12-under softball team takes second in 14-under tourney
SALINAS – The Gilroy Hot Shots 12-under girls fastpitch softball team entered into a 14-under competition to help prepare them for the upcoming State and World Series tournaments. The girls competed against the older teams in Salinas with excitement and high hopes for the weekend.
Pool play began for the Hot Shots Saturday morning against the Gilroy Shockers. Brittany Balanesi started on the mound and pitched strong through five innings with seven strikeouts, no hits, and only one walk. Several key plays in the field from Angelica Galindo, Jasmine Perez, Lauryn Chris, and Vanessa Wilkins helped complete the solid Hot Shot defense. Danielle Miller showed her strength behind the plate and also offensively going 3-4 with a 3-run homerun. Additional offense came from the bats of Nicole Arce, Mandy Lafuente, Melinda Ortiz, Galindo, and Laura Spellman. The final score was 14-0.
The second game began with Chris facing the powerful Modesto Slammers. Emily Haygood, Wilkins, and Perez showed their mighty bats with singles in the first few innings. The game was held scoreless through three innings until Galindo opened up with a shot to right field, and scored from a single by Arce. Chris drove in the second run of the inning. Miller gunned down several runners on the bases, but the Slammers answered back with three runs in the fourth. The Hot Shots returned with two more runs in the fifth inning and held on to the 4-3 win through the sixth.
The Hot Shots next opponent was the Hughson Hurricanes. Chris continued her work on the mound with seven strikeouts, allowing only 2 hits through six innings of work. Key defense from Galindo, A. Spellman, Wilkins, and Perez halted the hurricanes to only one run. Offensively, the bats continued to produce runs, Wilkins showed her speed by slamming two triples, Perez had a pair of singles, additional hits came from Balanesi, Miller, A. Spellman, Chris and L. Spellman. The game ended with a final score of 6-1.
The last game on Saturday tested the endurance of the Hot Shots who had been at the fields for over 14 hours prior to the start of their fourth game. Wilkins led the way on the mound against the tough Milpitas Renegades. Perez was solid behind the plate along with Haygood at second. The Hot Shots started with a six run first inning and ended the game with a 7-5 victory.
The Hot Shots entered into Sunday seeded in the number one position, which set them up to make a run for the championship round if they could pull off a win. The Hot Shots were pitted against the Lady Hawks, with Balanesi pitching in the circle. The Hot Shots opened up with a 3-run first inning thanks to singles from Perez, Ortiz and a triple from Arce. The Hawks came back with a quick start, scoring 3 runs in the first inning, but due to the outstanding defense, they were held scoreless for the remainder of the game. Numerous hits from Miller, Galindo, Balanesi, L. Spellman and A. Spellman helped secure a 7 to 3 victory and a trip to the championship game.
The undefeated 12-U Hot Shots would meet up with the undefeated 14-U Atwater Outlaws in the final game. Balanesi fresh off a strong win, would get the nod to start the game with Miller behind the plate. The Outlaws exploded in the first inning with four runs. But the Hot Shots settled down and showed their keen defense and pitching which got them to the final game. A. Spellman turned a smooth double play to fire up the team. The girls’ bats were still alive, but were only able to generate one run over seven innings, Balanesi, Perez, Ortiz, Miller, Arce, and A. Spellman all had singles. The final score was 4-1.
The Hot Shots held their heads high about taking second place in a 14-U tournament. The girls are looking forward to the NSA State Tournament, which will be held in Sacramento over the July 4th weekend.
