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June 11 , 2004 - It was opening night at the 18U ASA Sector Gold Tournament in Killeen.
39 Teams were playing at the Killeen Athletic Complex and Lions Club Park. Katy Express played Austin
Storm Blue on field 3 at the Killeen Athletic Complex at 9:45 pm. Four spots in the ASA Gold Nationals
at Marietta, Georgia in August were at stake.
The game was tied 0 to 0 entering the 6th inning. The visitors, Austin Storm were at bat.
Christina Gwyn (University of Texas freshman) hit a Texas Leaguer that dropped in behind
the 1st baseman on the 1st base line for a single. Austin substituted a base runner for
Christina. Rachel Hakim then bunted the ball down the 3rd base line. Rachel is from Bowie
High School in Austin and is a Blinn Community College signee. Katy Express Tiffany Velez
scooped up the bunt and fired it to 2nd base to get the lead runner who was just safe. With
no outs, and runners at 1st and 2nd base, Mickayla Padilla strikes out. Clarissa Martinez
then hit a hot ground ball besides the Katy Express pitcher (Cori Bram). The short stop could
not find the handle and Clarissa was safe at 1st base. The short stop threw the ball back to Cori
who threw high to 3rd to get the advancing base runner at third. The runner scored on the
over thrown ball to give Austin the lead at 1-0. The next batter struck out. Then Kyleieh
Callender hit a line drive to right field that dropped before reaching the fielder and then
got by the fielder. Kyleieh reached 3rd base on the play. Both Rachel Hakim and Clarissa
Martinez scored to give Austin Storm a 3-0 advantage. Jetta Weinheimer then hit a rocket
shot line drive that was caught by center fielder Heather Kight for the third out.
Katy Express was the Home team, so they still had a chance at bat. Haylay Petrash hit a
ground single between the 2nd baseman and 2nd base. Stephanie Fry then hit a grounder to the
pitcher who couldn't come up with the ball quick enough. Next, Jenny Matulich chopped a
pitch (drop ball) into the dirt for a single to load the bases. Kimmy Lee then hit a grounder
to the pitcher who threw home to get the force out. Kimmy was safe at first on the fielder's
choice. When Stephanie Velez was batting, Stephanie Fry scored on a pass ball to give
the Katy Express their first score. Tiffany Velez then flied to the 2nd baseman for an out.
Cori Bram grounded to the 3rd baseman for the final out. The final score was 3-1 in favor
of Austin Storm.
Pitching was outstanding for both teams. Cori Bram went the whole distance on the mound
for Katy Express. Cori had 11 strike-outs and scattered 5 walks. She gave-up only 3 hits.
College Sports Exposure radar her pitches between 58 and 63 mph. She was throwing most of the time
about 60 or 61 mph. Cori used an excellent rise most of the night, and sprinkled in an excellent
off-speed, a drop and a fastball. She kept on pitches on the corners.
Jessica Sander went the distance for Austin Storm. Jessica only had one strike-out and gave-up six hits
and two walks. Jessica is a drop ball pitcher. Because Jessica throws a lot of drops, most of the balls
were fielded in the infield. College Sports Exposure radared Jessica's pitches between 56 and 60 mph.
Kristina Tellos led the Katy Express hitting attacking with 3 hits in 3 batting attempts. Kristina had
a bunt single in the first inning, hit a grounder in the gap between the 3rd baseman and short stop in the
3rd inning and another bunt for a single in the 6th inning.
Jenny Matulich (1st baseman) had two singles in 3 batting attempts. In the 2nd inning, Jenny hit a
a rocket shot line drive down the 3rd base line. The third baseman only had time to knock it down.
By the time the 3rd baseman could retrieve the ball, Jenny was at 1st base. In the 6th inning, Jenny
chopped a drop ball into the ground right in between the catcher, pitcher and 3rd baseman. By the time
the third baseman retrieve the ball, Jenny was safe at first base.
Mandy Phillips got the remaining hit for Austin Storm. Mandy hit a ground ball single in the gap between
the short stop and 3rd baseman in the 3rd inning.
With the win, Austin Storm was scheduled to play Vancouver Ford from Washington in a 4:00 pm Saturday game.
Katy Express was scheduled to play Texas Eclipse Gold from Magnolia, Texas in a 10:00 am Saturday game.
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