South Lake Tahoe Tournament

South Lake Tahoe has had their share of firefighting this season, but nobody was able to extinguish the red hot Alameda Blaze 12 and under fastpitch softball tournament team on July 20-22. The local girls took home their first ever tournament championship, going 7-0 for the weekend against an impressive 19 team field from across the state that includes several teams they’ll be seeing at the National Championship tournament in New Mexico the first week of August.

The Blaze opened seeding play on Friday night against the Pleasanton Phantom and walked away with a 6-0 victory. The Blaze blew the game open with a four run fourth inning, including a Jessica Ravetti double, a Gia Morten RBI single, and a Carrie Lee two run single. They added one more insurance run in the fifth on singles by Gianna Ratto and Jessica Ravetti and a Drew Jones RBI single. Carrie Lee threw a complete game 1-hitter, striking out 7 and walking two. The Blaze faced only one batter over the minimum, as catcher Jessica Ravetti gunned down two would-be base stealers.

In the second game of seeding play on Saturday, the Blaze faced one of the top teams in the state, the Mountain View / Los Altos Nova and escaped with a thrilling 2-1 victory. Catcher Jessica Ravetti took out the first batter in the game with one of her signature diving catches of a foul bunt pop and from that point on, pitcher Carrie Lee was the story of the day. Lee struck out the next 8 batters en route to a brilliant 13 strikeout, two-hitter, blowing away batter after batter with smoking fastballs. The Blaze managed only four hits for the game, but made the most of their opportunities, as Drew Jones and Michelle Popelka each singled and scored.

The final seeding game saw a scheduling oddity, as the 12 and under Blaze went up against a 14 and under team, the Lake Tahoe Fire. The Blaze put this one away for good in the top of the first inning, batting around twice, and jumping to a 14-0 lead on 5 hits, 6 walks, and 5 hit batters. The game lasted only three innings due to the “mercy rule”, and ended as a 16-2 nail biter. Hannah Johnson and Gia Morten each smacked two hits and had two RBI, while Drew Jones had a hit and 3 RBI. Gia Morten was dominant in relief, striking out the side to finish the game.

The Blaze opened single elimination play on Sunday and were almost sent packing by the lower seeded Ceres Sizzle. The Sizzle belted out hit after hit in the top of the first and jumped out to a 9-0 lead. There was no quit in the Blaze, as they immediately came back with 4 runs in the bottom of the first on singles by Mia Musso and Keilani Finley-Jensen, and RBI singles by Gianna Ratto, Drew Jones, and Anastasia Scheichl. The blaze added one more in the second on Kayla Simonson and Carrie Lee singles, and two more in the third on a Gia Morten single and a long two-run double by Carrie Lee. The Blaze finished their long comeback as time expired in the bottom of the fourth inning on hits by Michelle Popelka and Gianna Ratto. International tie breaker rules applied to all extra innings, with each half inning starting with a runner on second base.

The Sizzle broke through in the top of the fifth to take a 10-9 lead, but again the Blaze fought back, deadlocking the game at 10 on a Gia Morten single. The Sizzle again managed to score their starting runner in the top of the sixth, setting up the exciting finale for the Blaze. Gianna Ratto tied the game for the third time with a leadoff RBI double, then stole third on a daring delayed steal. Drew Jones came through with a walk off single to complete the incredible come from behind victory. Carrie Lee was again magnificent on the mound, entering in the second inning and striking out 9 in five innings, giving up no earned runs.

The Blaze faced off against the Santa Cruz Mountain Dream in the quarterfinals, and came away with a 6-1 victory. Mia Musso carried the offensive load with two nearly identical two-run singles to right center. Gia Morten pitched the solid complete game victory, giving up only three hits. She was aided by two double plays, one of them a routine 1-6-2-5-4 play to nail runners sliding into third and second.

In the semifinals, the Blaze faced the top seed in their bracket, the Napa Express. The Express entered the game having allowed only two runs in the entire tournament, but the Blaze struck early and hard, with 3 runs in the top of the first on hits by Michelle Popelka, Carrie Lee, Gianna Ratto, Jessica Ravetti, and Gia Morten. The Blaze put the game out of reach with a 4-run fifth, the key hit a bases loaded two run double down the right field line by Mia Musso. Michelle Popelka sealed the 7-1 victory with an RBI single. Carrie Lee again carried the pitching load for the Blaze with another dominating performance, striking out 10 while walking only one and yielding only 4 hits.

The exhausted Blaze advanced to the championship game to take on the Cabrillo Crushers. The Blaze scored in the second and third innings to take a 3-0 lead. The Crushers came through with three in the fourth, and one in the sixth, to take a 4-3 lead. With no time limits for the Championship game, the Blaze came through with yet one more come-from-behind rally. Kayla Simonson led off the sixth with a long double to left center. Mia Musso tied the game with an RBI single. A Michelle Popelka single and a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Carrie Lee put runners at second and third. Gianna Ratto drove home the winning runs with a two run single. Kelly Hosokowa picked up the win with two strong innings of relief. Appropriately, Carrie Lee sealed the victory and the tournament Championship with a perfect 1-2-3 seventh, absolutely blowing away batters, and striking out the side.