Fusion Black At Camp David

South Dakota Fusion Black got a jump on the 2009 season playing their first 16u tournament February 7-8 at the Camp David Sports facility in Ashland Nebraska. It was a great chance for the 2008 South Dakota state 14u champions to see how they stack up against some of the strongest 16u teams in the Midwest.

Fusion Black played their first game Saturday morning against the Olathe Kansas TAZ. The game was a defensive battle from the start, with the TAZ getting a 1-0 win. Our girls played nearly mistake free, but just could not push the tying run in. Fusion Black's Emily Nichols struck out four in the loss.

Fusion Black showed a little rust on defense falling behind 8-0 in their second game to the Flames of Nebraska from Kearney. But late in the game, Fusion Black's bats heated up, scoring a couple runs and loading the bases. The momentum had clearly swung and the Flames were in an all out stall, running out the clock to get an 8-2 win. Fusion pitchers Laura Hurley and Lizzie Palmer combined to strike out four Flames batters, while none of Fusion Black's hitters struck out. 

It was all Fusion Black in game three against the Manly Iowa Heat, as the ladies in black put 9 runs on the board in the top half of the first, eating up nearly half of the one hour time limit. Fusion pitcher Lizzie Palmer struck out five while shutting down the Heat's hitters to give Fusion the 9-0 win.

Sunday was single elimination, and the SD Fusion jumped to a quick 1-0 lead over the Shawnee Kansas Heartbreakers when Fusion's lead off hitter Kersten Bork turned a single and a stolen base into a run off of a Laura Hurley hit. The Heartbreakers lived up to their name though, putting four runs on the board in the following innings, ending the Fusion Black's weekend with a 4-1 loss.

The weekend was a success for Fusion Black. Although the Black went 1-3 on the weekend, SDFB could easily have been 3-1 or better.  The girls saw very good pitching at the next level, and got a taste of the increased speed of the game and proved they are ready to play with anyone.

For complete tourmanent results go to www.campdavidsports.com.

Fusion Black returns to the diamond at the Mizuno Quakes Classic in Omaha April 26-27.