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AFA National Qualifier
Little Cedar Bayou Park
La Porte, TX
October 18-19, 2003
2 pool games; double elimination bracket, 11 teams

Texas Aces finish 2nd in first Fall Tournament
The AFA National Qualifier in La Porte was the Aces first tournament of the fall season.  The Aces played in the 14U division when the 16U division failed to make.  They finished 2nd to the Young Guns Red.  Not a bad start considering the Aces only had one partial practice since returning from Nationals at the end of July!  Most of the problems were in timing, both hitting and in fielding.  Bats looked stronger and stronger each game, but fielding errors cost us both losses to the Young Guns.  Along the way, the Aces beat Hit Away in pool and twice in bracket, and beat the Texas Panthers, Katy Cruisers, and Out of Control 12U.  Congratulations to Rhiannon for hitting two home runs on Saturday, against the Panthers and Out of Control.  (No picture was taken because no awards were given.)  We were missing Lana Jo and Emily for the tournament.


Opponent W/L/T Us Them
Hit Away
3
1

Tx Panthers
3
0

Out of Control 12U
W
13
0

Hit Away W 3 0
Katy Cruisers
W 3 2
Young Guns Red
L 1 2
Hit Away W 6 5 3rd
Young Guns Red
L 1 3 1st
also
Naturals





Humble Cobras





Young Guns Blue





Alvin No Fear?





Rowdies




 

Pool Game 1 - vs Hit Away.  Aces won 3-1.
The bats got off to a slow start in this game as the opposing pitcher struggled to find the strike zone.  Lindsey, Megan, and Kelsea walked in the first inning, and Lindsey scored on a wild pitch.  Stephanie walked in the 2nd, but was caught stealing.  Sarah and Amber walked in the 3rd.  Kendall brought home a run with a single, and Lindsey brought home another run with a ground out to right field.  Megan also walked but time expired with only one out in the inning.  Defensively, the Aces played well.  Sarah pitched and allowed two hits in the first, one for an RBI.  Sarah allowed one more hit in the 2nd, but the runner was left stranded.

Pool Game 2 - vs Texas Panthers.  Aces won 3-0.
The Aces still had trouble finding their bats in the 2nd game.  Kesha walked in the 1st, and Kelsea reached on error in the 2nd, but both were left stranded.  The bats finally came alive in the 3rd, as Lindsey led off with a double.  After Lindsey stole 3rd, Megan bunted safely to score LindseyMegan advanced on a throwing error, and scored on a sac bunt by Stephanie.  In the 4th inning, Rhiannon led off with a solo homerun over the shortstops head.  Defensively, the team didn't get much work as Rhiannon pitched a perfect game and struck out 7 of 9 batters faced.  One grounded out to 3rd in the 1st inning, and the last batter grounded out to 2nd.

Bracket 1 - vs Out of Control 12U.  Aces won 13-0.
Sarah pitched for the Aces, and had seven strikeouts, with one walk and one hit over 4 innings.  Amber had a single and a walk, and scored both times.  Kendall had an RBI single.  Megan came in for Kendall after she was injured, and walked once.  Lindsey walked once, reached on an error once, and hit an RBI single.   Rhiannon hit a two-run homerun in the 2nd inning.  Kesha reached on an error in the 4th and scored.  Stephanie had an RBI bunt in the 1st and later scored, and hit a single and scored in the 4th.  Kelsea reached on an error once and hit a single.  Sarah hit two doubles, one for two RBIs, and also bunted safely for an RBI.  Ashley had an RBI single and was hit by a pitch.

Bracket 2 - vs Hit Away.  Aces won 3-0.
Rhiannon struck out two with one ground out in the 1st.  Lindsey walked in the 1st but was left stranded.  Rhiannon struck out the first batter in the 2nd, and the next two grounded out.  The Aces had three groundouts in the 2nd.  Rhiannon walked the first batter in the 3rd, but Megan quickly caught the runner stealing 2nd.  The next batter hit a single, but was left stranded with two groundouts.  Lindsey hit a single on two outs in the 3rd but was left stranded.  The first Hit Away batter reached on an error in the 4th, but was left stranded.  The Aces were 3-up-3-down in the bottom of the 4th.  Rhiannon walked the leadoff batter in the 5th, but a fielder's choice and two ground outs retired the side.  Stephanie walked on one out in the 5th.  After another out, Amber hit a single and advanced StephanieLindsey walked to load the bases.  With bases loaded and two outs, Rhiannon hit a hard shot to short.  Hit Away went for the force at 3rd, but Amber reached the base before the fielder could get control of the ball, allowing Stephanie to score.   Megan then followed with a two-run single before the side was retired.  Another inning was started.  The first batter hit a fly ball to left field, and Kesha made an incredible catch.  However, the umpire called the runner safe saying Kesha did not make a clean catch.  Not to worry, though.  After a sac bunt, Rhiannon struck out the last two batters to seal the victory.

Bracket 3 - vs Katy Cruisers.  Aces won 3-2.
The Cruisers lead off batter got a hit as Sarah pitched.  However, a sac bunt, a fly out to center, and a ground out left the runner stranded.  Amber led off with a double for the Aces, and Lindsey followed with another double to bring Amber home.  Rhiannon followed with an RBI single but was left stranded.  The Cruisers led off the 2nd with another single, but three groundouts left the runner stranded.  The Aces were 3-up-3-down in the 2nd.  Sarah struck out two, with one walk and another batter reaching on an error in the 3rd.  A ground out left both stranded.  Amber led off the bottom of the 4th with a single.  Lindsey hit into a fielder's choice, but Amber was was able to score on an error.  Lindsey was tagged out in a run down trying to reach 3rd.  Megan hit a single on two outs, but was left stranded.  The first Cruisers batter walked in the 4th.  On two outs, a double to center was thrown home to keep the run from scoring, but a misplayed ball allowed both runners to score.  A ground out ended the inning with the Aces still ahead.  Kesha hit a single in the 4th, and Stephanie bunted safely, but both were left stranded.  Amber made an awesome catch on a fly ball in the 5th, and fielded the next grounder for another out.  Rhiannon came in to finish the game, and walked the first batter, but struck out the next to end it.

Bracket 4 - vs Young Guns Red.  Aces lost 1-2.
The Aces were visitors.  Amber reached on an error, then Lindsey walked.  On one out, Megan bunted to try and bring home Amber, but Amber was tagged out at the plate.  Sarah singled to bring home Lindsey, and Kelsea walked to load the bases.  Three were left stranded.  The Young Guns led off with a single with Rhiannon pitching.  After one out, an error allowed another runner on while one run scored.  One was left stranded.  Ashley walked in the 2nd on one out, and advanced on a sac bunt by AmberLindsey singled, but two were left stranded.  The leadoff batter reached on an error, and after one out, scored on a single.  Another batter walked, but two were left stranded.  Megan led off with a single in the 3rd, but was out on a double play with a line drive to 2nd.  Sarah came in to pitch for the Aces, and got the Guns 3-up-3-down.  On two outs, Ashley reached on an error.  Amber singled to center, but Ashley was caught at the plate for the final out.

Bracket 5 - vs Hit Away.  Aces won 6-5.
The Aces were once again visitors.  After two groundouts in the first, Lindsey hit a double, followed by an RBI double by MeganMegan was left stranded.  With Sarah pitching for the Aces, Hit Away hit a single on two outs but the runner was left stranded.  Both sides were 3-up-3-down in the 2nd.  In the top of the 3rd, Ashley led off with a single.  Amber advanced the runner with a sac bunt, and was safe at 1st on an error as Ashley made it to 3rd.  Sarah bunted safely to score Ashley.   Lindsey hit into a fielder's choice which got the lead runner at 3rd.  Megan hit a single to advance the runners and load the bases.  Rhiannon followed with a triple to bring home 3 runs, but was left stranded at 3rd.  In the bottom of the 3rd, on one out, Hit Away hit two consecutive singles followed by a ground out to right which put two runs on the board.  After another single, Rhiannon came in to relieve Sarah, and a fielder's choice retired the side, with the Aces up 5-2.  Stephanie led off the 4th with a triple, and scored on a sac fly by Amber.  Hit Away led off the bottom of the 4th with a double, and after two outs, a single scored a run before a strikeout retired the side.  The Aces were still up 6-3.  On one out in the 5th, Megan and Rhiannon hit consecutive singles, but two runners were left stranded on a fielder's choice and a ground out.  Hit Away had a single in the 5th, but the runner was left stranded.  Ashley and Sarah both had singles in the top of the 6th, but both were left stranded.  Hit Away led off with a single.  A fielding error allowed another runner on base, and a ground out scored a run.  A single brought home another run for Hit Away, bring the score to 6-5.  On two outs, another Aces defensive error allowed a runner on base with the tying runner moving to 3rd, but a fielder's choice retired the side and gave the Aces the game.

Bracket 6 - vs Young Guns Red.  Aces lost 1-3.
The Aces faced the Young Guns again in the Championship Game.  The Aces were home team with Rhiannon pitching.  On two outs, the Young Guns hit a single, but the runner was left stranded.  The Aces were 3-up-3-down.  In the 2nd, the Young Guns led off with a single, but the runner was held at 1st as Rhiannon struck out 3 in a row.  The Aces were again 3-up-3-down.  The Young Guns had a runner reach on an error with two outs, but the runner was quickly caught stealing on a throw from Megan to LindseyKesha walked in the bottom of the 3rd, and advanced on a sac bunt by StephanieStephanie was safe on an error.  After two outs, Sarah reached safely on an error to load the bases.  Lindsey hit a single up the middle to score a run for the Aces.  A ground out left 3 stranded.  In the top of the 4th, Aces errors led to a lead off runner for the Young Guns.  After a sac bunt advanced the runner, a single scored a run to tie the score.  Another error on a bunt that should have only advanced the runner to 2nd, allowed the runner to score and the batter to reach 3rd.  A ground out scored another run before the Aces could get out of the inning.  On one out in the bottom of the 4th, Kelsea walked and Kesha hit a single up the middle, but the Aces failed to bring home the runs.


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