The local Toxic Prowlers 12U travel softball team won the gold bracket championship at its first fall tournament of the season, the Top Gun-USA Tournament, which was held Sept. 14 at Catawba Meadows Park in Morganton. The team includes players Harper Best, Lily Thompson, Kelly Scales, Finley Duvall, Megan Robinson, Ava Hensley, Sophie Ann Smith, Serenity Waycaster, Olivia Isenhour, and Kathryn Hardin and coaches Dennis May (head coach), Thomas Best, and Chad Robinson. The Prowlers finished a 3-1 tournament run with an exciting 3-2 title game triumph over Alexander FP. In the win, the Prowlers were led by Waycaster (two RBIs in third inning to take the lead for good), Duvall (two hits, two stolen bases), and Best (4 IP, ER, 3 K, win). Over the course of the tournament, Duvall (team-leading three runs) and Thompson each had a team-high three hits, with Robinson, Hensley, and Waycaster (team-leading three RBIs) each producing extra-base hits. Hardin also had three runs for the tourney, and Best started two of the four games from the circle and pitched 7 2/3 innings (of the team’s 12 total), gaining two wins and striking out 12 while allowing only three earned runs.
- FOR THE PAPER
The local Carolina Stars 10U travel softball team also won its age bracket at the Top Gun-USA Tournament at Catawba Meadows on Sept. 14, capped by a 12-3 title game win over a Tyger Rivercats team that the Stars players hadn’t defeated in three years spanning multiple age groups of travel ball, head coach Josiah Brown said. Pictured are Stars players (front row, from left to right) Ivy Brown, Maddison Gordon, Teaghan Stamey, Piper Smith, Carmen Simmons, Maggie McEllen, and Harper Lowman; (middle row) Sophia Bradley, Victoria Bollinger, Brianna Maynor, and Letty Teague; (back row) and coaches Scott Bollinger, Brown, Cody Gordon, and David Smith. The Stars went 5-0 for the tournament, and their 15 hits in the opener were part of a 55-hit, 56-run offensive onslaught over the five contests. None of the team’s players hit for below a .300 average for the tourney, with the team sporting a .604 collective average (and .670 on-base percentage) with a fielding percentage of .950. Brown, who teamed with Simmons in a shutout win from the circle, and Bollinger both sported ERAs around 3.00 and led the team’s pitching staff on the day. In the title contest, the Stars produced eight runs in the third inning to blow the game open as Brown and McEllen had extra-base hits in the frame and Bradley and Lowman produced multiple RBIs. Bradley finished with three hits including a triple, and Teague had an RBI base knock that put Stars ahead for good in the second inning. Bollinger (3 IP, 2 ER, 4 K) earned the title game win from the circle, adding two hits at the plate in the victory.
- FOR THE PAPER
More like this...
The local Toxic Prowlers 12U travel softball team won the gold bracket championship at its first fall tournament of the season, the Top Gun-USA Tournament, which was held Sept. 14 at Catawba Meadows Park in Morganton. The team includes players Harper Best, Lily Thompson, Kelly Scales, Finley Duvall, Megan Robinson, Ava Hensley, Sophie Ann Smith, Serenity Waycaster, Olivia Isenhour, and Kathryn Hardin and coaches Dennis May (head coach), Thomas Best, and Chad Robinson. The Prowlers finished a 3-1 tournament run with an exciting 3-2 title game triumph over Alexander FP. In the win, the Prowlers were led by Waycaster (two RBIs in third inning to take the lead for good), Duvall (two hits, two stolen bases), and Best (4 IP, ER, 3 K, win). Over the course of the tournament, Duvall (team-leading three runs) and Thompson each had a team-high three hits, with Robinson, Hensley, and Waycaster (team-leading three RBIs) each producing extra-base hits. Hardin also had three runs for the tourney, and Best started two of the four games from the circle and pitched 7 2/3 innings (of the team’s 12 total), gaining two wins and striking out 12 while allowing only three earned runs.
- FOR THE PAPER
The local Carolina Stars 10U travel softball team also won its age bracket at the Top Gun-USA Tournament at Catawba Meadows on Sept. 14, capped by a 12-3 title game win over a Tyger Rivercats team that the Stars players hadn’t defeated in three years spanning multiple age groups of travel ball, head coach Josiah Brown said. Pictured are Stars players (front row, from left to right) Ivy Brown, Maddison Gordon, Teaghan Stamey, Piper Smith, Carmen Simmons, Maggie McEllen, and Harper Lowman; (middle row) Sophia Bradley, Victoria Bollinger, Brianna Maynor, and Letty Teague; (back row) and coaches Scott Bollinger, Brown, Cody Gordon, and David Smith. The Stars went 5-0 for the tournament, and their 15 hits in the opener were part of a 55-hit, 56-run offensive onslaught over the five contests. None of the team’s players hit for below a .300 average for the tourney, with the team sporting a .604 collective average (and .670 on-base percentage) with a fielding percentage of .950. Brown, who teamed with Simmons in a shutout win from the circle, and Bollinger both sported ERAs around 3.00 and led the team’s pitching staff on the day. In the title contest, the Stars produced eight runs in the third inning to blow the game open as Brown and McEllen had extra-base hits in the frame and Bradley and Lowman produced multiple RBIs. Bradley finished with three hits including a triple, and Teague had an RBI base knock that put Stars ahead for good in the second inning. Bollinger (3 IP, 2 ER, 4 K) earned the title game win from the circle, adding two hits at the plate in the victory.
- FOR THE PAPER
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.