The Classics started out the year in Delaware, Ohio. Many 
of the Classics Purple team were busy with school activities so we had a combined team of 7th and 8th graders. Although we didn't win a game we did do some things very well. The rain was a tough opponent causing the first game against Newark to take nearly twenty hours to complete. The game was stopped three times and had to be finished the next morning. The score was close 4-2 and we didn't have a single error. Lindsay pitched
well but had a few "wet ball walks" that turned into "wet ball runs". Bummer. Newark had some girls that could hit the ball so we ended up on the short end of the score.
The next game was against the Stingrays. We hold
them scoreless through 5 innings. We pick up 1 run in the 3rd and are playing solid. The 6th inning starts as the timer goes off. One bad call and 3 errors later we are down 7-1. Ouch. We got a couple runs back in the bottom of the inning but it wasn't enough.
Tournament MVPs: Becky Eilers took over at Short Stop and played awesome. She went horizontal diving to make a play against the Stingrays. She took a throwdown ant 2nd and a throwdown at 3rd. She went 3-5 at the plate with two doubles and a single, a few stolen bases and an RBI.
Kendra Mitchell also had a great game. This is her first year as a Classic and she plays for the Classics White team. Kendra also went 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs, three stolen bases and 3 putouts at 2nd.
This years Toledo Tournament was the best ever for the Classics. We finished in fifth place, we played 5 games, we scored 44 runs, and only had 16 scored against us, and most importantly, we had fun. The games went like this: Game one was against Maumee Express. We lead the whole game and finished 7-3. We had one bad inning where they scored 3 runs and we played error free in the other five. Lindsay struck out 8 batters and the Classics got 10 hits. Becky, Kate and Nikki all went 2 for 3 with an RBI each.
The second game was against the Springfield Storm. The Classics pounded the ball with 13 hits and Kari and Erin each get home runs. Kim pitches her first game of the year and gets her first win. The final score was 14-1. Kari went 3 for 4 at the plate and Jessie, Nikki, Becky, Betsy and Erin all had at least two hits.
The third game of the day was against the Lady Lasers. We battled them pretty well through 5 innings. The final score was 6-3 and we started hitting consistently in the fifth inning. The game was called due to time and darkness. It would have been good to finish that one out but thats the way it works. Shannon went 2 for 2 and Cristen hit a big 2 RBI double. Becky made some big plays at short and the team played well.
We started the next morning at 8:00 am against the Ohio Emeralds. The Classics have never been known to be a morning team but they came out to play. The Emeralds started off with a leadoff hit and we let them put some runners on base. We closed them out with bases loaded and only allowed 1 run. Then the bats came out. We scored 12 runs in the first 3 innings and shut them down for a final score of 12-1. Kate went 2 for 3 with a SAC, Cristen hit a triple, and Lindsay got her second win of the weekend.
We finished pool play 3-1 and got to come back for a single elimination tournament. We played well against the Oregon Rage but had the "one bad inning" thing put us in a catch up mode. We tied them at 7-7 with a booming HR by Kari and some other awesome hitting by Becky and Erin. We ended up 9-7 when time ran out after five. Again, it would be nice to play the whole game. Oh well.
Highlights from the weekend. Euchre in the Motel. Magic Chocolate Chip Cookies. Some one (who will remain nameless) suggesting that we go to the drive-in and watch a movie between games on Sunday afternoon. The guys in the orange shirts. Erin's Home run and Kari's two home runs. The new canopies, and this isn't a high light but it is something to treasure... saying good-bye to Erin as she moves to St. Louis. Once a Classic always a Classic. You will always be in our hearts.
Tournament MVPs: Erin Smith with 1 HR, 2 doubles, 4 singles, 2 RBIs, a .467 batting average and a .647 on base percent.
Becky Eilers scored 8 runs, 7 RBIs, 4 doubles, 4 singles, a 571 batting average, a 764 on base percent, 19 putouts at short stop and 8 stolen bases.
Kari Wenrick with 2 home runs, 8 RBIs, a 533 batting average and a 680 on base percent.
Best Toledo Trip EVER!
The Columbus Invitational was a whole new experience for us. IT DIDN"T RAIN. We also didn't go very far in the tournament. We did win two out of three games, but we missed qualifying by only a few runs. I think I need to make magic brownies again.
The first game was against the Devil Rays from the Canton area.. We took and early lead and let them get back in the game. Jessie lead off innings twice and got on base, Kari and Betsy both hit Ground Rule Doubles that should have been triples or more, Kim pitched another win, Kate had 4 RBIs, and there was an amazing "Sports Center Highlight" where Kim covers the bunt, and fires it to Cristen at first and she guns it home to Shannon for a double play. Very Awesome.
The next game was against Gahanna Gold. We win that one 6-3 and played a one error game. Lindsay pitched very well throwing 6 Ks and 5 hits in 5 innings. Nikki bats 1000 with two hits and a walk, Shannon drops one pitch the whole game and she grabbed it and hit Becky at 2nd base to put the runner out. Very well played game.
Saturday morning caught us sleeping. Everyone looked a little out of it at warm ups and it showed in the game. We held the Tallmage Blue Devils to one, through the first couple innings. Then the wheels fell off and they scored seven in an inning full of walks, hits and errors. Nikki and Kari made some big catches in the outfield. Kate was the only one to get a hit and she scored a "Sports Center Highlight" with the perfect execution of the Samurai Play. She fielded a bunt, faked the throw to first and then hit Becky at third to pick off the runner.
Tournament MVPs:
Cristen: No Errors at 2nd (her streak is up to 8 games) the big Double play, 3 stolen bases, 7 Putouts, 2 RBIs and a 460 On Base Percent.
Nikki: 4 putouts at Shortstop and Center, 2 stolen bases, 400 Batting Average, and had a 556 On Base Percent.
Shannon: 9 putouts behind the plate. 3 throwdowns, 444 Batting Average, and 4 RBI's
This year's Westerville Tournament was the best ever. We broke the "Westerville Curse" and finally win some games there. No only that we came back on Sunday for the finals. We win one vs the Rebels and run-ruled the Lady Vikes. The Stingrays gave us a good game and we lost that one 4-1 after 7 innings. We grabbed a wildcard spot for the finals and got put up against the Gold Lasers. We fought it out very well but could only score a couple runs and we lost 6-2. All in all it was a very good performance.
Some highlights from the weekend. Betsy pitching her best game yet 
this year with a No Hitter and 14 Ks verses the Vikes. Kari going 2 for 3 the first game and the second game the flu took over and she still hits a double and gets on again and steals some bases. She was down for the count after that. Tiffany Marroni picking lunch at Friday's is right up there with Coach B picking the Econolodge in Toledo. Both places sucked and we won't be back. Kate getting 3 RBI's and a bunch of put outs at 1st and 3rd. Cristen , Betsy and Shannon 's pick off double play. Nikki hitting over 500 for the weekend. Jessie dropping bunts like she was putting on a Clinic. Jessie , Nikki and Mackenzie catching big play fly balls. Kim pitching another win and Becky making some great grabs at Short Stop.
Tournament MVPs:
Nikki Marroni batting 538 with 7 hits and a SAC bunt and an On Base % of 571.
Betsy Rafferty pitching a no hitter with 14 strikeouts, batting 500 for the weekend with an On Base % of 615.
Honorable Mentions: Kate Frankart for a bunch of putouts, Cristen for 2 double-plays, and Shannon for another outstanding job behind the plate.
The Classics Take 2nd place in Grove City! The Classics have their best showing this season with a runner up at Grove City, Ohio. We battled thru 6 games in 28 hours, 88 degree heat, with 3 come from behind victories. No one but the Beckley Babes from Beckley West Virginia, could keep us down.
The tournament started with a game against the Gahanna Gold Lions. Lindsay pitched very well and the defense turned in a No Error performance. Becky Hits her first home run of the Tourney, Nikki went 3 for 4 at the plate and Kate , Kari and Betsy all had at least 5 putouts defensively. We win 11-5
Our next game was against the Emeralds from the Cleveland area. Kim pitched a 2 hit game with only one run scored. Nikki hit Becky twice at 2nd on throwdowns and everyone contributed with another fine defensive showing with only one error. We win 9-1 after 5 innings.
The third game of the evening put us up against the Reynoldsburg Attitude. They lead off the first inning with a couple runs. We came back with an amazing 12 run inning that included hits by Mackenzie, Kate , Kari , Becky , Lindsay , and a Home Run by Nikki . We put up 3 more runs in the 3rd and they called the game at the end of 3. Betsy picked up the win pitching and everyone padded their stats a little.
We came back Sunday for a single elimination play off. We played the North Union Wildcats to start the day. We have never beaten this team in the 3 times we have played them in the last two years. That was about to change. They scored first with a 3 run inning in the second. We answered back with 8 runs with hits by Betsy , Nikki , Kate and Becky . Mackenzie had a huge double play with a great catch in right center and gunning down a runner who thought there was no way she would catch it. Lindsay pitched her second win of the tournament. Time ran out after 5 innings and we had a 10-4 lead.
Our next game was against arch rival Hilliard White. They, too, started off with two runs in the first and another in the second. Then Nikki 's brick wall went up at home. They tried three times to score and all three times Nikki put them out at the plate with help from Betsy , Lindsay and Becky . Lindsay and Betsy had hits in the bottom of the second to score 4 runs. We hold them and finish with a 4-3 score. Betsy pitched a 3 hit win and everyone played well.
Our last game was against the Beckly Babes. Their starting pitcher was a 5-8 sophomore with and excellent fastball and great athletic skills. Kendra, Kari and Lindsay all got hits, but the heat, rain and long weekend got the best of us. We held them scoreless for 4 innings. Then the rain started when we were on defense and a couple wet ball walks happen. The Slippery ball was a cause for an error and 2 runs were score. We kept our composer for a while but the fatigue of the weekend set in.
Highlights of the weekend. Lindsay pitching 18 innings with only 8 walks, Becky hitting 2 home runs, Betsy making 15 putouts at 1st and on the mound, Jessie dropping 3 excellent bunts, Nikki catching 6 outstanding games, making 4 throwdowns, 4 plays at the plate, and catching a foul bunt and turning it into a double play. I had to produce birth certificates for Kari and Lindsay because one of the coaches couldn't believe they were only 14. We ate 10 dozen magic cookies, and the parents watched with pride as we play our best tourney this year.
Special thanx to Kim Frankart and Sherry Wilson for providing the eats between games. The salsa and macaroni salad were excellent. Thanx also go out to Kendra Mitchell and Michelle Sabelhaus for joining us this weekend and playing so well.
Tournament MVPs: Becky Eilers, 13 RBIs, 2 home runs, 18 putouts, 580 On Base Percent and 9 stolen bases.
Nikki Marroni, caught all 32 innings and did an excellent job, 6 hits including a home run, 9 RBIs, made 10 putouts, including a double play and stole 5 bases.
Betsy Rafferty, 5 RBIs, 15 putouts, pitched 2 wins, and a 560 On Base Percent and 5 stolen bases.
Kate Frankart, 6 RBIs, 14 putouts at 3rd, and a 600 On Base Percent.
There was a lot good competition this weekend at the ASA National Qualifier in Hilliard Ohio. The Classics were ready for the challenge but it took them a couple games to get going. One of these weekends we will get the breaks, and a call that goes our way.
Game One was against the Celina Rising Suns. They had a accurate but slow pitcher that we could not get the timing of. We struggled at the plate and when we did get on Joe and I made some mistakes that cost us some runs. Too many errors and not enough bats. We lost that one 9-3. Cristen went 2 for 3 at the plate and made another double play and Shannon had a couple throw downs to Becky that were impressive.
The next game was at 8:00 am on Saturday. We played the Beckley Babes again. We lost to them in the finals at Grove City. Again the coaching was suspect as we left bases loaded twice. We got jerked on a bad call and a gracious umpire. Its all part of the game. We didn't score the runs. We lost again 4-0. Lindsay made a nice play on a foul ball and Betsy and Cristen were On Base 2 out of 3 times.
When evening starts to roll in so do the Classics. We met up with the Northern Michigan Wave at 3:30 pm. We don't score till the second inning with Cristen taking home on a passed ball. The team defense, was awesome, with Lindsay's 9 putouts at first, Cristen got 7 at second and Kari grabbed 4 at short stop. The team had a perfect no error game. The bats came out in the fourth with hits by Betsy, Shannon and a 2 RBI double by Nikki. Kim pitched a shutout and Lindsay came in for the save. Classics are on top 5-0,
We were up against a two seed in single elimination next. The Toledo Blues won 2 out of three in there pool and we tied with them for 5th in the Toledo Tournament in June. Again the Classics made no errors and the offense was outstanding. We generated runs off of a 2 for 2 performance by Nikki Lassahn, 2 for 3 from Cristen Miller, a great sac bunt from Kate and hits from Kari and Shannon. Defensively we start the game off with another one of Cristens double plays. Betsy fielded a bunt at hit Cristen at first. Cris then guns it across the diamond to Kari who came in from left to cover 3rd. They had the runner cold. Cristen finished the day with an amazing 9 putouts at second. Betsy got the win and Lindsay gets the save as the Classics finish the game 6-4.
The Jackson Renegades met us at 8:00 am the next morning. Morning games suck. We never really got things on track as they took an early lead on us. Shannon hit a lead off home run and Nikki made 3 big catches in center field. We lost 8-1 and the renegades went on to qualify with a 2nd place finish in the tournament.
Tournament MVPs:
Cristen Miller, with 21 PO's at second, 2 double plays, 3 RBIs, 6 stolen bases, a 625 On Base percent and 4 hits.
Shannon Barnett with 6 hits including a home run, another stellar job calling and catching pitches.
Lindsay Shell with 20 putouts at 1st and on the mound, 2 saves pitching
Honorable Mention: Kim Mangon for an outstanding job pitching another win and a shutout with only 1 walk.
Thanx to Kendra Mitchell, Nikki Lassahn and Courtney Witter for joining us for the tourney.
The Classics Rocked this weekend. We outscored our opponents 44-15. Lindsay and Kim shared the pitching for six games and only had 9 earned runs and only 8 walks. Cristen was a part of 3 double plays and made 33 putouts, Shannon caught every inning, called every pitch, made 3 throwdowns and caught 4 fouls or foul tips for outs. Nikki played first, 3rd and center for 28 putouts and got at least one hit in every single game, Jessie and Mackenzie never let a ball hit the ground in the outfield and both of them hit the ball and scored some big runs. Kate made some big plays at 3rd in the first game while Betsy pitched a no hit shut out. Erin came from St. Louis to play and did a fantastic job at third and centerfield and hitting the ball. Becky made huge play after huge play diving for catches, making double plays and stealing bases. TOTAL TEAM! It was awesome.
Game 1: Classics beat the Gahanna Gold 6-0
Game 2: Classics over the Dominion Braves 6-4
Game 3: Classics shut down the Brave Wave 5-0
Single Elimination: (Sunday)
Game 1: Classics over Westland 8-0
Game 2: Classics beat the Lakota Lightning 7-5
Game 3: Classics topped the Brave Wave 7-2
Championship Game: Classics over the Cincinnati Starz 5-4
Tournament MVPs: Betsy, Lindsay, Shannon, Nikki, Kate, Kim, Cristen, Erin, Mackenzie, Jessie, Becky and with us in spirit, Kari.
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