Fusion Orange Wins Lincoln May Day Classic

On May 1, Fusion Orange dusted off the bats and prepared to do battle “outside” for the first time in the 2009 season at the May Day Classic in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The opener paired Fusion Orange with the Lincoln Bulldogs, with Orange coming out on top 5 – 0. Jessie Finch pitched a complete game one-hitter with 13 strike outs. Hanna Caress and Danara Vanderloo both went 2 for 2, with Caress earning both a single and a double. Mattie Vanden Berge contributed a great slap bunt to extend our play.

Orange experienced a bit of jet lag in the second and third pool play games of the day. Game two against the Frozen Ropes Fury had Mikki Ziegler and Katie Johnson sharing pitching duties. Even with Carly Peterson having two stolen bases on the same at bat and Syd Rechtenbaugh with five assists for putouts, Fusion fell short 6 – 1.

In Game 3, Fusion met up with the North Platte Belles for the first time of the weekend. Katie Johnson started in the circle, with Syd Rechtenbaugh coming in for three innings of relief. Haley Covais and Katie Johnson aided the effort with two hits each and Mikki Ziegler added defensively with five putouts at third base, but Orange fell short 7-2.

Sunday morning started elimination play and saw Fusion Orange again facing the Belles. This game was all Fusion, however, as Haley Covais and Syd Shaw both go three for three, with Shaw adding a triple to her stats. Katie Johnson added to the bats with two singles and a triple. The “spark” to the game was Jordan Speeks’ game-saving over-the-shoulder-on-the-run catch in right field that saved three runs during the middle innings and allowed Fusion to break out the bats and end the game 9 – 2. Jessie Finch pitched a complete game.

On to the second round of the day, which brought Orange toe-to-toe with the Number One Pool Play Seed, the Beatrice Twin River Vipers. This game was a fight to the finish, with Jessie Finch starting the pitching duties and Mikki Ziegler coming in for three innings of relief. Fusion combined for nine hits, including Hanna Caress going two for two and the team producing five singles in a row to produce the game winning runs. Carly Peterson added a single with two stolen bases.

The championship game matched Fusion Orange against the Adams Outlaws. Mikki Ziegler got the nod in the circle and pitched the complete game, with the Fusion bats coming alive to back her up. The team produced seven doubles by six different batters (four in one inning) to win the game 8 – 5. This was a total team effort!

Congratulations on a great start to the season!

Click here to view photos of the tournament.