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4B | THEPRESS.NET SPORTS AUGUST 15, 2008
Home sweet home
by Avi Burk
Staff Writer
The Edna Hill Middle School B softball
team took its newfound home-fi eld advantage
seriously on Monday afternoon, opening its
12-game schedule with a convincing win over
visiting Excelsior in an abbreviated, four-inning
game.
The Bobcats dominated at the plate and in
the fi eld, scoring a dizzying 19 runs on offense
while ace hurler Ashlyn Frits sat down batter
after batter on her way to the four-inning nohitter.
In fact, not only did Excelsior fail to record
a hit; the team didn’t even put a ball in play until
the fourth inning, as Frits retired 11 batters via
the K. When that lone grounder fi nally was put
into play, second baseman Rachel Firpo attentively
ranged to her left, fi elded the ball cleanly
and made a crisp throw to fi rst to preserve the
no-hitter.
Catcher Brianna Snider, who does a fantastic
job working with her pitchers and blocking
balls behind the dish, led the offensive barrage,
going 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, three RBIs
and three runs scored.
“The thing that’s nice about having a strong
battery like that is that you don’t have to worry
about forcing throws and pressing to get people
out,” said fi rst-year B Team head coach Ryan
Frits. “If a runner ends up on base, we just go to
work and get the next batter. It also helps at the
plate too, because they know they don’t have to
score too many runs to win the game.”
Edna Hill had been playing its home games
at Sunset Field because it lacked an acceptable
softball fi eld for competition. But prior to this
season, new B Team head coach Ryan Frits and
Edna Hill Athletic Director Dave Flores got together
and decided it was time for the school to
install a proper softball fi eld that the kids could
be proud to play on.
Over a fi ve-day stretch and with the help of
teachers and maintenance personnel, the team
dug up the grass to form an infi eld, and fi lled it
with high-quality cinder, the same dirt that covers
the infi eld at major league ballparks.
“Everybody pitched in and helped out and
we dug up the turf and laid down the cinder and
made it a really nice fi eld,” said Fritz. “It was a
labor of love. It was in the high-90s those days
and we were all sweating it out. But now the
kids have a place of their own to play – a fi eld
they can be proud to call home.”
The Edna Hill B team players are Cassidy
Sheehan, Allisun Copocci, Sydney Addington,
Kayla Martin, Alyssa McKinley, Brianna Lingenfelter,
Chyanne Bell, Brandi Dedrick, Shyanne
Leckle, Halley Schneider, Midison Goins,
Deej Jones, Casssidy Snider, Rachel Firpo and
Ashlyn Frits.
Edna Hill plays its next home game on
Monday, Aug. 18, when it hosts Adams Middle
School at 3:45 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to
come take in the game and check out the new
fi eld.
To comment on this story, visit www.thepress.
net.
An amazing run
Photo courtesy of Dan Peters
The 14-year-old Antioch Babe Ruth All-Stars saw
their phenomenal postseason run come to an
end last Sunday night in the quarterfi nal round
of the Pacifi c Southwest Regional Tournament. The
team compiled an impressive 10-3 record in all-star
competition, collecting the District 3 and Northern
California State championships along the way. Although
the team was disappointed to see its run end
in a third-place fi nish at the regional tournament, the
community expressed its pride in its All-Stars with a
celebration held at Schooners on Monday night to
honor their remarkable accomplishments. Antioch’s
14-year-old All-Stars, standing, from left, are Tommy
Dantono, Norm Fong, Mike Lanter, Ronny Brohman,
Rob Riel, Patrick McKnight, Jacob Peters, Jeff Garrison,
Darren Machado and Dan Peters; kneeling: Josh
Manci, Anthony Borrelli, Thomas Lanter and Marcos
Martinez; and sitting, Ricky Delgado.