The Gilroy Chaos 8-and-under travel softball team reigned walked
away from the Spirit of Morgan Hill 2009 Ponytail Classic with some
hardware last weekend. Heading into the seven-team tournament with
high expectations, the Chaos swept through five games to finish the
tournament undefeated.
MORGAN HILL – The Gilroy Chaos 8-and-under travel softball team reigned walked away from the Spirit of Morgan Hill 2009 Ponytail Classic with some hardware last weekend. Heading into the seven-team tournament with high expectations, the Chaos swept through five games to finish the tournament undefeated.
Pitchers Alijah Garcia and Rachael Reimal kept opposing batters off balance all weekend with superior pitching and outstanding fielding. They also helped themselves out with their bats: Garcia went 7-for-9 while scoring four times; Reimal went 5-for-10 with three runs scored and also hit the only home run of the tournament.
Gilroy’s Fiona Macfarland contributed by going 2-for-2 on Sunday and other notable hitters on the team included: Kylie Huddleston (7-for-9), Toni Martinez (6-for-8) and AnnaIsabel Perez (6-for-7).
Defensive gems were turned in by Christal Clark and Makenna Weiler, while Christina Chavez and Michelle Maquinales kept their pitchers focused and stopped everything behind the plate. Amanda Bombino matched Huddleston with near flawless play at first base, earning Best Defense honors for the club.
On Saturday, the Chaos defeated the Belmont Blast 7-2 to take the tournament opener. Gilroy followed that up with a 7-0 trouncing of host Morgan Hill and finished the first day by taking out the Mountain Dream by a score of 5-0. The cumulative result was the lowest total-run production by opponents on an opening day this season.
Sunday featured the Chaos taking out the Belmont Blast 4-1 to earn a trip to the championship against the only other undefeated team, the Slammers of San Mateo. In a tight contest, the Chaos prevailed in four innings by a score of 2-1. Reimal and Garcia combined for the victory and were helped by a clutch catch of a line drive in the bottom of the final inning by Natile Urenda.
“We’ve been in five tournaments now and we have been beaten by some superior all-star teams,” Chaos coach David Martinez said. “I think that helped us prepare for this tournament, which is made up of teams on our level.”
Sabrina Perez, the youngest player on the team, added, “This was fun!”
