perfect at the plate going 1-1.  Sophia Rivera drew a walk in her only at bat.

Leah Habeger got the start for the Storm and battled the whole way. Despite seeing a lot of traffic on the base paths, she only gave up 4 earned runs. She struck out 1.

The Storm will try and regroup on bracket play Sunday as they’ll play the Akron Racers Williams 15U in their first bracket game.  First pitch from Streetsboro is set for 10:00 am.

 

LIGHTNING STRIKES THE STORM

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STREETSBORO OH-  Steel Valley Storm watched the game slip away early and couldn’t recover in a 9-1 loss to Ohio Lightning on Saturday. Ohio Lightning Ohio Lightning scored on a walk by Jordyn Keim, a triple by Madi Burkhart, and a single by Lani Abbuhl in the first inning.

The Storm struggled to put runs on the board and had a tough time defensively containing Ohio Lightning, giving up nine runs.

In the first inning, Ohio Lightning got their offense started. Keim drew a walk, scoring one run.

Burkhart toed the rubber for Ohio Lightning. The righthander went three innings, allowing one run on two hits, striking out four and walking one.

Lilly Ditz led things off on the rubber for Steel Valley Storm. The pitcher allowed seven hits and seven runs over two and a third innings, walking one. Gretchen Bartels threw one and two-thirds innings out of the bullpen.

Christina Montgomery, Bartels, and Gabby Goddard each managed one hit to lead the Storm.

Ohio Lightning tallied nine hits. Alexis Sin, Burkhart, and Morgan Gross each racked up multiple hits. Ohio Lightning was sure-handed in the field and didn’t commit a single error. Reese Loveday had the most chances in the field with six.

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LACIVITA TOSSES SHUTOUT TO START POOL PLAY

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STREETSBORO OH- The Steel Valley Storm started their second tournament of the summer on the right foot Saturday as Sophia LaCivita tossed a shutout in a 13-0 win over the Mustangs.

Gretchen Bartels brought the big bat for the Storm as she went 2-2 with 4 RBI.  Christina Montgomery contributed a pair of RBI on a 1-1 day with a walk, and 2 runs scored.  Ava Freeborough also drove in 2 RBI going 1-2 with a run scored. Sophia Rivera got on base every time she came to the plate going 1-1 with a walk and a run scored.

LaCivita only gave up one hit in her shutout win. The times game went 3 innings, and she struck out 7 and only walked 1.

YSN TO COVER STEEL VALLEY STORM 16U-RIVERA

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EAST PALESTINE OH- YSN is proud to venture into the travel softball realm this summer with coverage of the Steel Valley Storm’s 16U- Rivera team. YSN’s own Anthony Hartwig will be on staff with the team, therefor be able to set up streams all summer long. The broadcasts will be video only, and can also be seen on the teams GameChanger.

As well as live game streams, YSN will also have game recaps, and interviews from the team. We look forward to following this team throughout their summer schedule as they grow their skills.

Roster with High School affiliate:

#2 Olivia Lacivita- Boardman

#3 Sophia Lacivita- Boardman

#4 Maddie Wymer- Boardman

#6 Raegan Cool- Howland

#8 Gretchen Bartels- South Range

#12 Ava Freeborough- Boardman

#17 Maddy Burke- Boardman

#23 Sophia Rivera- Boardman

#26 Christina Montgomery- Austintown Fitch

#27 Leah Habeger- Boardman

#28 Gabby Goddard- Boardman

#66 Lilly Ditz- Ursuline

Head Coach- Ralph Rivera

Assistant Coach- Kristian Wymer

Assistant Coach- Paige Dill

Assistant Coach- Anthony Hartwig

 

 

 

HOT CORNER: PERFECT STORM RECAP

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Softball made its return to the area this past weekend, and it busted the doors wide open. Thunder Elite hosted a 92 team tournament spanning from 10U to 18U. Teams from all over Ohio, and some from Pennsylvania we’re competing at four different venues throughout the area.

I have a few takeaways from not only the games I watched, but also the updates I saw from a lot of these team’s wonderfully run social media pages. The first takeaway looking at the scores of the games this weekend it was clear offense was not a problem. On bracket play Sunday alone there were 24 games that had at least one team in double digit runs. I was expecting pitchers to have an advantage in the first weekend back. It doesn’t look like that was always the case.

The most competitive and thrilling game of bracket play Sunday came in 10u where the championship game between Thunder Elite 09 and Ohio ICE purple. Thunder Elite took a 5-4 lead in to the bottom of the 7th, only to see ICE tie things up. Then ICE walked it off for a 6-5 win.

Ohio USSSA Pride Scarlet showed how potent it’s lineup is over the weekend as they hit 6 HR’s as a team on Saturday. 3 of them by Josie Spano. Tori Long and Sydney Mercer also went yard. Mercer added another home run on Sunday. The Prides lineup is powerful.

(Courtesy Ohio USSSA Pride- Scarlet)

Maddy Taylor From Austintown Fitch got her first home run of the summer over the weekend for the Lasers. She’ll be someone to watch as the summer goes on. An absolute division 1 type talent.

(Courtesy Britton Taylor)

Other Championship scores: in the 12u division Silver Creek Prospects beat RC Venom 13-7. In the 14u Lake Erie Warhawks beat Wolfpack 06 10-0. 16u saw the Garroway Outlaws beat USSSA Pride Scarlet 8-3.

I personally was watching the 18u part of this tournament. It was full of high school seniors that may have been the last chance to see play in the area. The Ohio Warriors were the local team in the bracket. Mostly made up of either seniors or juniors, their lineup is loaded with local talent. I was impressed with Bri Callow out of McDonald who took most of the pitching duties over the weekend. Kaili Gross is also a pitcher on their roster, but wasn’t quite warmed up to pitch this weekend. Bri also showed great strength at the plate. Some other prominent names on the Warriors roster are Ally Nitolli, Cam Latanzio, Brooke Bobbey, and Abby Farber all out of Poland. Lexi Diaz our of Mooney gives them tremendous speed. Delaney Early out of East Palestine is a high quality slapper in the lineup. They have a cannon behind the plate in Lauren Maughan out of Boardman. The Warriors went 3-0 in pool play on Saturday. They earned the two seed in bracket Sunday. With a bye, the win their first game on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Predators. The Warriors were up 4-1 for most of the game, but had to hold off a rally in the final inning to win 4-3. In the 18u championship they played the Pittsburgh Passion who upset Parma in the semis 10-8. The Warriors fell behind early but kept clawing back. Trailing 11-4 in their final at bats the Warriors scored 5 runs and had the tying runs on base before falling 11-9.

It was a great weekend of softball. The guidelines set down by the Ohio Heath Department were followed at the games I attended. It was a refreshing sense of normalcy.

This weekend there are tournaments at Boardman’s Field of Dreams, and McClure Park In Canfield. I will try to hit them both weather pending and have another travel ball recap next week.

Below are highlights of the Ohio Warriors Bracket Sunday games.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_LeW95prrA[/embedyt]