Locals Lead SaMo Softball

After a grueling seven games in two days, the U-10 Gold of Santa Monica emerged as champions at the Amateur Softball Association Fastpitch All-Star Tournament June 23-24 in Diamond Bar. With the help of four Palisadians, the Gold compiled a 6-1 record in the 16-team tournament, losing only their first game to El Segundo, 3-1. After that, the Gold reeled off six straight–beating Chino 12-4, Diamond Bar Silver 12-2, Diamond Bar Gold 8-2, Garden Grove 3-0, Northridge 2-1, and finally Paramount 9-3 in the championship game. Stellar defense, gutsy pitching, timely hitting and aggressive baserunning were the difference-makers for Santa Monica. “Northridge was our toughest opponent,” Gold Manager Deana Cavanaugh said. “They had scored in double digits against everyone before playing us, and we shut them down with our pitching and defense.” The game went into extra innings, with the winning run being scored after a delayed steal of third base by Gold pitcher Jackie Carr and a sharp RBI grounder by shortstop Christine Maddox. Carr and first baseman Courtney Carswell attend St. Matthew’s School while second baseman Erin Samuel lives in Sunset Mesa and outfielder Miranda Andrew goes to Calvary Christian Elementary. The Gold’s defense was rock solid throughout the tournament, led by Maddox, Carswell, Caitlin Cavanaugh at third base, Natalie Montelongo at catcher, Andrew and fellow outfielders Frankie Golic, Coco Schwartz, Ruby Toolin and Dylan Gee. “We had the best defense, especially up the middle, of any team in the tournament–period,” Gold Co-Coach Dave Carr said. Santa Monica’s offensive attack was led by Samuel, Carr, Maddox, Cavanaugh, Montelongo and designated hitter Annie Quine, who led the team in RBIs. Carr was voted Most Valuable Player after pitching the Gold to four victories in five starts over two days. In the championship game, Santa Monica needed four pitchers–Maddox, Carr, Cavanaugh, and Samuel–to secure victory. Montelongo threw to Maddox, who tagged out a Paramount runner attempting to steal second, for the final out. “This team grew up over the weekend,” Gold Co-Coach Alan Juarez said. “We had to learn how to push through the fatigue at the end of tournaments against the best teams.”