Hot Shots Have A Ball Winning Championship in Santa Rosa A Ball Tournament

The Pleasanton Hotshots 16U softball team brought home their second consecutive Gold Medal by defeating the Redwood Empire Rugrats in the championship game 6-0. The championship run on Sunday was highlighted by victories over two perennial powerhouses, West Bay Nuggets 2-0 in the semifinals and the victory over the Rugrats. The Hot Shots also defeated the Petaluma Steel Breeze to open things up on Sunday. Strong pitching led the way on Sunday with Haley Douglas throwing a complete game against the Rugrats and Georgia Bloom also throwing a shutout against the Nuggets.

The semifinal game was a real thriller as every pitch seemed to matter in a closely fought game. The Hot Shots opened up the scoring with a two out rally in the second. Allie Straub and Allie Price got singles and then Zoe Price had a clutch RBI single to get the Hot Shots on the board. The game continued to be nip and tuck all the way until the Hot Shots got their second run in the sixth inning. Carli Kachel got a one out single. Haley Douglas then pinch ran for Kachel and got to second base as a ball got loose on the infield after a fly out to the outfield. With two outs, Alex Herman stepped up and got an RBI to notch the big insurance run for the Hot Shots. These two runs proved to be enough for Georgia Bloom as she tossed a one hitter for the victory.

The final game against the Rugrats was not as close as the semi-finals because the Hot Shot bats woke up for the first time all weekend. The Hot Shots avenged their only loss of the weekend. In pool play on Saturday, the Rugrats defeated the Hot Shots 2-0. The early blast came off the bat of Georgia Bloom who crushed a triple to right center in the second inning with two outs to knock in Carli Kachel and Allie Straub. Bloom also knocked in the sixth and final run in the seventh inning. The Hot Shots sealed the victory in the third inning with a three run rally led by a two RBI single from Alex Herman (Lauren Ayres and Kachel scoring) and an RBI (Straub scoring) by Zoe Price. All of these runs came with two outs as well. Haley Douglas was in control in the circle all game against the Rugrats. She only allowed two hits en route to her second shutout of the weekend. Douglas didn't allow any runs all weekend in 2.5 games that she pitched.

Some highlights from the weekend: Claire Robertson was 6/7 at the plate on Saturday. Allie Straub took home the MVP award for the Hot Shots. She played flawless defense at second base all weekend and sparked a number of rallies. Straub hit .588 in going 10/17 at Maria Carrillo HS which hosted the tournament. The Hot Shots played great defense all weekend. Blue Softballs were handed out for spectacular plays to Lauren Ayres and two were earned by Brittany Hillman at shortstop.

The Hot Shots will enjoy the 4th of July break and then resume action at Incline Village (Lake Tahoe) on July 7th.