King of the Hill TournamentSep 28, 2015 by Sarah Hoffman
Beverly Bandits 18U Win King of the Hill
Beverly Bandits 18U Win King of the Hill
While most fall showcases are just two days of pool play where score isn’t even recorded, the King of the Hill Tournament played single-elimination bracket
While most fall showcases are just two days of pool play where score isn’t even recorded, the King of the Hill Tournament played single-elimination bracket games Sunday and crowned a winner. Even more incentive for teams than the championship game was that the winning team would receive consideration for a PGF Nationals berth this summer.
Given the talent and track record for the Beverly Bandits Premier team, its safe to say they didn’t need to win to be considered for PGF Nationals, but they won anyway. The 18U team, now coached by Jen Tyrrell after a coaching switch with Bill Conroy, started off strong in Bracket A with a win against the Cheetahs.
The 18U "Queen" of the Hill Beverly Bandits
The Midwest Speed also looked good in their first round win against the Lemont Rockers. Head Coach Sean Hall made special note that his 2018 shortstop Abby Lien had a great weekend, blasting a grand slam in their game against the Rockers. The Illinois Chill Gold continued their offensive streak from Saturday, beating the Bulls Sox Academy 6-0 in their first round game on Sunday. Rounding out Bracket A wins for the first round was the Michigan Finesse. The Finesse escaped a nail-biter against the Dirt Devils 2-1 to advance to the second round.
Kayla Wedl (2020, University of Illinois Chicago) hits a homerun for
the Chill in their first round game
Bracket B started first round play in the 10:45 AM games with the Indiana Magic drawing a bye. The undefeated New Lennox Lightning continued their winning streak, beating the Wasco Diamonds ML 9-5. The Bartlett Silver Hawks, behind the pitching of uncommitted player Stephanie Guercio, handily took care of the Mizuno Hawks-Judge 7-0 to advance. The Iowa Premier team also advanced to the next round with a 7-2 win against the Sparks.
Stephanie Guercio pitched several wins for the Sliver Hawks, including
their first round win against the Mizuno Hawks-Judge
The quarterfinal round almost saw a major upset in Bracket A with the Midwest Speed leading much of the game against the Bandits. The Bandits, however, weren’t ready for the drive home just yet and rallied to win 7-3. The Chill’s bats finally cooled off against the Michigan Finesse but not so much so that they couldn’t advance to the semifinals. The Chill managed to pull off the win by a score of 2-1.
Bandits catcher, Paige Carter (2016, Western Kentucky University)
applies a tag in the Bandits' win against the Midwestern Speed
In Bracket B, the Sliver Hawks continued their Sunday dominance, giving the New Lenox Lightening their first loss of the tournament with a score of 9-3. Iowa Premier continued their steady play Sunday to knock out the Indiana Magic by a score of 5-2. Alyssa Wiebel blasted a home run in the game for Iowa to solidify their win and advance them to the semifinals.
Alyssa Wiebel is congratulated by her teammates at the plate after
her home run in Iowa's win over the Magic.
The Chill’s declining offense continued into the semifinals while the Bandits rebounded from their near elimination against the Speed. With a five-run third inning, the Bandits needed just six innings to end the Chill’s day with a final score of 8-2.
Unlike the Bandits-Chill game, the Silver Hawks and Iowa Premier needed extra innings to determine who would advance to the finals. The pitcher’s duel carried into the eighth inning with a score of 0-0 until the Silver Hawks executed small ball perfectly to capitalize on the international tie breaker rule. Megan Lobianco (2016, Saint Louis University) played the role of heroine for the Silver Hawks with an RBI double scoring the ITB runner who had been bunted over to third to advance the Silver Hawks to the finals.
Silver Hawks catcher Megan Lobianco knocked in the only RBI of the
Sliver Hawks-Iowa Premier game
Much like their game against the Chill, the Bandit offense came in full force against the Silver Hawks, scoring five runs in the top of the first inning. The Silver Hawks would add their own run off the bat of clean-up hitter Elyse Hickey. Hickey hit a shot off the fence in center to score their speedy, lead-off slapper Janai Cedeno (2017, uncommitted). That run would be all the Silver Hawks could manage against Bandit pitcher and 2017 FloSoftball Hot 100 No. 1 player Alexis Holloway, and the Bandits would tack on three more runs to be crowned inaugural “Queen” of the Hill.
Bandits' ace Alexis Holloway was too much for the Silver Hawks as she
pitched her team to a tournament championship
Given the talent and track record for the Beverly Bandits Premier team, its safe to say they didn’t need to win to be considered for PGF Nationals, but they won anyway. The 18U team, now coached by Jen Tyrrell after a coaching switch with Bill Conroy, started off strong in Bracket A with a win against the Cheetahs.
The 18U "Queen" of the Hill Beverly Bandits
The Midwest Speed also looked good in their first round win against the Lemont Rockers. Head Coach Sean Hall made special note that his 2018 shortstop Abby Lien had a great weekend, blasting a grand slam in their game against the Rockers. The Illinois Chill Gold continued their offensive streak from Saturday, beating the Bulls Sox Academy 6-0 in their first round game on Sunday. Rounding out Bracket A wins for the first round was the Michigan Finesse. The Finesse escaped a nail-biter against the Dirt Devils 2-1 to advance to the second round.
Kayla Wedl (2020, University of Illinois Chicago) hits a homerun for
the Chill in their first round game
Bracket B started first round play in the 10:45 AM games with the Indiana Magic drawing a bye. The undefeated New Lennox Lightning continued their winning streak, beating the Wasco Diamonds ML 9-5. The Bartlett Silver Hawks, behind the pitching of uncommitted player Stephanie Guercio, handily took care of the Mizuno Hawks-Judge 7-0 to advance. The Iowa Premier team also advanced to the next round with a 7-2 win against the Sparks.
Stephanie Guercio pitched several wins for the Sliver Hawks, including
their first round win against the Mizuno Hawks-Judge
The quarterfinal round almost saw a major upset in Bracket A with the Midwest Speed leading much of the game against the Bandits. The Bandits, however, weren’t ready for the drive home just yet and rallied to win 7-3. The Chill’s bats finally cooled off against the Michigan Finesse but not so much so that they couldn’t advance to the semifinals. The Chill managed to pull off the win by a score of 2-1.
Bandits catcher, Paige Carter (2016, Western Kentucky University)
applies a tag in the Bandits' win against the Midwestern Speed
In Bracket B, the Sliver Hawks continued their Sunday dominance, giving the New Lenox Lightening their first loss of the tournament with a score of 9-3. Iowa Premier continued their steady play Sunday to knock out the Indiana Magic by a score of 5-2. Alyssa Wiebel blasted a home run in the game for Iowa to solidify their win and advance them to the semifinals.
Alyssa Wiebel is congratulated by her teammates at the plate after
her home run in Iowa's win over the Magic.
The Chill’s declining offense continued into the semifinals while the Bandits rebounded from their near elimination against the Speed. With a five-run third inning, the Bandits needed just six innings to end the Chill’s day with a final score of 8-2.
Unlike the Bandits-Chill game, the Silver Hawks and Iowa Premier needed extra innings to determine who would advance to the finals. The pitcher’s duel carried into the eighth inning with a score of 0-0 until the Silver Hawks executed small ball perfectly to capitalize on the international tie breaker rule. Megan Lobianco (2016, Saint Louis University) played the role of heroine for the Silver Hawks with an RBI double scoring the ITB runner who had been bunted over to third to advance the Silver Hawks to the finals.
Silver Hawks catcher Megan Lobianco knocked in the only RBI of the
Sliver Hawks-Iowa Premier game
Much like their game against the Chill, the Bandit offense came in full force against the Silver Hawks, scoring five runs in the top of the first inning. The Silver Hawks would add their own run off the bat of clean-up hitter Elyse Hickey. Hickey hit a shot off the fence in center to score their speedy, lead-off slapper Janai Cedeno (2017, uncommitted). That run would be all the Silver Hawks could manage against Bandit pitcher and 2017 FloSoftball Hot 100 No. 1 player Alexis Holloway, and the Bandits would tack on three more runs to be crowned inaugural “Queen” of the Hill.
Bandits' ace Alexis Holloway was too much for the Silver Hawks as she
pitched her team to a tournament championship