Announcement
Sunday, July 27
The Manhattan Beach 11 yr old Softball All-Star team came back from an 8-4 deficit, to beat Grand Terrace 14-10, to clinch the Southern California Division III Championship tonight in West Long Beach.
The Manhattan Beach 10-11 year old All Stars went into the Softball Southern State Championship Tournament with high hopes, having gone 3-0 while picking up the Section 4 banner the previous week.
Down to 10 players due to Christie Carey's broken foot, the 10-11s took the field on Saturday July 19th against the Rolando Little League All Stars.
Starting their tournament trend of getting down early, Manhattan Beach would find themselves behind by 2-1 after 2. But the team never got down, and started a much more positive trend of coming out swinging in the later innings.
A double by Taylor Balen and consecutive singles by Gigi Franco and Natalie Perez keyed a 7 run outburst in the 4th inning for Manhattan Beach.
A 5 run 6th inning put the game out of reach, and defensive plays by Lila Tatum and Gigi Franco helped keep Rolando's bats at bay.
Taylor Balen continued her strong work on the mound, going 6 innings and ending the game on another changeup strikeout, her 10th K of the game.
The final score was MB 18, Roland 5, and MB advanced to the next round.
----------------
Game Two of the tournament took place on July 21st and pitted the Manhattan Beach team against The Grand Terrace Little League All Stars.
Starting a little slowly in the field, Manhattan Beach went down 0-5 in the first inning, but would put the clamps down on the Grand Terrace bats and not allow them to score a run the rest of the way.
Mary Dawson was a rock at the pitcher's plate, going all four innings in a game cut short by the 10 run mercy rule. Her steady presence calmed the Manhattan Beach defense down, and she kept her team in the game, not only with her pitching, but with her bat as well.
In another strong offensive inning, Manhattan Beach rallied for 10 runs in the 3rd, taking a 15-5 lead and never looking back. Home runs by Shannon Savino and Mary Dawson keyed the offensive outburst, with timely hits by Aarin Henning and Brooke Feld.
Manhattan Beach finished the game with a final score of 17-5, their fourth mercy out of the 5 games played up to that point.
----------------
Coming out of the winner's bracket, Manhattan Beach would again face the Grand Terrace All Stars, this time for a shot at the Southern State Championship.
The game held on July 26th saw Manhattan Beach start out slowly again in the field. A few mental miscues got the team in a hole early, but the girls never put their heads down and were hopeful that they could come back as they had done in previous games.
A home run in the 2nd by Brooke Feld rallied the team, and kept their hopes alive as they struggled to put some runs across the plate.
Down 9-3 after 2, Manhattan Beach stormed back in the 3rd inning, scoring 10 runs with key hits by Shannon Savino, Jillian Gearin, and a home run by Taylor Balen.
Buoyed by their offensive explosion, Manhattan Beach would tighten up the D, limiting Grand Terrace to only one run after the third inning. Grace Campbell had a rally killing catch in right field, and Natalie Perez stopped any hopes of a Grand Terrace comeback with a great catch in Center Field in the 6th.
With Mary Dawson having another solid game behind the plate, platoon mate Taylor Balen closed out her All Star action on the mound with her strongest game of post season play: walking three, striking out 13 and going the distance for her fourth consecutive win of the All Star Tournament.
With the final score of 14-10, the Manhattan Beach 10-11 year old All Stars stormed the field to collect their well deserved Southern State Championship Banner.
We want to thank all the parents and families for their support, without all of you, there would be no team to cheer for. And a big thank you to all of you who came out to support us during our games, the banner means nothing without people to share it with!
Friday, July 25
The 9/10 girls played a determined Loara LL all star team (East Anaheim) last night in Riverside for the State/Division III Championship and prevailed by a score of 6-2. The team did not lose a game during tournament play and scored 10 or more runs in every game except the final one. This marks the third straight year that the Manhattan Beach 9/10 softball all stars have brought home the State/Division III Championship.
Wednesday, July 23
The 10/11 girls have advanced to the State/Division III Championship game to be played this Saturday July 26, 4pm, at the West Long Beach LL field. The 9/10 girls play in Riverside tonight for the State/Division III Championship. Game time is 6pm.
Wednesday, July 16
Junior Softball Update - MB Stars Win Their First Section 4 Contest
The MB Junior Softball All Stars got off to a fast start and cruised to 6-1 victory
against North Venice in the Section 4 Tournament hosted
by Manhattan Little League at Marine West. The MB Stars relied upon the crafty
pitching of Kellie Wesser, Breanna Kelly and Ally Barry, supported by a strong
team defense to stifle the NV Stars. Whitney Pagnini got the
MB Stars started with a huge two out, bases loaded double in the 1st
inning, and Montana Morgan contributed 3 hits to a strong offensive effort
by the entire team. Annie Cipiti and Natalie Bowles anchored the defense
with stellar plays that led to two double plays in key situations, with
Kelsey Brandin flashing the leather at third base to kill a North Venice
rally.
The Junior Softball Stars square off against Westchester Del Rey LL in a
winner's bracket game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night at Marine West.
Softball All Stars Updates:
MBLL softball all stars have won two Section 4 Championships and are advancing to the Southern California Division Tournaments for the 9/10s and 11s (details below). The Junior Softball All Stars commence play tonight, Wednesday, July 16, in the Section 4 Junior All Star tournament with a game against North Venice at 7:30 p.m. at Marine West.
Monday, July 14
The Manhattan Beach 10-11 year old Softball All Stars mercied the field on
their way to a 3-0 showing and collected the District 4 championship in
their first tournament.
On Thursday, July 10 the Manhattan Beach All Stars faced Westchester, and
behind key hits from Brooke Feld, Mary Dawson, Shannon Savino, Aarin
Henning and Jillian Gearing, took a quick 11-0 lead during the first
inning.
There was no looking back as Taylor Balen pitched all four innings, keeping
the Westchester hitters at bay.
The Manhattan bats would keep Westchester on their heels the entire game.
Several double plays in the field cut short any Westchester hopes of a
rally, and the mercy rule brought an early end to Manhattan Beach's first
game of the tournament.
Friday, July 11th featured Manhattan Beach against North Venice, and
showing no ill effects from having played 24 hours earlier, Manhattan Beach
jumped to a big lead and didn't slow down their offense barrage, scoring 27
runs in just four innings to take the game with a final score of 27-5.
Mary Dawson took the mound and was in control of the game from the start,
sending North Venice to defeat in her first start since last years 9-10 All
Stars took the state title.
Lila Tatum, Christie Carey, Grace Campbell, Natalie Perez and Gigi Franco
all recorded hits in the game to guide their team to victory.
Sunday July 13th - The Championship game started at 1PM, and featured
Westchester and Manhattan Beach doing battle for the District Four
Championship.
Each player on the Manhattan Beach team painted the number of one of the
11-12 year old All Stars on their arm to show their support to the girls
who's All Star Tournament ended much too early.
In contrast to their previous game, the score was Manhattan Beach 1 and
Westchester 0 after two innings, but that would all change as Manhattan
Beach drove home 9 runs in the third and 7 in the fourth to complete the
triple mercy and end the game in four innings. With a final score of 16-0/
As in their previous game, every Manhattan Beach player came around to
score at least one time.
Taylor Balen pitched four innings, walking one and striking out 8. Only one
runner for Westchester reached third base. A changeup called strike three
ended the game, and the Manhattan Beach team rushed the field to collect
their District Four Championship banner.
The 10-11 year old All Stars will next face off in Long Beach on July 19 to
resume their quest for the State Title!
Sunday, July 13th
10/11s won 16-0 in four innings in a mercy and are Section 4 Champions.
They now proceed to the Division/State Championship, a double elimination
tournament against the winners from three other Sections.
9/10s play Monday at 7pm at Marine West for the Section Championship.
Manhattan Beach plays in the sectional championship game on Monday, July 14, at Marine West. Game time is 7pm.
9/10s. Mercied Westchester by a score of 13-0. Kasey Hutton pitched a no hitter. Again, there were lots of hitting stars. The girls used some well placed bunts to put pressure on the Westchester team in the early innings.
10/11s play tomorrow at 1pm at Ladera Little League.
11/12s. Bad news. A competing league complained and many of our players were disqualified because they were subs in the Juniors program. We couldn't field a team and had to withdraw from the Tournament. Very unfortunate news for a group of girls that have worked hard for this moment.
Thursday, July 10th
11/12 Girls defeated North Venice by a score of 9-0. Brooke Taylor pitched a no-hitter. The game was 0-0 into the top of the 5th, as the North Venice crafty left-hander had the MB girls off balance. MB put up 6 runs in the 5th. Singles by Carley Muller and Brooke Taylor set the table and Brooke Winterhalder, Mandi Yamada, Tori Jasuta, Sarah Lucenti, Lauren Farkas and Rachel Humphrey drove them home with RBI hits. In the 6th, Brooke Taylor and Brooke Winterhalder started the inning with walks and hits from Lauren Winterhalder, Jenna Lambert and Rachel Humphrey scored three runs.
10/11s. Mercied their opponent 16-6. I don't have much detail, but they were up 12-0 after one inning.
9/10s Manhattan Beach 9 & 10 Year Old Softball All Stars Win Sectional Opener.
The Manhattan Beach bats sizzled during a 16-0 win over West Torrance in the sectional opener. In the top of the first inning, Manhattan Beach scored 10 runs and never looked back. Kasey Hutton led off with a triple followed by 7 additional Manhattan Beach hits in the first. Manhattan Beach scored 6 runs in the second inning and coasted the rest of the way. Pitchers Kasey Hutton, Brittany Werre, and Nicole Shearin each contributed to the shut out. For the night offensively, Jenna McKinney went 3 for 4 with 3 rbi's, Brittany Werre went 3 for 4 with a double, triple, and 5 rbi's, and both Alyssa Zucker and Kasey Hutton went 2 for 4. Manhattan Beach now faces Westchester Del Rey on Saturday, July 12, at 12:30. You are invited to come out to Marine West for some exciting all star softball.
9 & 10 Softball All Stars - Section 4 Tournament Hosted by MBLL (Games at Marine West)
First game - July 11 at 7:30 p.m. (MBLL v. Winner of District 27 Tournament).
10 & 11 Softball All Stars - Section 4 Tournament Hosted by Ledera Little League
First game - July 10 at 5:30 p.m.
Directions:
405 Fwy North to La Cienega Blvd exit
Follow La Cienega North to Slauson Ave, turn Right
Follow Slauson Ave to S. Fairfax Ave, turn Left
Fields are on the left.
11 & 12 Softball All Stars - Section 4 Tournament Hosted by Westchester Del Rey LL (Carl Nielsen Youth Park)
First game - July 11 at 5 p.m.
Directions:
Go North on Sepulveda Blvd. approx 4 miles from MB
Turn Right on Westchester Parkway (1st signal north of LAX)
Go 2 blocks east
Turn Left on Will Rogers St.
Go 2 blocks,
Little League parking lot on right side. Softball field is on the southeast corner of park.
13 & 14 Softball All Stars - Section 4 Tournament Hosted by MBLL (Games at Marine West)
First game - July 16 at 7:30 p.m. (MBLL v. Winner of District 25 Tournament).
Other Section 4 teams include Dist 25 (No. Venice area), Dist 37 (West Torrance area) and Dist 36 (Manhattan Beach)
Tournmant Ladders can be found in the Handouts Tournament/All Stars Softball section.
