The Silicon Valley Glory 18-Gold fast-pitch softball team,
sponsored by Hard Ninety, returned from playing in the Colorado
Sparkler college exposure showcase tournament in Denver, Colo. with
a 2-4 record.
The Silicon Valley Glory 18-Gold fast-pitch softball team, sponsored by Hard Ninety, returned from playing in the Colorado Sparkler college exposure showcase tournament in Denver, Colo. with a 2-4 record.
With an opportunity to play in front of college scouts and face teams from across the country, several of Glory’s older players were selected to play in the Sparkler All-Star game: Alissa and Emily Castro, Ashley Harrington, Brenna O’Neill, Adrianna and Mikhaela Osuna, Jasmine Perez, and Ashley Serrano. In that game, Serrano had a base hit, Adrianna Osuna had a triple, and Alissa Castro had two doubles while also playing shortstop. Alissa Castro was one of the few players chosen by the college coaches to play in the All-American All-Star game.
“I was happy because it was an honor to get chosen to play in the All-American All-Star game, and I have been working really hard at short.” she said.
During tournament play, the Glory put up a good game against the Washington Bulldogs, but lost 4-3. Jasmine Perez and Michele Sosa each had singles, while Samantha Parraz and Adrianna Osuna hit doubles. Ashley Harrington pitched a great game, according to coach Dennis Castro, allowing only six hits, and two strike-outs. Parraz came in for an inning of relief. The Glory defense finished with no errors.
The Glory lost another close contest, this time in a 7-5 defeat to the Aiea Hawaii team. Parraz pitched well, giving up eight hits and striking out two batters. SVG had triples from Perez, Lindsay Holt, and Emily Castro, and base hits from Harrington, Mikhaela Osuna and Melanie Morelos.
The Glory then beat the undefeated Oklahoma City Ultimate 4-1 with Harrington on the mound. She pitched her best game of the week, allowing only four hits to go with four strikeouts. The Glory defense was stingy once again, committing zero errors. Alissa Castro hit a triple and scored on a base hit by Holt, and Adrianna Osuna, Parraz and Serrano all had base hits as well.
Parraz pitched a brilliant game against the Texas Havoc for a 5-3 victory. Holt and Parraz hit doubles, while Sosa, Perez, Serrano, and Mikhaela Osuna hit singles. Morelos and O’Neill had a pair of singles, too. Defensively, the Glory had another error-free game.
The team fell short the next game, a 4-1 loss to the Las Vegas Rage. Harrington pitched a good game, giving up five hits and striking out four. Offensively, the Glory had base hits from Serrano, Perez, and Adrianna Osuna. Parraz hit a double and Holt crushed a solo home run. Unfortunately for SVG, the team had runners on base throughout the game but couldn’t get them across the plate.
An 8-0 loss to Hawaii Altima knocked the Glory out of the tournament.
Despite having some struggles, the Glory played very well according to manger Dennis Castro.
“Our pitchers pitched great, our hitters hit, and we had girls laying out to get balls, making sliding and diving catches,” he said. “This kind of competition only makes our players better.”
The Glory had only three errors all week.
With seven players from the 2005 Little League World Series team now playing for the Glory, Alissa Castro noted that the tournament brought back memories.
“The camaraderie and level of play is still there,” she said. “It’s a great team.”
