Fusion Silver Wins NAFA Northern Nationals

July 26, 2010 - St. Paul, MN

The 14U Fusion Silver won the North American Fastpitch Association (NAFA) Northern National Tournament on July 25th. The tournament was played over 4 days in St. Paul, MN, and there were over 50 teams from several Midwest states and Canada. Silver reached the championship game with a perfect 7-0 record, defeating many competitive teams along the way.

Click here to see photos from the tournament.

Fusion played against two top-notch Ringneck opponents. They avenged a loss to the MN Sting, and picked up their second victory against Smitty’s, who is slated as Canada’s top 14U team. The championship game was against the Stone City Sharks, whom Fusion had sent to the loser’s bracket earlier with a 5-2 victory. However, Silver was unable to clinch the title in the first game, losing 2-0. Even though Fusion had 6 hits, including Syd S’s 2 singles and a double, the Sharks’ exceptional defense stranded Silver runners at third base 5 out of the 7 innings. The Sharks only had 2 hits in the game but were able to score 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th to ruin Fusion’s hopes of an undefeated tournament. But Silver came back strong in the first inning of the final game when Emily and Erin scored off of Kara’s single. Emily’s sac fly in the 2nd inning allowed Taylor to score an insurance run. Fusion Silver ended the game by turning a double play and earned the national championship title by a final score of 3-1.

Great offensive and defensive performances were charted by all of the Fusion players throughout the entire tournament. They outscored their opponents, 35-11 in 9 games and played nearly errorless ball. The team’s defensive average was only 1.2 runs per game. Katie pitched 7.5 games and allowed just 4 earned runs, for an ERA of .53 for the tournament. Bina was solid behind the plate. Sadie helped the cause by making several spectacular plays at 1st base. Offensively, Syd S. led the team with a batting average of .500 for the tournament. She went 3 for 4 in two games with a single and 2 doubles; Erin did the same in another game. Syd R’s 2-rbi single proved to be the game-winner in Fusion’s 2-0 victory over Smitty’s. Some other highlights were Hannah’s 3-run triple, Brennan had a single and double with 2 rbis in one of the Sharks’ games, and Nicole came through with two great sac bunts. In addition to individual accomplishments, it was a total team effort to bring home the national title!

Fusion Silver’s current record now stands at 53-8-1. Their tournament results are as follows:

Brandon Early Bird 1st
Kansas City NIT 2nd
ASA National Qualifier 1st
Minnesota State USSSA 4th
SEFSA A Division League 1st
Ringneck A Division 2nd
South Dakota State 1st
NAFA Nationals 1st

Fusion Silver will be taking their bus to Moline, IL on Sunday, August 1 for their final tournament of the season. They will be competing against the top 14U softball players in the United States in the elite ASA/USA National Tournament. All teams must qualify by winning a berth to be eligible to play in it. Good luck girls!

Fusion Silver Wins ASA State Championship

July 16, 2010 - Sioux Falls, SD

Fusion Silver won the South Dakota ASA State Class "A" Girls Fastpitch Softball Tournament in the 14U division at Sherman Park July 16-18, 2010. Silver beat Rapid City Flames in the championship game 6-0. For the tournament they were undefeated and had great offensive and defensive performances, outscoring their opponents 46-3.

Click here to see photos from the tournament.

Defense was very solid committing only 5 one-base errors and no multi-base errors during the entire tournament. There were also several “at-a-girl” plays that robbed the opponent's hitters from their chance to get on base. Highlight plays were made by the entire infield; Sadie, Syd R., Erin, Emily. Sabrina again continued to shut down opponents attempting to steal by showing her gun on the warm-up throw to second base, thereby limiting most from even trying to advance. She gunned down the few that dared to attempt to steal a base making a big contribution to the cause. Katie was the primary beneficiary of all this great defense allowing only 9 hits and 1 earned run in 4 games on the mound. Kara continued her contribution on the mound pitching 4 innings and allowing no runs.

Offense continued to unleash the bats, scoring nine runs or more in every game except the championship game when they scored six runs, not too bad. Aggressive base running continued to be the Silver trademark always looking to take the extra base, usually beating the throws, or making the opposing defense hurry and miss the ball or make a bad throw. The team batted .368 for the tournament. Leading individual totals for this State tournament were as follows:

*Emily hit .529 with 3 doubles and stole 5 bases while scoring 7 runs
*Erin led team with 8 rbi, batted .438 with 3 doubles and a triple, scored 7 runs
*Kara led in batting avg at .583 showing her power with 4 doubles and 5 rbi
*Katie led team in on-base percentage at .600 and added 2 sacrifice bunts and 5 rbi
*Syd S led the team with 8 runs scored while batting .357

The team record now stands at 45-7-1

Fusion Silver Continues to Do Well This Season, Placing 2nd in the 14U A Division of the 33rd Annual Ringneck Tournament

July 4, 2010 - Sioux Falls, SD

The 14U division was expanded from 32 to 40 teams this year. Fusion Silver fought their way thru the 40 team bracket to place 2nd overall. Fusion Silver went 2 and 1 in pool play on Saturday, earning the 2 seed in their pool and a birth in the “A” division. Fusion Silvers first game was at 8 am Saturday morning against the Mitchell Unleashed team. Silver won 17 to 2. They followed that up with a 7 to 0 win over the Nebraska Blue Diamonds in the 3:30 pm game. Fusion Silver finished up pool play with a loss against the MN Sting in a game that ended just after midnight Sunday morning.

Click here to see photos from the tournament.

The 2 and 1 finish in pool play meant that Fusion Silver had earned the 2 seed in their pool and a spot in the “A” division. Fusion Silvers first game Sunday was at 9 am against the MN Blast. The game against the blast was very well played. The blast got up 2 to 0 in the first inning but Fusion Silver kept chipping away at the lead and eventually won 4 to 2.

Next up for Fusion Silver was the Rochester Royals. The Fusion Silver bats came alive that game as Silver won 7 to 0 earning their way to the quarter finals and the right to play the best 14U team in all of Canada, the Smitty’s Terminators out of Manitoba. Smitty’s had made short work of all their opponents in pool play on Saturday outscoring their opponents in 3 pool play games 29 to 2. The Fusion Silver defense led by pitcher Katie Johnson was up to the task. Johnson and the Silver defense held the high powered Terminators offense to just 1 hit in route to a 3 to 1 victory. Next up for Fusion Silver was a semifinal game against the Brandon Crush, another local team that had a great weekend in the “A” division. Fusion Silver again prevailed 3 to 0 in another well played game. The win left the Brandon Crush in a tie for 3rd place in the “A” division and put Fusion Silver into the championship against a very good Mankato Pepper team.

The Pepper’s earned their way into the championship by knocking out the 2 time defending 14U champion Omaha Quakes club team 7 to 0. Fusion Silver lost in the championship 5 to 1. The Fusion Silver run over the weekend was fueled in most part by their defense. Every player on the team had great performances, some of witch included, diving catches, diving stops of ground balls, catches against the foul fence and several great catches in the outfield.

The Fusion Silver defense was led by an unbelievable pitching performance from Katie Johnson. Johnson pitched 38 consecutive innings including 7 games in a row 5 of the games were in the “A” division on Sunday against some of the best teams in the region. Four of the games on Sunday were back to back. Johnson threw two 1 hit games Sunday striking out 42 hitters in the tourney and scattering 20 hits in her 38 innings of work. The Fusion Silver offense was key as well. They faced some great pitching and yet managed to score 46 runs in 8 games.

Congratulations to all of the local teams that did well in the Ringneck tournament over the weekend!

Fusion Silver Wins League Tournament

June 29 - Sioux Falls, SD

Fusion Silver 14U claimed the Competitive “A” Division championship on Tuesday evening, June 29. Their opponent was their “sister” team, Fusion '96. Two games had to be played as Fusion '96 gave Silver their first loss of the league tournament with a final score of 2-3. However, the “what if” game was a different story as Silver woke up their bats and finished the 5-inning game with a winning score of 10-0

Click here to see photos from the tournament.

This year, SEFSA decided to run the 8-team double elimination tournament in the evenings of the week of June 22-24 with the championship scheduled for June 29. The scores for the tournament were:

vs. Nitro 15-1
vs. Fusion White 13-1
vs. Scream 9-6
vs. Fusion '96 2-3 (Championship)
vs Fusion '96 10-0 (“What If”-Final)

Fusion Silver had several cancellations this season due to weather which lessened the amount of games they were able to play. There were numerous displays of great offensive and defensive plays throughout the season. Silver ended up the league games and tournament with a record of 11-1-1.

Silver's current record as of June 30 is 34-5-1. Their next tournament will be the Ringneck which is in Sioux Falls at Harmadon Park.

Fusion Gains Strength in Minnesota

June 26 - Rosemont, MN

Fusion Silver 14U took their second bus trip to the Twin Cities to play in the Minnesota USSSA State Tournament. The bus was once again full of coaches, players and their #1 fans as they traveled with a little air conditioning and through some ominous clouds and bad weather.

Fusion's games were played against Players Only Impact, Irish-Lattery, Renegades '95, Renegades '96, and Invasion - all top finishers from other Minnesota tournaments. Fusion ended up the tournament 3-2, with 3-5 losses to Irish (placed 2nd) and Invasion (placed 3rd). The tougher competition and difficult playing conditions challenged Silver and slowed the bats downs some; however, there were still several offensive and defensive plays displayed by several of the Silver players. Highlights included:

*Erin batted .615 for the weekend, which included 5 singles, 2 doubles, a home run over the fence, 3 RBIs, and 3 stolen bases (unfortunately, she was injured in the last game)
*Sadie was 4 for 10 in which she was 2 for 3 in 2 games; finishing with 3 sac bunts, 3 RBIs, and 2 stolen bases for the weekend
*Syd S went 5 for 11 throughout the tournament, all singles and 2 RBIs
*Emily was 3-4 in one game, with 2 singles and a home run over the fence, netting 2 of her 3 RBIs
*Syd R was 4-4 in one game, with 3 singles and a double, finishing 6 for 13 for the weekend
*Katie was 2-3 with 2 singles in one game, and Kara was 1 for 2 with a double in one game

Kara had a strong pitching performance in her 7-0 victory, only giving up 3 hits, walking 2 batters, and striking out 3. Katie also pitched, going 19 innings, striking out 17 and giving up 13 hits.

The Fusion bus anxiously waited in the hospital parking lot for Erin to be released from the emergency room. Thank goodness, she was fine and was able to ride the bus back to Sioux Falls! Silver's next challenges are the SEFSA league championship and the Ringneck. Their current record is 33-4-1.

Fusion Wins National Qualifier

June 19 - Rosemont, MN

The ASA National Qualifier took place in Sioux Falls on June 19-20 at beautiful Sherman Park. Fusion Silver 14U was looking forward to the challenge of getting to play some good out-of-state competition, but several of those teams withdrew from the National Qualifier since they wanted to preserve their berths to the National ASA Tournament they had just obtained the weekend before. Nevertheless, Fusion was up against good local competition. They were able to win all 4 games to win the NQ tournament, which allowed them to gain their berth to the week-long ASA/USA National Tournament in Moline, IL starting August 1st.

Good offense was a huge contributor to the victories. Some statistics that were notable are:

*Syd S got at least one hit and scored at least one run in every game (she ended the tournament with 4 singles, 3 doubles, 5 RBIs, 3 stolen bases, and scored 7 runs)
*Taylor had a hit in every game, too, with 4 singles and a double
*Emily had 2 singles, a double, and a triple in the tournament and scored a run in every game
*Sabrina had 6 stolen bases and Erin had 5
*Kara had 3 RBIs from her 3 singles
*Nicole hit a single in the championship game that netted 3 RBIs
*Great sac bunts to move runners were made by Kara, Hannah, and Syd R

Great defensive plays also helped Fusion Silver to bring home the national berth! Katie had another good pitching performance this tournament with 0 earned runs in the 4 games. She pitched 23 innings, striking out 41, scattering 12 hits, and walking 4 batters. Thanks to Fusion's great defense, she was one walk short of a perfect game.

Unfortunately, this tournament brought an end to Syd R's streak of 24 straight games without a strikeout. Katie's streak of getting a hit in 24 straight games was also ended.

Fusion Silver is now 27-2-1 and is looking forward to another bus trip up to the Twin Cities to Minnesota's USSSA State tournament on June 26-27.

Fusion Silver Takes 2nd In Kansas

USSSA Memorial Day NIT - Overland Park, KS

Click here to see photos from the tournament.

Fusion Silver 14U left Sioux Falls Friday morning on the Yttrness team bus to play in the Memorial Day NIT in Kansas City. It was a memorable time for all as it was the first bus trip together with the team and many family members nearly filling the 48-passenger “luxury liner”. After a couple of shorts stops along the way to cool off (AC didn't work), the team was able to check in to the hotel before playing a couple of pool games yet that night.

Silver finished pool play 4-0 and then charted 4 more straight wins in the double elimination bracket to get into the championship game! After a significant rain delay on Sunday evening, the championship game began about 10 p.m. Silver played the Ozark Dynamite, who Fusion had previously beat 4-0 to get into the championship game. The championship game was a well-played game, but unfortunately Silver fell short in their 1-2 loss. The same intensity was displayed by both teams in the “what if” game but sadly, it ended with an identical 1-2 score. Silver achieved 2nd place in the 26-team tournament. Despite their two losses, the players, coaches, and fans were very proud of Silver's accomplishments as this was just their second tournament of the season.

Silver was on top of their game in batting and base running. Offensive leaders for the tournament were:

Hits: Katie – 16 (had at least one hit in each of the 10 games), Erin – 15, Emily - 14
Homeruns (over the fence): Sadie -1, Erin -1, Emily -1
Sac Bunts: Taylor – 2, Hannah – 2
RBIs: Erin – 13, Syd R – 11, Katie – 11, Emily – 10
Stolen Bases: Erin – 8, Taylor – 6, Emily – 6

Pitching and defense was stellar during the tournament as a total of 18 runs were allowed over the 10 games (1.8 per game). Katie led the pitching with 26 1/3 innings, firing 2 no-hitters. She ended the tournament with 49 strikeouts, 4 walks, and 3 earned runs. Kara and Syd R also had solid pitching performances. Several impressive defensive plays were made including numerous diving catches by Syd R, Erin, and Emily as well as Taylor's shoestring catch along the right field line!

Great job, Silver! Their record stands at 19-2-1.

Fusion Silver Takes First at the Brandon Early Bird

May 15, 2010, Brandon, SD

Fusion Silver kicked off the softball season at the Brandon Early Bird tournament May 15-16. The team started Saturday with pool play action against the Sioux Falls Dairy Queen. Kara Anderson was on the mound and pitched a no hit shut out with 8 strike outs facing only 9 hitters. Sabrina Rassmussen had a double & home run, Anderson went 2-3 with 2 singles and Taylor Deutsch ended the game with a triple to put the Silver team ahead 13-0.

Click here to see photos.

Syd Rechtenbaugh and the Silver defense took control of the 2nd game of Pool Play vs. the Rapid City Rebels. Another shut out for Silver 11-0. Silver gave up just 3 hits in 5 innings. The Silver's bats were on fire again as Rasmussen went 2/2 with 2 singles, Syd Shaw went 2/3 with 2 singles, Emily Winckler had a double, Rechtenbaugh had two singles and Katie Johnson had a home run and 2 singles.

The third game of pool play was against the SBL Warriors where Katie Johnson was stellar on the mound. Johnson pitched 5 innings and notched 11 strikeouts. The team finished the game with another shut out, 11-0. Emily Winckler went 3/3 with a single, triple and homerun. KTJ went 2-3 with 2 doubles, Kara Anderson went 2-3 with a single and a double and Syd Shaw went 2/2 with a single and a double.

Single Elimination Bracket Play started Sunday morning at 9:30 against the Brandon Scream. Anderson started the game but was relieved by Johnson in the 3rd inning because of a blister on her finger. Winckler went 3/3 with 2 singles and a double, Rassmussen 2/2 with 2 singles, KTJ 2/2 Single and a Homerun, Anderson 2/2 with a single and a triple and Shaw 2/2 with a single & a double. Silver prevailed with another shut out 12-0.

Silver advanced to the semi finals and defeated the Rapid City Flames 5-0. Johnson dominated the mound with 9 strikeouts in 6 innings scattering just 3 hits. She went 2/3 with a single and a double. Sadie Swier went 1/2 with a double.

On to the championship vs the Sioux Falls Impact where Johnson again took the mound. She had 13 strikeouts giving up just 3 hits and 1 run. Rechtenbaugh went 3/3 with 3 singles, KTJ was 1/2 with a single, Anderson 1/3 with a single Hannah Mendel went 1/3 with a single and Swier went 1/2 with a single. The highlight of the game was when Nicole Elster dropped down a squeeze bunt that brought in Sadie Swier in for the go ahead run. A couple of pitches later Jonica Goens hit a 2 run double up the middle that put the game out of reach of the Impact. The final score was 5-1 with Silver prevailing as the Champion!

Over the course of the tournament Fusion Silver scored 66 runs and gave up only 1. Great job girls.

Click here to see photos.

Fusion Silver Welcomes Sydney Shaw

Sydney comes to Silver from the successful Fusion Orange team.

Syd is a solid utility player, she will offer the team her strong skills both on offense and defense. Her great smile and positive attitude will be a great benefit to the team.

Fusion Silver Welcomes New Players

October 30, 2009

Fusion Silver welcomes two new players for the upcoming 2010 season: Katie Johnson and Sydney Rechtenbaugh

Both players are coming off a successful summer season with the USSSA World Series Runner Up and sister team Fusion Orange.

Katie is a strong pitcher and first baseman. Katie has a great bat, she had two home runs the weekend of October 17 & 18 in Des Moines, IA where Silver qualified for the 2010 USSSA World Series.

Sydney will be helping the team in the infield as well, she is a pitcher and is strong at both second and third base. Sydney also has a strong bat she had several hits this past weekend in the USSSA Qualifier in Des Moines IA, including 2 triples in her first game of the weekend.

The Silver coaching staff consists of: Todd Yttreness, Jason Yttreness, Josh Yttreness and our new addition to the staff is Marlin Johnson...he will be assisting in the duggout and calling pitches.

It looks to be an awesome 2010 season for Fusion Silver.

If you would like more information Fusion Silver please email our team manager DeAnne at deanner@unitelsd.com

New 2009 – Fusion - Silver 14 & Under

We are new to the Fusion family and are very excited to be part of this great organization. Fusion – Silver is made up of 12 very competitive girls. Kara Anderson and Nicole Elster from Brandon, Brennan Ensz, Erin McMahon, and Sadie Swier from Hartford, Sabrina Rasmussen from Beresford and Danara Vanderloo, Emily Winckler, Jonica Goens, Hannah Mendel, Kailee Sievert, and Taylor Deutsch all from Sioux Falls. Coaching Fusion – Silver will be Todd Yttreness assisting will be sons Josh and Jason. Also assisting will be Shane Vanderloo.

These young ladies have the desire to win and the passion to go all the way. With outstanding coaching and wonderful parental support we hope to make their journey fun and memorable. On behalf of Fusion – Silver we would like to say thank you for all your support and well wishes. We look forward to seeing all of you on the ball diamonds this summer. LET’S PLAY BALL!!!!!!!!