99 Texas Bombers Win Pancho Klaus Tournament

The 99 Bombers have been on a run and took it into the Pancho Klaus Tournament December 5-6.  In very cold weather, the girls put together 5 strong games to take first place.  This leaves their current bracket win streak at 17 wins heading into the tournament at Huber Ranch the 12-13th and 4 tournaments in a row.  Come and join us for one more tournament and cheer the girls on.  Thanks to everyone who came and watched us play and hung around in terrible weather to watch the girls take their 4 th win in a row.  See you at Huber this weekend.

99 TX Bombers win Hit N Run Tournament in Temple

The girls were back on the field this weekend after a month off and in Bomber style battled back to win the Hit N Run Fall Bash in Temple.  The weekend started off with a pool game against Georgetown Crew resulting in a 7-0 win.  The first bracket game was against the Blast from Waco.  The girls struggled with their hitting and just couldn’t seem to muster much energy as the game ended with a 3-1 loss.  This put us in the loser’s bracket having to play 7 games to win the tournament.  The first two games occured Saturday night against the Stix Navy 10U and the Surge.  The girls won the Stix game 3-0 with solid batting and defense from the team.  The following game was a 6-2 win over the Surge.  That put us into Sunday morning starting at 1100am with 5 back to back games to win the tournament. 

The first game against the Freeze the girls came out on their heels and struggled to get their bats going. They knew that if they lost they were going home and in the 3rd inning down 2-0, the girls put 5 runs on the board.  The rally started with Jo hitting a single with one out and the hits kept going.  Kayla followed with a single that put Jo on third and Kayla advancing to second on a fielders choice.  Cayli then hit a hard shot to the short stop who had a bad throw to first allowing both Jo and Kayla to score and put Cayli at second.  Another hard hit shot from Deja to short resulted in another error allowing Cayli to score and Deja on second.  Gabbie then hit a hard single up the middle to score Deja and let Gabbie move to second.  Hailey got into the mix next with a double to the outfield scoring Mari, who had subbed in to pinch run for Gabbie.  In the next two innings the Freeze managed one further run on a walk, but the defense and pitching shut the Freeze down and the girls came off the field with a 5-3 win.  

The next game was a showdown against the team who had put the girls in the loser’s bracket the Waco Blast.  The girls defense was rock solid, throwing two girls out from right field at first to prevent any runners in the first two innings.  The offense also decided to show up and jump on this team quick to prevent a rerun of the previous days events.  The girls took a 3-0 lead in the first and tacked on 3 more in the second to put this game away 6-0 and lead into a rematch with the Blaze.  Once again, the girls left no room for the other team to move, jumping on the blaze with 4 runs in the first inning and never letting up.  Singles by Cayli and Deja set the scene for a left center triple by Gabbie that gave her all the breathing room she would need on the mound.  With only 4 base runners for the game, the defense stepped up and finished putting the game away.  Back to back to back singles by Deja, Gabbie and Hailey resulted in the final run of the game with the final score 5-1.

The girls then walked into their 4th game of the day against the Texas Heat.  The Heat got on the board first with a first inning run, but that is all the girls would allow them to have on this Sunday.  The offense put two on the board in the first, giving Cayli all she would need to win the game, but the girls on offense had just started rolling.  In the second inning thanks to timely hits by Bella, Caty B and Kayla wrapped around some great base running, the girls put 6 more runs on the board with the final an 8-1 game pushing the girls into the championship game. 

This game would be against the Austin Stars 99.  The girls again came out charging.  With 2 outs in the first inning, Gabbie got them going with a single.  Mari stepped in to pinch run and swiped 2nd on the first pitch then got to 3rd on a passed ball.  Hailey walked and another passed ball resulted in Mari scoring and Hailey moving to third.  Big Mak walked and the walk play moved her to second and another passed ball would score Hailey amd move Mak to third.  A big single by Bella scored Mak to put 3 runs on the board before the Stars could stop the rally.  Two singles allowed the Stars to put a run on the board in the first but 3 strike outs stopped the rally and the girls settled into a battle.  Unable to put any runs on the board in the second, the game moved to the third and final inning.  Another lead off triple by Gabbie resulted in a score with a passed ball pushed the score to 4-1 and the girls would need that run.  In the third, several miss plays resulted in 2 runs being scored and Cayli came in to close the game.  She loaded the bases with 2 walks but with the score 4-3, Cayli struck out the final two batters preserving the win. 

Congrats to the girls on a fantastic run out of the bottom of the bracket and over 7 hours of solid softball on Sunday.  MVP awards were given to Cayli for her great strike outs in the bottom of the third in the championship game and to Gabbie for her strong work through the game.  This was a great way to get ready for a trip to Mansfield for a showdown with the teams up north.

99 Texas Bombers win 7th Annual Fall Ball Classic

The 99 Bombers put on a display of hitting and fielding this weekend in what had to be some of the worst conditions imaginable.  With rain all day and sloppy fields the girls did a great job outscoring their opponents by a total of 76-4.  The girls won their first two pool games and tied the third, with multiple changes in the line up to give everyone some time at different positions.  The first bracket game against the Freeze 10U was a 6-0 shut out with the girls finding their bats in the third inning.  After that, the bats never slowed down in route to a 16-1 win over the Lady Rage 2000 and an 18-0 win over the Hill Country Slam 99.  Championship game would be against the Stampede and for the third time that day the girls pulled the bats out and played well.  Despite slippery conditions and a wet ball, the girls put up 14 runs in 3 innings resulting in a run rule game.  Congrats to the girls on sticking it out and playing like true Bombers!!!

99 Texas Bombers Take 2nd at Slide Into Fall Tournament

The girls had a great weekend to start out the new year, taking 2nd place in the Waco Slide Into Fall Tournament.  The weekend started on Saturday with a pool loss to a strong Mansfield Black Sox team.  Bracket began shortly after that with a 15-0 win over the Diamond Divas out of Waco.  Our second game of the bracket was against the same team we played in pool that morning and the girls played very well in the first 4 innings putting up a 3-1 lead.  We had some errors in the 5th inning to allow the Black Sox back in the game with a 3-3 tie, but the girls came through with fantastic hitting and base running in the top half of the ITB inning giving them 7-3 lead.  The defense then stepped up and did its job retiring the first batter on a ground ball and striking out the last two girls of the game. 

This led to a match up with the Texas Blaze team on Sunday morning.  The girls had a rough morning, not seeming to be able to put bats on the ball and the girls lost their first game in the bracket.  This dropped the girls to the losers bracket for a match up with the Texas Threat.  The girls put together a great first inning putting 4 runs on the board before the Threat knew what hit them and the final score was 4-2.  This lead to a championship game against the Texas Blaze.  The girls were just worn out and just couldn’t seem to find their bats, but they played hard and never gave up.  Congratulations girls.  The parents and coaches are very proud of you.  We hope this is the first of many runs into Sunday this fall.

In pool games the girls met up with the Hill Country Slam and the Freeze.  They played well in both games going 1-1 and getting ready for the afternoons bracket.

Against the 99 Tornados, the girls showed how Bomber ball is played.  With small ball being the game, and base running the plan, the girls put it to the 99 Tornados team.   With 4 runs in the first inning the girls never looked back.  Hailey was 2-2 and Chey was 2-3 on the day to lead the offensive charge, and with only a single error all game, there was more than enough offense to secure the win.  Gabbie had 7 strike outs and threw a one hitter against the Tornados.  The final score was 15-1 resulting in a run rule win for the girls in 3 innings. 

The girls fourth game of the day would see them matched with a team that had drawn a bye.  The Lady Flames from San Antonio would give our girls a run for their money.  The girls started off with a bang and produced 2 runs in the first inning.  The Flames would come back in the bottom half with 2 runs in their half on a triple and an error, but the game was far from over.  In the second inning, 2 more runs by the Bombers included a home run by Bella and a walk by Chey who was brought in by a single from Gabbie, gave the girls a 4-2 lead.  Gabbie went to work on the mound striking out the side and giving us another chance to bat.  Caty B singled to start off the inning and Kayla dropped a squeeze bunt single to score Caty B, but that was all the offense the girls could muster in the top of the 3rd, so we went back on defense.  A walk followed by a series of errors, let the Flames climb back in the game and force ITB, but our girls refused to give up.  With a bases loaded, 2 out ITB situation, Gabbie hit a shot over the second basemans head and scored two runs to give us the lead.  Unforunately an error in the bottom half of the inning, resulted in two runs for the Flames before a strike out ended their chance at a win.  Our girls were determined they would not let this game go and with bases loaded again, Caty B ran the count full and forced the pitcher to walk her, resulting in the go ahead run.   In the bottom half of the inning on the first pitch, the Flames batter hit a grounder to Caty B and she and Nikki put the game away with the out.  An 8-7 win in double ITB had the parents going crazy and the girls excited to have the rest of the night off and go into Sunday for the first time in the winners bracket. 

On Sunday morning, the girls came prepared to play the Hill Country Slam.  The meeting in pool play had resulted in a loss for the girls and they wanted to correct that mistake.   With the Bombers winning the toss, they took the field.  The first inning was a picture perfect three up and three down with Bella making a great catch in the outfield and Chey and Caty B shoring up the middle.  Chey then walked in her first appearance and scored on a sacrifice hit by Hailey, giving the girls a 1-0 lead.  In the second, the Slam benefitted from a couple of errors in the field to get their first runner home, but that would be all they would get out of their offense on Sunday.  In the bottom half of the inning, Deja and Caty B got on base back to back and Kayla put down another bunt to bring them home.  The top half of the third looked like the 1st inning for the Slam with their girls going down 1, 2, 3.  Our girls were unable to push across any more runs and it was up to our defense to stop them.  Chey put away the first girl on a line drive catch, before an error let their second hitter get on base.  That was short lived as they tried to steal second and were thrown out by Kayla and Chey.  With 2 down, an infield single was turned into an out by a fantastic play between Nikki and Chey to catch the girl off the bag securing the win.  Final score was 3-1.  Great job girls.

The next game pitted us against the Lady Rage and on this day they were just too much for the girls.  With our defense reeling and our bats not showing up, the girls struggled and fought but just couldn’t keep up.  The highlight of the day coming in the second when the girls ran together a couple of walks and 2 singles to score 3 runs, but it was just not enough and the girls lost their first game. 

The final game of the day was to be against the RGV Hitt team.  Our girls bats really came alive in the game, but unfortunately our defense wasn’t up to the test as multiple errors allowed them to score a few too many runs for our girls to contend with.  The girls scored 7 runs in the game…one of their best run productions of the year against a good 98 team, but it wasn’t enough and the girls finished 3rd.  Jordan went 1-1, Kayla 2-2, Gabbie 2-2, Chey 2-3, and Hailey had a double.  Every girl on the team got on base.  They fought back down 6 and never quit and for that we are very proud of them.  Congrats girls on your first trophy as a completely 99 team.  There will be more where that came from over the next several years.

This weekend, the Texas Bombers 97, our sister team, placed 2nd.  Thanks for coming out and cheering us on from our dugout.  Also congrats to the 95’s who also placed 2nd in their group as well.  There was a lot of Black and white on the field on that last day with all our teams making it into Sunday.  WAY TO GO BOMBERS!!!

Sunday morning brought a team we had yet to encounter.  The Austin Stars had fallen to the Stix the night before, and were to be our challengers.  Our girls, however, showed up to play.  Behind 2 singles from Hailey and a triple from Deja, the bats were in full swing.  Two runs in the first and 6 runs in the second were more than enough run support for Gabbie who held the Stars to 5 total hits in 3 innings and had 4 strike outs with no walks.  Every girl on the team got on base and scored.  This was probably one of our best games all year.  Good job girls.

This win put us up against the K98 team again, unfortunately we struggled in the first inning and allowed 4 runs, then 3 in the second.  The girls rallied in the 3rd with 4 runs of our own, but we just couldn’t finish and left the tying runs stranded on base.  It was a good showing by the girls and a testament to their will to come back, we just ran out of time.  Good tournament girls and congrats on the 4th place finish.  You continue to be a force teams will have to deal with.

In the second pool game, the girls faced the Nightmare Gold team, a team they had met all fall season and hadn’t found an answer to.  On Friday night, however, the answer came in the form of left handed hitting.  The girls put on a show of Bomber Small Ball that frustrated and forced errors all night.  Deja started the night with a lefty bunt that put her on 1st, then Caty B dropped a slap bunt down the third base line that was overthrown to first and allowed both Deja and Caty B to score.  Gabbie then slapped her way on first and Chey followed with a double.  Bella bunted and reached on a fielders choice that kept Chey at 3rd, but after Bella stole second, Kayla hit into a 4-3 play resulting in Chey and Bella scoring.  The girls never let up that night, tallying 4 hits and forcing 3 errors with an aggressive running game.  Way to play girls.

Our first bracket game was again, a foe from the fall season, the 98 Bandits.  The eventual second place team in the tournament, got a hard fought game through 3 innings, but the errors got the best of our young team.  With the score 1-1, 5 errors resulted in 7 runs that allowed the Bandits to put the game away.  The girls however learned with every mistake and took that to the final game that evening. 

Our final opponent was one we had hoped to avoid.  In the loser’s bracket we met up with our own sisters, the 98 Bombers.  What a game it was to be.  With neither team giving an inch, they battled through four innings, scratching out very few runs.  The first inning ended in Gabbie striking out the first two batters and then fielding a slow grounder up the middle getting it to Caty B for the out. Offensively for 2 innings we just couldn’t get girls across the plate, stranding Deja on second.  However in the 3rd inning Caty B reached on a walk, and Gabbie had a 2 out single allowing Caty B to score, making it a 1-1 game.  However, in the last inning the older girls managed to get 2 singles wrapped around two strike outs to push across the winning run.  Chey had a fantastic stop at short to keep the second run stranded and end the inning 2-1, but in the final at bat, our girls just couldn’t get a run in to push ITB and the 98’s took a hard fought win.  Congratulations to the 98’s on a great win, and congratulations to our girls as well for putting up a fantastic game against your big sisters…you will get them next time.

We are a great group of girls that have been playing together for over a year now.  We started our careers as the first ever Bombers 8U team and have proven ourselves to be a strong part of our organization.  We placed 9th at USFA Nationals last year in Panama City Beach and look forward to making a memorable appearance this year.  We have moved up to 10U now and are making a strong showing.  In our Fall season, we placed 3rd in the Boo Ball Classic and made many teams stand up and take notice.  We look forward to the Spring season.  Watch out world…HERE WE COME!!!!

In game 2, the girls took on the Austin Stampede.  The girls again took a big lead by being picky at the plate racking up 9 walks and 12 stolen bases on their way to an 8-3 win. 

Game 3 showed a strong performance on the mound by Gabbie.  With the Lampasas Lightning in the box, Gabbie rung up 8 strike outs in 3 innings of work and allowed only 1 hit to lead the team to a 5-0 win.  The girls ran the walk play to perfection in the game resulting in 3 runs to put this game away. 

In the final game of the day, the girls took advantage of multiple errors to take an 8-5 win in the second game of the day against the Austin Stampede.  Mari scored twice, once with Caty B working the walk play for the 4th time that day. 

All in all the girls played very well and showed that the practice through the holidays paid off.  Thanks to all the teams who participated and thanks to Sarah and Ashley for joining us for the day.  We enjoyed having you.  Watch for our first tournament coming soon to a field near you.