99 VA CRUSHERS

2012 PONY Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship Sterling VA July 14-15

The ’99 Virginia Crushers played up in their last tournament of the 2012 season before heading off to NSA World Series in Spartanburg, SC. They were looking for good, solid competition in order to prepare for the World Series. 10 teams played in this year’s tournament. We went 2-1 in Saturday pool play with a 6-2 win over the Loudoun Storm – Red. Next came a 2-1 win over the 14U Fauquier Freeze. We finished up pool play with a 9-0 loss to the ’98 Fielder’s Choice in 5 innings. The score was 1-0 going into the fifth inning when a rare string of fielding and throwing errors let the game slip away. The ’98 Fielder’s Choice hit very well the entire game, as always. This loss seeded us third in a very competitive bracket. Sunday’s elimination play started against the #2 seeded Ashburn Shooting Stars – White. After three scoreless innings, the Shooting Stars came out hitting and the Crushers fell behind 4-0 in the fourth. The Crushers’ answered with two runs in the fifth, but so did the Shooting Stars. The Crushers were down 6-2 going into the sixth and scored 3 unanswered runs to close the gap. The Crushers scored 3 more in the seventh and great pitching and defense held on for the come from behind win. The Crushers then faced the Bayside Blues 14U in the semi-final game. Both teams were scoreless until the fourth inning when the Blues pushed across a run. The Blues again scored another run in the sixth and held on for the 2-0 win. The Crushers made a few errors on defense and left several runners stranded during the game. All in all, not a bad weekend, with a 3^rd Place finish against some very good competition.  

2012 USSSA Blue-Gray Summer Shootout Elkridge MD July 7-8

The '99 Virginia Crushers started the week disappointed to learn that they would not be able to play up in 14U for the 2012 USSSA Blue-Gray Summer Shootout in Elkridge MD due to an uneven number of teams in each age division. The Crushers understood the need for the tournament directors to even out the divisions for timely tournament play. 26 teams in the 12U division this year and even though the temperatures reached triple digits each day, the Crushers perspired and persevered to win the 12U Gold Championship by going 6-0-1.

2012 ASA Virginia State Championship Leesburg VA June 23-24

This was the first ASA State Championship that the '99 VA Crushers had competed in. There were only 10 teams. The Crushers started pool play with a 4-1 victory over the VA Scrappers – Leftwich, then a 15-0 (3) win over the ’99 Baseliners. Double elimination play started with a come from behind 9-3 win over the VA Edge. Next came a 3-0 win over the VA Glory Elite ’99. The semi-final game resulted in a 2-0 win over the VA Scrappers – Leftwich. The Crusher’s bats came alive in the championship game and the Crushers finished with a 10-0 (5) win versus the VA Glory Elite ’99. Overall, pitching, offence and defense played well. Hitting a team average of .364, scoring 43 runs while only giving up 4 runs, none of which were earned. 4 shutouts and a 0.00 ERA! 31 K's and no walks. It was a great weekend of softball!

2012 NSA Virginia State Championship Salem VA June 16-17

24 of the best teams from across the state attended this year. The ’99 Virginia Crushers win the 2012 NSA Virginia State Championship by going 6-0 this weekend in Salem. Wins in the State finals included a 10-0 victory against the Augusta Flames, a 7-1 win against 3-D Fastpicth from Gladys VA. A 9-1 win versus the Manassas Blaze and a 3-2 extra innings win against the Williamsburg Starz. The semi-final game resulted in a 5-2 win against the Elite from Smithfield VA, The Elite fought their way out of the losers bracket in the double elimination tournament, but couldn’t hold on, falling to the Crushers 3-1 in the championship game. Great pitching and defense held teams to only 7 runs, 4 of which were earned. The Crushers hit a team average of .340 for the weekend and the pitchers held opposing hitters to just 25 hits in 6 games, including 32 strike-outs and 4 walks for a combine ERA of 0.65.

2012 USSSA 14U "A" Virginia State Championship Leesburg VA June 2-3

The ’99 Virginia Crushers wanted to challenge themselves by playing some of the best teams in the Commonwealth. They played up in the 14U 2012 USSSA State Championships in Leesburg VA and played in the “A” division. Their first game came against a very good Loudoun Storm Black team who had won 5 straight USSSA 14U tournaments. The Crushers were down 0-1 until the fourth inning when the Crushers put up 3 runs and finished off with great defense and pitching to secured the 3-1 win. Next came an 8-4 win versus the ’97 BRYC Stingrays. The Crushers then played the ’98 Fielder’s Choice where the game was tied 4-4 after the 5^th inning. The Fielder’s Choice started hitting in the 6^th and the error bug bit the Crushers hard, resulting in a 12-4 loss.

The first elimination game on Sunday was a 1-0 win against the Richmond Rampage 14U. The game was scoreless in the sixth until a well place bunt helped score the only run of the game for the Crushers. The close win over the Rampage set up a rematch against the Loudoun Storm Black. Both teams scored 1 run in both the first and third innings. The Crushers pushed a run across in the fifth and held the lead into the seventh inning with 2 outs when a hard line drive to center-right scored a Storm runner for the tie. After a scoreless ITB eighth inning which included both teams having bases loaded, with intentional walks, before the third outs. The Crushers exploded for 4 runs in the top of the ninth. The Storm could only manage to answer with one run and the Crushers secured the 7-4 win to advance into the state championship game against the Hampton Roads Vipers. The Vipers reached the championship game by going 5-0 previously, scoring 49 runs and only allowing 3 to that point. Great pitching and defense held the Vipers to only 3 runs, but three errors were too much to overcome in the 3-1 loss. Overall the weekend was a great success and proved to the Crushers that they can play competitive ball with the best.

2012 PONY Memorial Day Madness Chambersburg PA May 26-28

The ’99 Virginia Crushers won the 2012 PONY Memorial Day Madness in Chambersburg PA. This is always one of the largest tournaments on the east coast drawing 170 plus teams from 10 states and Canada. The Crushers competed in the 12U division which consisted of 43 teams. The Crushers went 10-0 in the three day tournament defeating teams from CT, NY, NJ, DE, PA, MD and VA. The Crushers pitching and defense put together 8 shutouts, including a perfect game and a no-hitter. The offense scored 63 runs while the defense only gave up 7 runs in 10 games. The Crushers came from behind in the championship game after a rare string of errors. Down 1-3 against the Empire State Huskies in the 4^th inning, a hard tag at third by the Huskies sparked the dugout to rally and take the momentum back from the Huskies. The Crushers exploded for 5 runs in the 5^th and never looked back on the 6-3 final win.

2012 ASA Hall of Fame Qualifier Centreville MD April 28-29

The ’99 Virginia Crushers first ever ASA tournament was a success! The Crushers won the 2012 ASA Hall of Fame Qualifier in Centreville MD by going 6-0 and out scoring their opponents 70-3. The double elimination pool play started with a 13-0 win against the Maryland Chill. Then a 15-0 win against the Maryland Crush. Elimination play started with a 22-1 win versus the Maryland Legends, then an 8-0 win against Lakeshore MD Lightning. A battle in the semi-final game resulted in a 4-1 win over the Maryland Magic. The Lakeshore Lighting battled their way out of the loser’s bracket to advance into the championship game, but the Crushers proved too much and won the game 8-1. The Crushers played great ball all around this weekend, hitting a team average .470 and pitching a combined ERA of 0.39. The championship win qualifies the team for the ASA Hall of Fame tournament in Oklahoma City, OK held on June 8-10, 2012.

2012 NSA Kaboom Spring Classic Annandale VA April 14-15

The ’99 Crushers won their third straight tournament of the 2012 spring season by going 6-1 and winning the 6^th Annual NSA Kaboom Spring Classic in Annandale VA. Eighteen 12U teams competed in this years tournament. The Crushers got started in Saturday pool play with a 12-6 win over the ’99 Vienna Stars and a 8-2 win over the Delaware Diamond State Swoop – Blue. Pool play concluded with a 1-3 loss to the Virginia Legends – Bates. The Crushers buckled down and refocused for Sunday bracket play. First up was a morning 4-3 win versus the Lakeshore MD Lightning. Next came a 5-4 ITB win against a very improved Hanover Lady Hornets team. The Crushers won against the Xplosion – Booth 12-0 in the semi-final game. They won the championship game 9-3 versus the Ashburn Shooting Stars – Gold.

2012 Fauquier Fusion St. Patrick's Day Slugfest

The ’99 Virginia Crushers got off to a great start this spring by winning their first tournament of 2012. The ’99 Crusher went 5-0 to win the 2012 Fauquier Fusion St. Pat’s Slugfest. The Crushers played up in the 14U division and hit a team average of .553 for the weekend, scoring 77 runs in 5 games while only allowing 8 runs. The Crushers started pool play on Saturday with 24-2 victory versus the Fauquier Fusion Green. A 12-2 win against the Leesburg Revolution Red and a 10-0 win versus the Haymarket Bobcats. Sunday bracket play started with a 19-1 win in the semi-final game against the McLean Magic and a 12-3 championship win over the 14U Virginia Crushers.

2011 NSA Eastern Fall States Powhatan VA Nov. 5 - 6

24 teams this year. Went 6-1 to win the Fall State Championship. Pool play started with a 5-1 loss to the Smithfield Galaxy, then a 16-4 win over Sting Fastpitch and a 9-1 win over the Virginia Scrappers. Sunday elimination started with a 9-6 win versus the Orion Hunter, a 6-0 win against the Virginia Legends. The semi-final game against the Hanover Lady Hornets ended with 5-0 victory to advance into the championship game against the '99 Glory Elite. After 7 innings, the game was tied at 2-2. The Crushers scored the go ahead run in ITB and held the Glory with defense to secure the championship.

2011 USSSA Breast Cancer Awareness NIT Sterling VA Oct. 22 - 23 

16 teams playing up in our first ever 14U tournament. Went 3-0 in pool play on Saturday with a 5-0 win vs Loudoun Storm - White. 13-3 win vs '97 Stingrays and a 7-0 victory vs Maryland Chill - Purple. Opened Sunday bracket play with a 3-1 win vs the Leesburg Revolution. Lost in the semi-final game to the Loudoun Storm - Red 0-2 in ITB in 8 innings. It was a great weekend!

2011 NSA Virginia Crushers Fall Frenzy Bristow VA Oct. 15 - 16

Twenty 12U teams attended this year. 1 & 2 seeds from Saturday pool play went into the American Division for Sunday single elimination play. Saturday pool play included the following wins: 5-3 vs the Manassas Blaze, 5-0 vs Virginia Legends - Bates, and 14-1 vs the Southern Pride. Sunday bracket play started with a 5-0 win vs the Williamsburg Starz and a 6-0 win