BEARDSTOWN
BLAZE
12U FASTPITCH
1999
Front Row: Kahla Tracy, Abbie Rolf, Mattie Miller, Nora Cowen, Whitney Howell
Second Row: Celestia Bell Manager, Brooke Bennett, Amanda Schroll,
Bre Ashcraft, Jennifer Harris, Sarah Givens, Kembra Bell, Tom Ashcraft
CHAMPIONSHIP-MACOMB CATS
TOURNEY MAY 7 & 8, 1999
The Beardstown Blaze 12 and under girls fastpitch
team competed in their first tournament in Macomb, IL on May 7 and 8th
and brought home the bacon. The Blaze defeated Canton, IL, Burlington,
IA, Keokuk, IA, Washington, IL Athletics, Washington, IL Cobras and claimed
the championship trophy with a win over the East Peoria IL. Express.
Celestia Bell and Tom Ashcraft manage the12 and under Blaze.
The team is sponsored by Black's Van Service, Rolf Farms, Jim Schroll CPA,
Brannan's, Cowen Real Estate, Bell Farms and Cass Meats.
Blaze vs Canton
The Blaze opened the tourney with a 10-0 thumping
of Canton, IL in a game called after just 3 innings of play. Whitney
Howell was the winning pitcher as she threw a no-hitter to start the tourney
in fine style. She struck out all 9 batters in the 3 inning game.
Sarah Givens, Abbie Rolf, and Amanda Schroll were a perfect 2 for
2 as the Beardstown girls pounded out 10 hits in the shutout.
Blaze vs Burlington, Iowa
The Blaze's second outing of the tourney claimed
them another shortened game as they defeated Burlington, Iowa 11-1
in four innings of play. Howell was again the winning pitcher, allowing
one unearned run on just two hits. She struck out 9 in the affair
and walked none. The Blaze team out hit Burlington 9-2. Jennifer
Harris led the Blaze attack going 3 for 3 and scoring twice as she belted
two doubles and a triple. Howell was 2 for 2, with Mattie
Miller, Givens, Kembra Bell, and Schroll also hitting safely for the winners.
Blaze vs Keokuk, IA
In game number 3, the Blaze found the going a
little tougher, but still came out on the top end of a 3-1 verdict.
Bell was on the mound for the Blaze, allowing Keokuk only one hit, a harmless
single in the third. Bell struck out 13 in the 7 inning game.
Keokuk got on the board first with a run
in the top of the first inning. Two errors in the inning allowed
the unearned run to score. Miller started the Blaze off with a hit
and scored to tie the inning. The girls added their final runs in
the third. Miller singled to open the inning, followed by Bell with
a single with one out and Howell then singled scoring both Miller
and Bell, after Harris walked to load the bases. Blaze outhit the
Keokuk team 7-1. Bell led the attack with a 2-4, with Miller,
Givens, Howell and Rolf all hitting singles.
Blaze vs Washington Athletics
Bell was back on the mound for game four as
Beardstown topped the Washington, IL team 11-0 in 4 innings. Bell
gave up 3 hits, walked none and stuck out 8 in the shutout victory.
Givens singled in the first and stoled her way around the bases to make
it 1-0. In the second, the girls added 3 more runs on a single by
Miller and a walk by Nora Cowen. Harris and Howell both
singled in the third with Harris reaching home. The Blaze exploded
in the 4th to run the score 11-0. Miller walked, Givens singled,
an error on a grounder from Bell and a double by Harris scored two runs.
Howell and Schroll walked and Kahla Tracey then delivered a single.
Miller , Givens, Bell, Harris, Howell and Schroll all scored in that inning
to add another victory.
Blaze vs Washington Cobras
Whitney Howell returned to the mound for the Blaze and her teamates responded with an eight hit attack that gave them an 8-1 win and earned them a shot at the championship contest. Howell gave up just three hits, striking out 8 and walking none. The girls jumped out early with a hit from Miller and Givens. Howell got on by an error and Miller scored. Rolf busted a double to score Givens and Howell. Harris and Howell singled in the third and then another double from Rolf scored the three. Schroll laid down a bunt and reached first on an error by the pitcher. Ashcraft singled to score Rolf. The last run came in the 6th when Tracy walked and Miller singled to score Tracy to end the game.
Championship game - Blaze vs East Peoria Express
Beardstown Blaze sent Howell back to the
mound for the championship contest and she responded with a 2-1 victory
over the well seasoned East Peoria, IL team. McGann took the loss
for the Express. Both pitchers gave up just three hits in the battle.
In a very well played and close contest, the Blaze scored first when the scored a single tally in the bottom of the second. With two out Bell doubled for the Blaze and was able to come around to score when Ashcraft followed with a double. Howell held the Express scoreless through three innings. Peoria's McGann doubled in the fourth and was able to steal her way home tying the game at 1 apiece.
Howell held the Express in check the remainder of the game and allowed only two baserunners to reach when she commited an error and gave up a single in the 7th. Bennett's fancy footwork on first for the Blaze ended the inning with two fine plays and keeping the Express from scoring.
The Blaze won in dramatic style in the bottom
of the 7th when Ashcraft singled with one out. Schroll coaxed her
way with a walk, and after a strikeout to make the 2nd out, Peoria errored
on Miller's grounder, allowing Ashcraft to score the winning run, and clinching
the championship trophy for the Beardstown Blaze team. Ashcraft had
two and Bell had one of the Blazes three hits. The Blaze team won
all six of the games to go unbeaten for the tourney against several top
Illinois and Iowa teams.
Consolation
Champs - Silver Streaks Tourney
Hannibal,
Missouri ---June 11-12 1999
The Blaze 12U brought home the consolation trophy from the Silver Streaks Tourney held at Hannibal, Mo June 11-12, 1999. The locals were 3-2 for the weekend, stopping Keokuk, Iowa, Macon, Mo, and the St. Louis Espirit II. The won their first contest 3-1, then dropped their next two games 16-0 and 4-2 before winning the final two outings and the consolation trophy. The locals lost to two very strong St. Louis teams in the Red Hots and the St. Louis Espirit I.
Blaze vs Keokuk
The Blaze opened the tournament with a solid 3-1 win over Keokuk, Iowa. Whitney Howell was the winning hurler giving up only two hits, neither one accounting for Keokuk's lone run, which was unearned after three successive Blaze errors in the 6th inning. Howell struck out 13 batters, including three in a row after the three errors in the 6th.
The locals scored one run in the 2nd, with K. Bell scoring after reaching on a walk. The final two runs for the hometowners came in the bottom of the 3rd when Howell and Jennifer Harris received back to back walks, with Howell scoring on a sac fly by Abbie Rolf and Harris coming in on a RBI single by Kembra Bell.
The Blaze only had three hits, a single by Bre Ashcraft and K. Bell pounding out two singles, going 2-2 in the affair.
Blaze vs St. Louis Red Hots
After winning their first game the Blaze were stymied in the second outing as the St. Louis Red Hots defeated the locals 4-2 as they broke a 2-2 tie in the final inning. Whitney Howell absorbed the loss giving up four runs on four hits, three of which came in the 6th.
Both clubs scored in the 1st inning, with St. Louis breaking on top 1-0 on an unearned run. The locals came back in the second when Howell doubled and scored on a double by Jennifer Harris.
St. Louis took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth when Baily doubled to open the inning and came around to score on two ground outs. Again the locals fought back with a single run in the bottom of the 5th. Brooke Bennett singled and stole second and third and came home on Kahla Tracy's RBI single.
St. Louis scored the winning runs in the bottom of the 6th when they put together three singles around a Blaze error for the final 4-2 score.
The Blaze managed just four hits, Howell and Harris doubled and Tracy and Bennett collected singles.
Blaze vs St Louis Espirit I
The locals were knocked down in to the consolation bracket as they suffered their second straight loss, this time rather convincingly by a 16-0 score. Kembra Bell started and took the loss for the Blaze as St. Louis pounded out 15 hits in the ball game and held the local girls hitless.
The winners scored three in the 1st, added one in the 3rd, two in the 4th and then exploded in for ten runs in the 5th for their 16-0 win. All of the St. Louis hits were singles with the exception of one three bagger,
The locals managed three baserunners, those in the 5th with two walks and a player hit by pitch. The Blaze were victim of the K ball 13 times in the contest.
Blaze vs Macon Thunder
After being knocked down to the consolation bracket, the locals fought back with a sold 11-1 win behind Kembra Bell's pitching. Bell allowed only one hit, a harmless single in the 4th with one out. Bell's teammates responded after being held hitless in the prior game banging at 8 hits, including a two run homer by Jennifer Harris.
The locals came out smokin in the very 1st inning, pushing across three runs on one hit. They added two more in the 2nd on Harris' two run homer. The locals big inning came in the 3rd when the put together 4 hits and five runs to break the game wide open. The final run came in the 4th inning of the five inning affair on Cassie Bell's RBI single.
Bre Ashcraft, Whitney Howell, Abbie Rolf all singled with Cassie Bell going 2-3 with two singles. Harris was 2-2 with a homerun, single and three Ribbies and Kembra Bell had a double for the winners.
St. Louis' only run came in the 5th on two walks and a two run stolen base. The 11-1 win propelling the Blaze into the championship game in the consolation contest.
Blaze vs Espirit II
The Blaze won the consolation championship by defeating the second Espirit team 4-1. Whitney Howell was the winning pitcher giving up one unearned run on only 3 hits, striking out 10 and walking one. Her teammates committed two errors in the affair.
The Blaze took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 2nd, on a walk, an error and a RBI single by Tracy. The locals pushed the score to 4-0 in the top of the fourth when Sarah Givens singled and Amanda Schroll walked, both coming around to score to make it a 4-0 ball game.
St. Louis' only run came in the bottom of the 5th when they sandwiched a single around two Blaze misdemeanors and a walk.
The locals three hits were divided between K Bell,
Kahla Tracy, Brooke Bennett , all singles.
BLAZE 12U
FINISH 3rd at
HANNIBAL
GOLD TOURNEY JUNE 25-27
The Blaze girls won 4 of their five games in the Hannibal Gold Tourney June 25-27, 1999. The locals finished third in the tournament losing in the finals to Rock Falls in a tough luck 2-0 contest. The Blaze opened with a 5-4 win over Hannibal Gold, defeating Jefferson City Heat 11-2, dropped Rock Falls 5-0, blasted Macon, Mo 14-4 before losing the tough luck contest 2-0.
Blaze vs Hannibal Gold
In the opening game, the Blaze defeated the home town team in a close 5-4 ball game. Whitney Howell was the winning pitcher. Howell had one bad inning when the Gold scored all of their runs in the 4th. She gave up just two hits and struck out 8 and walked 3. The Blaze committed four errors in the ball game.
The Blaze took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 4th when Harris singled and came in to score. Back came the Gold with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. A walk, an error and back to back triples did the damage.
The Blaze made it a 4-2 ball game in the top of the 5th, as Bennet singled and came around to dent the plate on an RBI single by Ashcraft. The local the put on the rally caps as they came up with three runs in the top of the 6th inning. K. Bell singled, Harris walked, Givens was safe on a bunt, and a costly two run error, allowed the tying and winning run.
The Blaze out hit the hometowners 5-2. Hitting safely for our girls were Howell, Harris, Ashcraft, Bell, and Bennett. All had singles in the winning effort.
Blaze vs Jeff City Heat
The Blaze had on their hitting shoes as they defeated Jeff City 11-2. They blasted out 16 hits in the one sided victory. K Bell was the winning hurler as she allowed just two hits, striking out 5 and walking 5.
The Blaze scored two in the 1st, one in the second, two in the 3rd added four in the 4th and closed out with two in the 6th for their 11 runs. The Heat managed their two runs in the 3rd inning when Bell hit a wild streak and walked three and gave up a single.
Leading batter for the Blaze were K Bell who went 3-3 and scored three runs. Whitney Howell was 3-4 with three runs scored and J Harris with a pair of singles and Sarah Givens a pair of singles. Schroll had a pair of extra base hits banging out two doubles. Also hitting safely were Rolf, Ashcraft and Bennett.
Blaze vs Rock Falls
Whitney Howell gave up a harmless single in the 4th inning, hurling a sparking one hitter as the Blaze knocked off rivals Rock Falls in a 5-0 win. The lefty hurler stuckout three and walked no one in the shutout.
The Blaze gave Howell all the runs she would need in the very first inning when they scored three times. A single by Ashcraft and a RBI double by Bell along with three walks did the damage.
The Blaze added single runs in the 3rd and 5th innings. Harris walked and Rolf doubled her home in the 3rd with Harris walking advancing on two wild pitches and scoring on a fielders choice in the 5th.
The Blaze banged out five hits in the winning 5-0 decision. Bre Ashcraft was 2-4 both singles and both scoring. Bell doubled and scored, Rolf also had a two bagger and Howell had a single for the winners.
Blaze vs Macon
The Blaze bats were booming in a 14-4 thrashing of Macon Missouri in the shortened four inning contest. K Bell picked up the win and she limited Macon to one hit, struckout 7 and walked four.
The Blaze came out smokin in the very first inning as they sent 13 batters to the plate and scored 1 runs in the outburst. The locals pounded out 4 hits in the inning. J Harris had the big blow in the inning when she cracked a bases loaded triple scoring three runs.
The Blaze picked up one run in the 3rd when Sara Givens walked and scored on Harris' double. The locals closed out their scoring in the 4th with two more. An error, a walk a run scoring double by K Bell pushed across one run and Harris drove home another run with her third hit of the contest.
Macon scored an unearned run in the 3rd when the Blaze girls commited two errors. They picked up three runs int he 4th when Bell gave up four walks and the only hit by Macon to spoil her no hitter.
Top guns for the locals were Harris going 3-3. Also hitting safely were Givens and Schroll with a pair of singles.
Blaze vs Rock Falls
In the second go around Rock Falls eeked out a 2-0 win over the Blaze, with Witney Howell absorbing the loss. Howell gave up just one hit, an RBI single in the first inning, while her teammates collected only two hits off the offering of Rock Falls Tresenwriter and Paul.
Rock Falls opened the bottom of the first with the leaoff hitter eaching on an error. A one out single by Clark scored one run and she came around to score on a stolen base a a fielder's choice for the only two runs in the contest.
The locals had two on in the 2nd on walks but couldn't score. An error and a single by Bell proved fruitless in the 3rd. Bell opened the 6th with a single and got as far as third before the third out ended the contest.
K. Bell had the only two hits for the Blaze, both
singles. The locals stranded five baserunners in the tough 2-0 loss.
The Blaze
finished their season with an impressive 16-3 record for the 1999 season.
BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR THE
BEARDSTOWN 11-12 ALLSTARS
