2015 Scenic City Fall ShowcaseNov 8, 2015 by Brentt Eads
Day 1 Highlights at Scenic City
Day 1 Highlights at Scenic City
The big winner Saturday at the Scenic City Fall Showcase was the rain, but several key games did get played late.The Scenic City Fall Showcase in Chattanoog
The big winner Saturday at the Scenic City Fall Showcase was the rain, but several key games did get played late.
The Scenic City Fall Showcase in Chattanooga, Tennessee saw Friday’s games get cancelled and it looked like that would be the case Saturday too as heavy rains forced tarps to cover the fields much of the day.
With nearly 200 top teams coming from all over the East in the 18, 16 and 14U age divisions, it even looked like the whole weekend’s worth of play might be wiped out, but late in the afternoon/evening, the fields were cleared and the first games were able to be played.
Here’s a highlight of some of the top games played Saturday evening from our FloSoftball correspondent Matthew Crownover, whom---if you know your college baseball—was the ACC Pitcher of the Year for Clemson baseball last year and is now pitching in the Washington National’s organization …
***
Beverly Bandits vs. Worth Cobras
After a day and a half full of rain in the greater Chattanooga area play resumed at Warner Park at 6:00 pm local time.
The first game I caught was on Field 4 between a young Beverly Bandits and Worth Cobras. The game was a well contested game and bright spots were seen from both sides, but the Worth Cobras proved to be too much for the young Bandits.
The Bandits threatened in the bottom of the first, but with the bases loaded pitcher Olivia Price got two key ground outs to strand the runners on base. The Cobras went to work in the top of the 2nd when Courtney Abbott put a charge into a deep drive off the centerfield wall for a triple.
The second batter of the inning, Olivia Price, then walked. Alexis Carter then proceeded to do a good job of situational hitting by hitting a ground ball to the right side to score the runner and move Price into scoring position.
The Cobras left her stranded and led took their lead into the bottom of the inning. Left handed batter (left fielder) Paige Dunaway led off the inning with a line drive right back up the middle. She was then sacrificed over to secon by Riley Lucas but was stranded there.
The top of the 3rd proved to be the big inning for the Cobras. The Bandits definitely did help themselves out in the inning committing multiple defensive miscues. The first of many came on the leadoff batter Gracy Murt’s line drive to right where the right fielder took two steps in and watched the ball go over her head.
Murt ended up at third and scored on Abby Scout’s ground ball to second. The Bandits defense then proceeded to let a fly drop behind first base and failed to cover second base on a throw from third.
Courtney Caswell took advantage and ripped a double to right to knock both runs in. By the end of the inning the Cobras lead 5-0.
Left handed pitcher Natalie Lang came in the 3rd for her first inning of work. Left handed batter Erica Hull lead of the inning and lined a ball back up the middle for a double to get the Bandits going.
After a wild pitch Hull scored from third off a line shot off the bat of Sarah Stone. That was all for the Bandits in that inning and all the scoring for this game.
A highlight of the game for the Bandits included Brianna McCown pitching two innings, retiring 6 of the 8 batters she faced. Left fielder Dunaway shined in many facets tonight. She was 2-2, made a running catch in left, stole a base, and threw a girl out to end the top of the 5th.
For the Cobras, Caswell showed a nice line drive approached to the plate by belting two doubles to the right field wall and down the 3rd base line.
***
Carolina Elite vs. Georgia Impact
The next contest saw the Carolina Elite and GA Impact take the field.
The first few innings set the stage for a tightly contested game with good pitching and defense on each side.
In the top of the 3rd the GA Impact broke into the scoring column as College of Charleston commit Payton Wade lead of the inning with a bunt for a hit. She was later knocked in by Georgia Tech commit Jaydra von Behren’s fence-rattling double to right center field.
The Impact left Behren stranded but had the lead going into the bottom of the 3rd. Pitcher Rachael Vaughn of the GA Impact has looked very impressive through the first three innings as the lefty mixed pitches well and worked out of jams early.
In the bottom of the 3rd Lauren Baker laced a single past the outstretched arms of the shortstop with one out. After a strikeout Haley Bunting laced a line drive right back up the middle, but Kourtney Grainer was thrown out by a step at first to end the inning.
In the top of the 4th the Elite make a pitching change as the Impact line up rolls back over. Leadoff batter Savannah Stewart struck out to start the 4th.
Georgia State commit Gabby Benson grounded out on a solid hit ball to the pitcher and with two outs it liked any threat would be averted, but Georgia Southern commit Faith Shirley hit an absolute bomb that cleared the center field wall by a good 30 feet.
The Impact took a 2-0 lead going into the bottom half of the inning and after a leadoff single to right, the Elite went down with two fly balls to left and a ground ball to shortstop.
The Impact led after four innings 2-0 and that would be the final score.
A pair of college commits, Jaiden Fields and Sam Thomas headed to Georgia and Virginia, respectively, led off the top of the 5th with two line drive outs with both showing impressive swings worthy of their college commitments, but the game was called after one out and the Impact taking the game.
***
GA Impact Gold 16U vs. TN Fury Platinum 18/19
The GA Impact sent Kylie Burke in the circle to start against the Fury Platinum and she looked impressive in the first inning retiring the side.
The Fury sent out Canaan Burnett to face the Impact. Burnett struck out Sierrah Gani to start the bottom of the 1st and proceeded to get Skylar Hamilton to ground out to short and Bailee Zeitler to ground to second to end the inning.
Both pitchers looked impressive in the 1st inning and worked with a good quick tempo that looks easy to play behind for a defense.
Alia Logoleo led the top of the 2nd off with a soft liner to 3rd for the first out before Gracey Kruse perfectly placed a blooper out of the outstretched arms of the shortstop to get the first base runner of the game.
Kruse got herself into scoring position with a steal on a 1-2 count. Two batters later, Kamie Rich hit an absolute shot to the first basemen and before she could blink the ball mercifully landed in her glove. That ended the top of the 2nd still 0-0.
College of Charleston commit Gracyn Thrasher showed a flash of opposite field power with a leadoff double to left to start the bottom half of the inning. One out later, Lindsey Corbin hit a rope to shortstop Shyanne Sheffield who doubled off the runner at second leaving the score still tied 0-0 after two complete.
Kyah Keller-Smith led off the 3rd with a single up the middle after fighting great fight off several tough pitches to eventually hit a mistake left over the plate on the 3-2 count.
The Impact made a pitching change with one out in the 3rd bringing in Jessie Morris and she ended the threat in the top half of the first.
The score was still knotted at 0-0 thru 2 ½ innings when the Fury brought in Natalie Foor to start the 3rd.
Syndie Foster had a good at bat and worked a leadoff walk, but Foor struck out a pair of Kennesaw State commits Brianna Collender and Alyssa Maisonet to finish off the 3rd.
In the top of the 4th, Trinity Liner hit a shot to right fielder Bailee Walls who made a great running catch for the first out of the inning and that was the extent of the Fury threat.
Kennesaw State commit Kara Groover of the Impact Gold laced a double between the outstretched arms of the Fury left and centerfielders and Jessie Morris made the second out with a shallow fly ball behind first base, but Groover was able to tag up and 60 feet closer to scoring.
With the count loaded, Taylor Boling was able to sneak a ground ball past the diving third baseman’s reach to score the first run of the game.
That would be the extent of the scoring as the late double by Groover and clutch single by Boling ended up being the difference in the game. Both teams showed some flashes of very good talent but the game was dominated by pitching leaving the final score Impact 1, Fury 0.
***
Jersey Intensity vs. Southern Force Hutchinson
The Intensity took the field first and started Oklahoma commit Olivia Rains. After Rains walked the first batter, catcher Lindsey Hay threw out the runner at second by a couple of steps. Rains settled in after the first out, retiring the next two in quick order.
In the bottom of the first, the Intensity’s Bailey Winscott led off with an infield single. Winscott stole second on the first pitch of Dellencia Lumpkin’s at bat.
Lumpkin worked a walk and an early scoring threat was brewing for the Intensity. Three hole batter Kendall Chase was walked to load the bases and after a coaches’ meeting on the mound Jackson gave up a bases-clearing double to Kierra Edwards.
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Intensity batter Morgan Funderburk drop a soft liner into right field to extend the lead to 5-0.
Rains struck out the side with ease in the top of the second and in the third struck out all three batters. Her ability to move the ball to both sides of the plate and change planes with her pitches made it difficult for the Fury hitters to square a ball up off of her and even make contact it seemed at some points tonight.
In the bottom of the 3rd the Intensity kept the pressure on and with the bases loaded Winscott walked to make the score 7-0. Lumpkin cleared the bases with a triple to centerfield to make it a 10-0 game.
Kendall Chase ended the game as time expired with a single to right field to make it a 11-0 final.
The Scenic City Fall Showcase in Chattanooga, Tennessee saw Friday’s games get cancelled and it looked like that would be the case Saturday too as heavy rains forced tarps to cover the fields much of the day.
With nearly 200 top teams coming from all over the East in the 18, 16 and 14U age divisions, it even looked like the whole weekend’s worth of play might be wiped out, but late in the afternoon/evening, the fields were cleared and the first games were able to be played.
Here’s a highlight of some of the top games played Saturday evening from our FloSoftball correspondent Matthew Crownover, whom---if you know your college baseball—was the ACC Pitcher of the Year for Clemson baseball last year and is now pitching in the Washington National’s organization …
***
Beverly Bandits vs. Worth Cobras
After a day and a half full of rain in the greater Chattanooga area play resumed at Warner Park at 6:00 pm local time.
The first game I caught was on Field 4 between a young Beverly Bandits and Worth Cobras. The game was a well contested game and bright spots were seen from both sides, but the Worth Cobras proved to be too much for the young Bandits.
The Bandits threatened in the bottom of the first, but with the bases loaded pitcher Olivia Price got two key ground outs to strand the runners on base. The Cobras went to work in the top of the 2nd when Courtney Abbott put a charge into a deep drive off the centerfield wall for a triple.
The second batter of the inning, Olivia Price, then walked. Alexis Carter then proceeded to do a good job of situational hitting by hitting a ground ball to the right side to score the runner and move Price into scoring position.
The Cobras left her stranded and led took their lead into the bottom of the inning. Left handed batter (left fielder) Paige Dunaway led off the inning with a line drive right back up the middle. She was then sacrificed over to secon by Riley Lucas but was stranded there.
The top of the 3rd proved to be the big inning for the Cobras. The Bandits definitely did help themselves out in the inning committing multiple defensive miscues. The first of many came on the leadoff batter Gracy Murt’s line drive to right where the right fielder took two steps in and watched the ball go over her head.
Murt ended up at third and scored on Abby Scout’s ground ball to second. The Bandits defense then proceeded to let a fly drop behind first base and failed to cover second base on a throw from third.
Courtney Caswell took advantage and ripped a double to right to knock both runs in. By the end of the inning the Cobras lead 5-0.
Left handed pitcher Natalie Lang came in the 3rd for her first inning of work. Left handed batter Erica Hull lead of the inning and lined a ball back up the middle for a double to get the Bandits going.
After a wild pitch Hull scored from third off a line shot off the bat of Sarah Stone. That was all for the Bandits in that inning and all the scoring for this game.
A highlight of the game for the Bandits included Brianna McCown pitching two innings, retiring 6 of the 8 batters she faced. Left fielder Dunaway shined in many facets tonight. She was 2-2, made a running catch in left, stole a base, and threw a girl out to end the top of the 5th.
For the Cobras, Caswell showed a nice line drive approached to the plate by belting two doubles to the right field wall and down the 3rd base line.
***
Carolina Elite vs. Georgia Impact
The next contest saw the Carolina Elite and GA Impact take the field.
The first few innings set the stage for a tightly contested game with good pitching and defense on each side.
In the top of the 3rd the GA Impact broke into the scoring column as College of Charleston commit Payton Wade lead of the inning with a bunt for a hit. She was later knocked in by Georgia Tech commit Jaydra von Behren’s fence-rattling double to right center field.
The Impact left Behren stranded but had the lead going into the bottom of the 3rd. Pitcher Rachael Vaughn of the GA Impact has looked very impressive through the first three innings as the lefty mixed pitches well and worked out of jams early.
In the bottom of the 3rd Lauren Baker laced a single past the outstretched arms of the shortstop with one out. After a strikeout Haley Bunting laced a line drive right back up the middle, but Kourtney Grainer was thrown out by a step at first to end the inning.
In the top of the 4th the Elite make a pitching change as the Impact line up rolls back over. Leadoff batter Savannah Stewart struck out to start the 4th.
Georgia State commit Gabby Benson grounded out on a solid hit ball to the pitcher and with two outs it liked any threat would be averted, but Georgia Southern commit Faith Shirley hit an absolute bomb that cleared the center field wall by a good 30 feet.
The Impact took a 2-0 lead going into the bottom half of the inning and after a leadoff single to right, the Elite went down with two fly balls to left and a ground ball to shortstop.
The Impact led after four innings 2-0 and that would be the final score.
A pair of college commits, Jaiden Fields and Sam Thomas headed to Georgia and Virginia, respectively, led off the top of the 5th with two line drive outs with both showing impressive swings worthy of their college commitments, but the game was called after one out and the Impact taking the game.
***
GA Impact Gold 16U vs. TN Fury Platinum 18/19
The GA Impact sent Kylie Burke in the circle to start against the Fury Platinum and she looked impressive in the first inning retiring the side.
The Fury sent out Canaan Burnett to face the Impact. Burnett struck out Sierrah Gani to start the bottom of the 1st and proceeded to get Skylar Hamilton to ground out to short and Bailee Zeitler to ground to second to end the inning.
Both pitchers looked impressive in the 1st inning and worked with a good quick tempo that looks easy to play behind for a defense.
Alia Logoleo led the top of the 2nd off with a soft liner to 3rd for the first out before Gracey Kruse perfectly placed a blooper out of the outstretched arms of the shortstop to get the first base runner of the game.
Kruse got herself into scoring position with a steal on a 1-2 count. Two batters later, Kamie Rich hit an absolute shot to the first basemen and before she could blink the ball mercifully landed in her glove. That ended the top of the 2nd still 0-0.
College of Charleston commit Gracyn Thrasher showed a flash of opposite field power with a leadoff double to left to start the bottom half of the inning. One out later, Lindsey Corbin hit a rope to shortstop Shyanne Sheffield who doubled off the runner at second leaving the score still tied 0-0 after two complete.
Kyah Keller-Smith led off the 3rd with a single up the middle after fighting great fight off several tough pitches to eventually hit a mistake left over the plate on the 3-2 count.
The Impact made a pitching change with one out in the 3rd bringing in Jessie Morris and she ended the threat in the top half of the first.
The score was still knotted at 0-0 thru 2 ½ innings when the Fury brought in Natalie Foor to start the 3rd.
Syndie Foster had a good at bat and worked a leadoff walk, but Foor struck out a pair of Kennesaw State commits Brianna Collender and Alyssa Maisonet to finish off the 3rd.
In the top of the 4th, Trinity Liner hit a shot to right fielder Bailee Walls who made a great running catch for the first out of the inning and that was the extent of the Fury threat.
Kennesaw State commit Kara Groover of the Impact Gold laced a double between the outstretched arms of the Fury left and centerfielders and Jessie Morris made the second out with a shallow fly ball behind first base, but Groover was able to tag up and 60 feet closer to scoring.
With the count loaded, Taylor Boling was able to sneak a ground ball past the diving third baseman’s reach to score the first run of the game.
That would be the extent of the scoring as the late double by Groover and clutch single by Boling ended up being the difference in the game. Both teams showed some flashes of very good talent but the game was dominated by pitching leaving the final score Impact 1, Fury 0.
***
Jersey Intensity vs. Southern Force Hutchinson
The Intensity took the field first and started Oklahoma commit Olivia Rains. After Rains walked the first batter, catcher Lindsey Hay threw out the runner at second by a couple of steps. Rains settled in after the first out, retiring the next two in quick order.
In the bottom of the first, the Intensity’s Bailey Winscott led off with an infield single. Winscott stole second on the first pitch of Dellencia Lumpkin’s at bat.
Lumpkin worked a walk and an early scoring threat was brewing for the Intensity. Three hole batter Kendall Chase was walked to load the bases and after a coaches’ meeting on the mound Jackson gave up a bases-clearing double to Kierra Edwards.
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Intensity batter Morgan Funderburk drop a soft liner into right field to extend the lead to 5-0.
Rains struck out the side with ease in the top of the second and in the third struck out all three batters. Her ability to move the ball to both sides of the plate and change planes with her pitches made it difficult for the Fury hitters to square a ball up off of her and even make contact it seemed at some points tonight.
In the bottom of the 3rd the Intensity kept the pressure on and with the bases loaded Winscott walked to make the score 7-0. Lumpkin cleared the bases with a triple to centerfield to make it a 10-0 game.
Kendall Chase ended the game as time expired with a single to right field to make it a 11-0 final.