Knockouts Knotables

Rock Hill, SC - East Coast Fireworks Showcase:

A few weekends back, the Knockouts-Cole team played in the East Coast Fireworks Showcase in Rock Hill. The girls played some of the familiar teams and organizations in the area over the four-day stretch. Feedback from these games will be via GameChanger recaps/parental feedback for some of the games I was unable to see.

As this team continues to grow and learn how to play consistently together, there are “lump” games that happen. Those are games where you “take your lumps” in losses and use that as learning opportunities and more so, motivation to correct miscues and mistakes. We experienced a few of those games this weekend and the coaches have some more in-game knowledge and what areas to work on moving forward.

When a team struggles, I am reminded of an inspirational quote from Confucius. For those who don’t know, he was a philosopher from the 6th century BC. When he asked about softball struggles during a losing streak he said “When a team makes mistakes or errors that can lead to a loss, the best advice I can say is…. Make the play!” Yes, he was wise beyond his years… I’ll let this sit for a minute and see if you can absorb his wisdom! ;-) (See note below)

The team went 2-5 this weekend with some solid play in the bookend wins. The middle 5 games was an unfortunate losing streak where we played some inconsistent softball.

First game was against Shamrocks Rodriguez team where our bats started out hot and we jumped out to a 6-0 first inning lead. The bats stayed hot and with strong pitching lead the Knockouts to an 11-1 win.

Game 2 was a solid pitcher’s duel against the NC Intensity JJW team. We weren’t able to break through offensively against their pitching and fell 2-1.

Going into Friday’s games we led off against a talented TDB team that had us tied at 1-1 after the first inning. Our offense struggled again and TDB was able to capitalize on their opportunities to come away with an 8-1 victory.

The second game on Friday was against the other NC Intensity Dover team. This was a game where a few early first inning mistakes led to a domino effect of poor plays and errors. Productive hits from the Intensity with runners in scoring position gave them a comfortable lead. Combined with some cold bats we were held to one hit in a 14-2 loss.

The last game on Friday was against the Carolina Impact Martin team. Our bats came back around and we put up 3 runs. The Impact team capitalized on their scoring opportunities in two separate innings and won by a 6-3 score.

Saturday came with an opening game against the other Carolina Impact Brancaccio team. It was our first complete game pitched by Haley Inman who put up some good numbers but we failed to put across a run and fell 4-0.

Our final game of the weekend was against the Carolina Elite Futures team. Wiping away the mistakes and misplays from the previous games, the Knockouts came around and the teams battled in a fun offensive game. Highlighted by a HR by Macey Hardy in the third inning, giving the Knockouts a 5-2 lead, the Futures kept battling back to keep it close. The Knockouts padded their lead to 9-4 in top of the 6th and held on for a 9-7 victory to end the weekend.

Looking forward to a bounce-back effort in our next tournament in Florence, SC from July 8-10.            

(Note: quote above may have been from the other famous philosopher Socrates….. ) :-)

Florence, SC - Pee Dee Classic Team Showcase:

The beauty of playing this sport is that every tournament event can bring different effort and results! The Knockouts-Cole team just played in a 3-Day showcase tournament in Florence, SC. The very humid, gnat-fly filled, thunderstorm threatening Pee Dee Classic Team Showcase Tournament did not stop these girls from playing well.

It was evident during their first game against NC Rockers JD when they immediately bounced back from a 3-0 deficit in the top of the first. The Knockouts tied it in the bottom of that frame and jumped out in the 2nd inning by scoring 6 runs to take control of the game. That inning began with a leadoff inside the park home run by Hailey Allred. Knockouts went on to win the first Friday game 11-5.

Friday game 2 continued with hot bats against a Carolina Elite SC Lund team. Jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a key hit by Haley Inman. Knockouts continued their 2nd inning offensive explosion with 5 runs to take hold of the game. With 9 hits, multiple hits by both H. Allred and Inman led the Knockouts to a 9-1 victory. Vivian Billiard pitched a solid two innings for the win giving up one hit and zero runs.

Game 3 began immediately after against a Crushers team. This was a really well played game with strong pitching and defense by both teams. Pitchers Kiki Tyson and Cam Perkins combined for a well controlled two hit shutout. Offensively, the Knockouts scored all they would need after their first three batters. Hawa led off with a bunt single and Cole hit a triple to make the score 1-0. Billiard’s sacrifice fly gave them the cushion they needed to hold on to the 2-0 win.

Saturday’s first game was a continuation of Friday with strong pitching dominating the game from both teams. Angels Dixson got off to an early 2-0 lead on an error in the top of the first. Lila Allred drove in the first Knockout run to cut the lead to 2-1. Two Knockout pitchers, Billiard and Inman combined for a 3 hitter. The strong pitching kept the Angels team to only 2 runs for the rest of the game. After being hit by a pitch in their last at bat, Cole scored the tying run on an overthrown error by the Angels 2B hit by Billiard, who then scored the winning run on a passed ball that made the final score 3-2.

The second game Saturday was completely opposite offensive affair. Against the Cardinals Redbirds, this game featured 6 lead changes, and hits by 8 of the Knockouts. Beginning in the first inning, Inman drove Hawa in with the game's first hit. After being down 3-1, Knockouts stormed back in the top of the second with runs scoring hits by Tyson and Addison Laney. With game tied at 6 in the top of the sixth, Inman had her second run scoring hit to give the Knockouts the lead for good and then later scored on a wild pitch to make the final 8-6.

Sunday’s final and only game was a rain delayed start. Against an older team from New Jersey, South Jersey Mystics. Unfortunately, the Knockouts played their worst game of the weekend. The Mystics were a solid hitting team getting 11 hits and winning 12-0.

It was an overall great weekend for these ladies. Ending with a 5-1 record while playing some solid softball, having a “Mardi Gras-like” dugout atmosphere, this team grew and were engaged most of the time. Productive offensive efforts, some strong pitching, and solid defense (only six errors for the tournament with 3 coming in one game). Every player had contributed and are excited to keep the momentum they are building upon. Looking forward to their huge opportunity in the USA Nationals in Evansville, Indiana next.

Knockouts Kquotes 

“Practice like you’ve never won, Play like you’ve never lost.”

-Michael Jordan

“Bad teams - No one leads. Good teams - Coaches lead. Championship teams - Players lead.”

-Anonymous

Simple Rules for Ballplayers:

1. Leave it all out on the field and play like each pitch is your last.
2. Play for the name on the front of the jersey and people will start remembering the name on the back.
3. Softball, like life, has ups and downs. It's a game of failure. Never get too high or too low.

-Anonymous

Knockouts Knext-up

USA 14A National Championship - Evansville, IN - July 19-24