×
×
homepage logo

Braves unbeaten so far at nationals

By Eric Sorrentino - | Jul 18, 2007

? The Tonganoxie Braves finished 3-0 in pool play at the American Fastpitch Association Softball National Championship Tournament Wednesday in Lawrence.

Tonganoxie will receive a bye in the first round of the bracket portion of the double elimination tournament, which will begin Thursday.

The Braves will play at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Youth Sports Inc. Complex.

Amie Riddle turned in back-to-back dominating performances on the mound for Tonganoxie on Wednesday.

In Tonganoxie’s 2-0 victory against the Ottawa Sabotage, Riddle pitched a complete game, nine-inning shutout. Typically, softball games last seven innings, but neither team scored after seven innings, forcing extras.

Amanda Darrow scored on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth inning for the first run of the game. Melissa Pratt then hit a sacrifce fly, which gave Tonganoxie a 2-0 lead.

The two-run cushion was more than enough for Riddle, who surrendered only three hits, walked only one and struck out 14 Ottawa batters.

Riddle was on the mound an hour-and-50 minutes later on Wednesday for Tonganoxie against the NE Storm of Milford, Neb.

The Braves defeated the Storm, 2-0, in six innings. The game was called early because of the tournament’s hour-and-15 minute time limit on games.

Tonganoxie won, despite not producing a hit the entire game. The Braves created runs via the small-ball technique. They walked six times and capitalized on three Storm errors.

Ashlee Lohman scored the first run of the game for Tonganoxie on a throwing error from the Storm’s catcher. Pratt hit another sacrifice fly for the game’s second run.

Riddle gave up only one hit, walked two and struck out six.

The same group of Tonganoxie players won the 14-and-under championship three years ago when the tournament was held in Lawrence. Visit www.tonganoxiemirror.com Thursday night and the rest of the weekend to see how the Braves finish in the tournament.