The Silicon Valley Glory 16-and-under ‘A’ softball team played
outstanding defense at the Huntington Beach Surf City Showcase,
July 21-22.
Huntington Beach – The Silicon Valley Glory 16-and-under ‘A’ softball team played outstanding defense at the Huntington Beach Surf City Showcase, July 21-22.
Playing at Yankee Stadium on the Chino Hills Field of Dreams, the Glory girls won their first game July 21 against the San Diego Rowdies, 4-3.
Second baseman Samantha Romero had a base hit with two RBI.
Emily Castro, Brenna O’Neill, and Kristy Pineda also had hits.
Glory had great defensive plays by Romero, O’Neill at first base, and shortstop Alissa Castro, including a hard hit line-drive catch to end the game.
Glory lost its second game to OC Curse, 4-1, but it continued to shine on defense.
Romero made a difficult catch in the hole, then made a long throw to Ashley Serrano at third, who put the tag on the runner.
In game three against tough San Diego Thunder, A. Castro, Romero, Carter, and Serrano had base hits, and E. Castro had two hits.
Even with strong hitting the Glory could not handle the stronger bats of the Thunder, losing 10-3.
The Glory played perhaps its best game of the tournament on July 22 against the Sacramento Rapids.
Danielle Payne pitched a three hitter with three strikeouts and no walks.
The Glory defense was flawless, yet again, as shortstop A. Castro and second baseperson Samantha Romero executed a perfect double play.
A. Castro also made an outstanding diving catch at shortstop.
Outfielders E. Castro, Stephanie Doting, and Melanie Morelos made several exceptional catches.
Besides great pitching and defense, Glory had three home runs from Romero, Carter, and E. Castro.
Glory also had a double from Micheala Motch, and base hits from Carter, O’Neill, and Morelos as they beat the Rapids 7-2.
Glory lost its last game against the Corona Angels 3-0, but still had a great showing with two base hits a piece from Romero, and O’Neil, and singles from Carter and Morelos.
A. Castro and Romero turned another amazing double play.
“The ball was hit hard to me both times,” A. Castro said. “Sam (Romero) was quick to the bag, didn’t even set her feet and just made great throws.
Romero said: “I got a great feed from Alissa, and I just released the ball as quick as I could for the second out. Coach Dennis made us practice that like 100 times, I guess we got really good at it.
“The girls have been working extremely hard on improving their defense,” manager Dennis Castro said. “They turned two nice double plays in back to back games, and that is pretty rare in this high of a level of fast pitch softball.”
