Last tournament it was cold weather TCT had to deal with, this tournament it was the rain.  The tournament is the years largest one for Kankakee, The Howling Fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis, October 24-25, and hosting a total of 90 teams between all 5 age groups.  Saturday morning it looked as if The Howling might be cancelled, with most of the fields flooded and drizzling rain the first half of the day.  Games were postponed till 12:00, then 1:30, then again 3:00.  All pool play games were cancelled, so we were down to only a 2 game guaranteed tournament.  TCT fought hard in every single game.  The girls were determined to get their share of softball for the weekend.  They had a total of 26 hits, took 13 walks, scored 20 runs in 3 games.  They battled through 2 games that went into the International tie-breaker, one of those games lasting 2 hours & 35 minutes, a total of 8 innings with 4 of those tie-breaker innings.

TCT's first game was Saturday night at 6:50 PM.  TCT found themselves getting ready to play an 'A' Team, the Homer Hawks.  The girls put up a good hard fight, but could not pull off the win.  They lost this one 5-1.  Kelsey pitched the first 3 innings and had 3 strike outs and only 1 walk.  The team allowed the Hawks 0 runs in the 1st and 3rd innings.  They pulled off their win in the last inning when they scored 3 runs off of TCT.

Sunday was a new day.  It was a sunny fall day in the 60's.  TCT's first game wasn't until 1:30 against the 'B' Team, The Richmon Jr. Rockets.  The girls played an insane 2 hours & 35 minutes in this 8 inning game, going through 4 innings of International tie-breaker.  No one wanted to give this game up.  Emily pitched this 17-15 victory.  TCT didn't score in the 1st inning.  In the 2nd inning Madi stole home while Taylor tried to steal 2nd.  The girls had a phenomenal 3rd inning that started off by Morgan scoring off of Kelsey's single and Hannah stole home when the Rockets over-threw the ball at 1st base.  Kelsey scored when Madi dropped one over the 2nd baseman's head.  They finished the inning with Madi, Taylor, and Emily scoring off of Holly's monsterous GRAND SLAM !!!!  The Rockets held us from scoring in the 4th inning.  Time has now expired, but the game is tied at 8.  TCT goes into International tie-breaker play #1 with neither team scoring.  Tie-breaker #2 was a close one when the Rockets had 2 outs and tried to steal home.  Hannah tagged the baserunner out at the plate to save the game.  Tie-breaker #3 Kelsey and Taylor scored off of Emily's big double, then Emily scored off of Holly's huge double to the fence.  The Rockets took the challenge and scored 3 runs to stay in the game.  Finally, tie-breaker #4 was a big one for the girls of TCT.  Morgan and Mason scored off of Kelsey's single.  Kelsey, Stoi, and Hannah scored off of Taylor's huge double to the fence in center field.  Then Taylor scored off of Holly's single.  The Rockets came back to score 4 more runs in their bat, but it wasn't enough to win.  Holly turned a double play when she caught a fly ball and threw it to Kelsey at 1st base to pick the runner off.  The last out was a runner being thrown out at 1st base.  The game started at 1:45 and didn't end until 4:20.

The Shaumburg Sluggers have been patiently waiting for their turn to play.  The TCT girls got just enough time to take a bathroom break, then back to play another 'A' Team.  Lauren pitched this 8 inning game that went into the International tie-breaker once again.  Lauren pitched a strong game only walking 1 batter and giving up only 3 runs.  Both teams played strong and hard.  They played a full 7 innings that ended in a 1-1 tie.  The Sluggers scored 2 runs in the tie-breaker and TCT was only able to come up with 1 run.  TCT lost this close game 3-2.  It was a battle till the end.     

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Tri-City Thunder had a great weekend at the Great American B Bash tournament in Kankakee on 10/17 and 10/18.  It was a cold weekend barely getting into the 50's both days.  We had a few girls battling either injuries or illness.  One would be wrong to think that the girls would allow their hurdles to slow them down or keep them from having fun.  What a dedicated group of talented young ladies!  Their over-all record for the weekend was 5 wins and 2 losses.  They finished up with a total 50 hits, scoring 50 runs, and taking 29 walks.  The team took 4th place out of 16 teams. 

Pool play started Saturday morning at Kankakee High School.  The temperature was only in the 30's.  TCT started off strong against the Frankfort Flames.  Lauren & Emily shared the pitching of this 7-6 win.  Lauren scored the winning run on a pass ball after the game went into international tie breaker.

Kelsey pitched the second pool play game against Lincoln Way Blue Wave Blue.  The temperature was cold outside, but the bats were hot as we Run Ruled this team in 3 innings 14-1. 

After a warm break at the Rivard's house, it was time to get back to work.  The first tournament game was at Riverside Sports Park at 3:00.  Emily pitched a shut-out against the Hoosier Hurricanes.  She only allowed 1 walk, and had 3 innings where she pitched 0 balls.  We won 10-0.  Our bats were on fire this game with 5 extra base hits.  Morgan hit a big triple to left field that scored Lauren.  Stoi hit a double that scored Erica.  Madi made the pitcher work hard fighting off pitch after pitch during her long at bat.  She may have been thrown out at first, but it allowed Kelsey to score.  Kelsey hit a double that scored Erica.  Lauren hit a huge double to the fence in center field that Taylor scored off of.  Then Morgan and Lauren scored off of Erica's big hit to left field.  

Our second tournament game took us to BBYSL.  Lauren & Emily shared the pitching against Lincoln Way Blue Wave Black.  This was a close win 6-5.  Kelsey slammed a triple to the fence in center field that scored Morgan.  Kelsey then scored off of Stoi's hard hit single up center field.  Morgan decided she wanted to try the Anderson bat and pounded out a triple that went to the fence in right field, then she scored on a pass ball.  Hannah stole home, and Kelsey scored the winning run off of Taylor's big single.

The girls ended Saturday with a perfect 4-0 record.  They were going into Sunday still needing to lose 2 games to be knocked out of the tournament.

Sunday morning at Riverside Sports Park was an even colder one at 29 degrees.  There was frost on the ground and you could see your breath.  The girls played hard, some injured and some sick.

We started at 9:00 against the big hitting team, the Duneland Flyers.  Emily & Kelsey shared the pitching of this challenging game.  We held them off good for a while, but their pitching and fielding held us from scoring many runs.  We lost this one 16-2.  They didn't allow the apponent to stomp on their spirits, and the girls didn't give up.  They fought a tough fight all the way till the end.

The girls shook off the loss and focused on their next team.  They pulled out a win against the Lockport Pythons 4-3.  Emily pitched a strong game throwing only 13 balls in 6 innings and allowing 0 walks.  Kelsey scored off of Stoi's triple to center field.  Morgan had a big double to left field that scored Hannah, and Stoi scored off of Hannah's huge double to the fence in left field.

It has come full circle.  The team TCT started the tournament against is the same team they would end the tournament with.  Kelsey & Emily shared the pitching against the Frankfort Flames.  We beat them the first time around, but they squeezed out a win this time as we lost to them 8-7 in the last seconds of the game.  Kelsey had 3 strikeouts, 0 walks, and only pitched 8 balls in the 3 innings she pitched.  Emily had 0 walks and only pitched 4 balls in the 2 innings she pitched.  Mason had a huge double that went up the right foul line that scored Holly and Emily.  Morgan had a perfect sacrifice bunt that rolled up the right foul line that allowed Mason to score.  Emily then doubled to center field, stole 3rd base, and scored off of Mason's single.  It was Mason's turn as she scored off of kelsey's single.  Morgan scored off of a pass ball, then Kelsey scored off of Stoi's single.  The girls almost pulled it off, but lost it at the very end when time ran out. 

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Tri-City Thunder made a THUNDEROUS debut in their first tournament. 

The girls bats were hot up and down the lineup.  They pounded out 32 hits, scoring a total of 26 runs in 4 games.  The defense was awesome.  When a play needed to be made, someone stepped up and made the play.

Only an 'A' Team could keep these girls from the championship game.  The girls made a tremendous statement by finishing 3rd Over-All and 2nd among 'B' Teams. 

Great job girls !!

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