FORT HOOD -- Nine seasons, nine national tournament appearances.
Such is the résumé of the Houston Storm 18-and-under girl's softball
team. The Storm, which defeated the Houston Intruders 6-1 in the championship
game of the ASA Gold 18-and-under National Qualifier at Fort Hood on Sunday,
will now advance to the ASA Gold National Tournament at Marietta, Ga., on
Aug. 3. But for a group of girls that has four top-10 finishes in national
tournament play to their credit already - including a 10-and-under national
title in 1994 - Sunday's win was business as usual.
" If these kids can put up with me, they can put up with just about any challenge," Storm founder and coach Ronn
Dixon said. "I push them harder than anyone else, and it pays off."
Utilizing a hand-picked lineup of girls from 13 different Houston-area
schools, the Storm swept through its first four games of the weekend to
reach Sunday's title round undefeated.
The Intruders, who needed to beat the Storm twice in order to win the
tournament, had already lost to their cross-town rivals 2-0 in the
winner's bracket final Sunday morning. But behind the one-hit pitching of
Sarah Mardis, they defeated the Storm 1-0 in the first game to force a winner-take-all scenario. "We had a little slip-up in that first game, but fortunately the
(second game) was there and we were able to bounce back," said Dixon, who
has posted a 668-114 record with the Storm. "We have a lot of experience
and that helped."
Mardis, who carried a no-hitter through 4 1/3 innings of work in the
first game, started the second game as well, but was clearly fatigued.
The Storm took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Taryn Williams
led-off with a single and scored on a two-out double from Tara Lindsey.
The Intruders evened the score in the second when Stephanie Mosky
singled, advanced on an error, and scored on a passed ball.
The Storm took a 2-1 advantage in the third when Erin Crandall singled
off Intruders' reliever Whitney Heath to score LeClaire Ebow who had
walked with one out. Storm starting pitcher Brittany Faske in the meantime,
settled down after her second-inning difficulties to shut out the Intruders until she
was relieved in the sixth. "She (Faske) didn't have her best stuff today," Dixon said. "She's not
the kind of pitcher who will overpower you, but she's smart and has a
great mind for the game."
The Storm broke the contest open with four runs on five hits in the
fourth inning - including a two-run single by Natalie Esparza.
Heather Miller, Ebow, and Lindsey provided consecutive singles in the
rally, which gave the storm a 6-1 advantage heading into the fifth.
The Intruder's final threat came in the sixth inning, when one-out
singles from Holly Smith and Glynn Tolleson were followed by a walk by
Nicki Edlund. The Storm escaped trouble, however, when Shannon Gambulurta
relieved Faske -retiring Deasy Phillips on a strikeout, and Jamie Haas on a
groundout to first. "We came (to Killeen) with the goal of putting out a great effort, and
we got it done," Dixon said.
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