1998 14 & Under Press Releases

      The 14U Shamrocks recently concluded the 1998 season by winning the PONY National Invitational Tournament of Champions (32 teams) in Sterling, VA and then placing 17th (88teams) at the prestigious ASA 14U National Championship in Broken Arrow, OK.

      In Sterling, the Shamrocks were a perfect 6-0 in the elimination rounds as they outscored their opponents 41-3. The offense was led by P/CF Kelly Brown of Manassas (.600, 17 runs scored) and C Aimee Bryan of Oakton (.485, 19 RBI, 2 HR). Christy Anch, Megan Smith, Brooke Sorber and Rocky Wigenton all batted over .300 for the tournament. Pitchers Christy Anch of Sterling and Kelly Brown of Manassas combined for 6 straight wins and Anch tossed a 2 hit shutout (10-0) while striking out 17 in the championship game vs. PA Wildkats.

      The Shamrocks then traveled to Broken Arrow, OK for the "grand-daddy of them all" - the 14U ASA National Championships featuring the 88 top teams in the country. Game summaries follow:

Game 1 : Shamrocks 5 California Rebels 0
Christy Anch pitched a complete game 3 hit shutout, struck out 12 and hit a solo home run to open the scoring in the 4th inning enroute to a 5-0 opening game victory. SS Caitlin Murphy was 2 for 3 with an RBI and turned a diving catch into an inning ending double play in the 4th. The Shamrocks scored 3 in the fourth, 1 in the fifth and 1 in the sixth for the victory.

Game 2: Shamrocks 9 Frost Falcons (TN) 4
Pitcher Kelly Brown scattered 11 hits as the Shamrocks over came an early 2-0 deficit with a 5 run second inning and a 4 run fifth for the 9-4 victory. 1B Megan Smith of Sterling and 3B Taylor Schetzel of Clifton (each 2 for 3) combined for 4 of the Shamrocks 10 hits in the game. Christy Anch, Lauren Schulte and Taylor Schetzel all had 2 RBI doubles.

Game 3: Shamrocks 3 Saint Louis Sluggers 0
Pitcher Christy Anch allowed only 2 infield hits while striking out 11 in the complete game shutout. CF Kelly Brown of Manassas, C Aimee Bryan of Oakton, and 1B Megan Smith were each 2 for 3. Kelly Brown scored 2 of the 3 Shamrock runs following a lead off double in the first inning and a single in the fifth.

Game 4: Shamrocks 3 Fear This (TX) 1
Pitcher Christy Anch scattered 3 hits and struck out 12 in the complete game victory. CF Kelly Brown of Manassas was 2 for 4 and 1B Megan Smith of Sterling provided a 2 RBI double in the third inning. Each team added a run in the fourth for the 3-1 final. Fear This was ranked 9th in the nation going into the tournament.

Game 5: Tuff-E-Nuff (CA) 8 Shamrocks 0
After playing 4 error free games in the tournament the Shamrocks didn�t fair quite so well against the California state champions and 2nd ranked team in the country. Playing for a 9th place or better finish, P Christy Anch suffered her first loss of the tournament as a very good Tuff-E-Nuff team combined 9 hits and 3 Shamrock errors to score 6 unearned runs. Anch was 2 for 3 at the plate but the Shamrocks managed only 5 hits total as they fell into the dreaded losers bracket.

Game 6: Southern California Crunch 5 Shamrocks 1
It didn�t get any easier as the Shamrocks, now playing for a 13th place finish, faced the 5th ranked team in the country - Southern California Crunch. The team did not respond following the earlier loss as they managed only 4 hits and 1 run in the contest. P Kelly Brown of Manassas took the loss as she yielded 5 runs on 9 hits and the Shamrocks 1998 season came to a close.

      The Shamrocks over came what turned out to be a very difficult draw as they finished the tournament with 4 wins, 2 losses and a 17th place finish. The Shamrocks faced 3 California teams and 3 of their 4 elimination round games were against teams who would finish in the top 10 for the tournament - Tuff-E-Nuff (5th), So. Cal Crunch (7th), and Fear This, TX (9th). One other opponent (Frost Falcons) finished in the top 25. 1B Megan Smith of Sterling led the team in hitting with a .412 batting average followed by Christy Anch at .375 and Kelly Brown at .350. P Christy Anch, who received compliments from several spectators and coaches and was often described as the best pitcher in the tournament, finished with 3 wins and 1 loss - she pitched 26 innings allowing only 17 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 43 batters. Including her last 14 innings (2 games) pitched at the PONY tournament which followed a 6 week lay off due to a shoulder injury, Anch won 5 of her last 6 starts yielding only 22 hits and 2 earned runs in 40 innings while striking out 72 batters. Just as impressive was Anch�s catcher - Aimee Bryan of Oakton, VA. Several coaches had compliments, not only on Aimee�s performance but her ability to call the pitches - she was quickly recognized as the only catcher in the tournament who was calling her own pitches without help from a dugout coach. The Shamrocks finished the season with a record of 80 wins and 10 losses including 2 league championships and 7 tournament championships. Back to Top

      Coming off of a 9th place finish (42 teams) in the highly competitive Fireworks Tournament in Denver, Colorado, the 14U Shamrocks returned home recently and captured the Central Atlantic Regional Championship held in Waldorf, MD. With the championship comes a berth to the most prestigious national tournament of them all - the 14U ASA Nationals to be held August 3-9 in Broken Arrow, OK. The tournament features 88 of the top teams from around the country. The 14U Shamrocks, now in their 8th year of existence, will be attending ASA Nationals for the 5th consecutive year with their highest finish being 13th in 1995.

      At Regionals the team was once again without injured pitcher Christy Anch but her teammates stepped it up a notch as they outscored their opponents by a count of 44-7 to complete the tournament with 7 wins and 0 losses. Pool games began on Friday, July 10 and the Shamrocks opened with a 1-0 victory over the Lake Shore Lightning from Maryland. Pitcher Lauren Schulte was outstanding and second baseman "JR" Rhodan provided the only run of the game as she tripled in the 3rd inning and later scored on a passed ball. In game 2 Friday night, Lizzie Robbins turned in a solid pitching performance and the Shamrock bats came alive as they run-ruled the Blue Angels from Pennsylvania by a count of 9-0. On Saturday morning, the Shamrocks opened the double elimination portion versus the host team, the Southern Maryland Merchants. Scoring once in the first inning and 3 more in the third inning, the Shamrocks rode the arm of pitcher Kelly Brown to a 4-2 victory. This set up what would be the toughest contest of the tournament versus the Bristol Stompers from Pennsylvania, a team that had beaten the Shamrocks earlier in the year at a National Qualifier in Delaware. The game was scoreless until the 3rd inning when Bristol managed 3 runs on 4 hits and one Shamrock error. Pitcher Kelly Brown settled down nicely but heading to the bottom of the 6th her team still trailed 3-0. Lizzie Robbins and "Rocky" Wigenton opened the 6th with consecutive singles and Kelly Brown and Caitlin Murphy followed with back to back doubles and the game was tied at three. Aimee Bryan then tripled in the go ahead run and Megan Smith followed with a sacrifice and a 5-3 Shamrocks lead. The Shamrocks added 2 more runs in the inning off the bats of Brooke Sorber and Taylor Schetzel and went on to win by a final score of 7-4. In game 5, pitcher Lauren Schulte shut out the Delaware Mystics 4-0. The Shamrocks scored once in the first and added 3 more in the 4th as they cruised to the winners bracket finals on Sunday.

      Coming off of 3 victories on Saturday and already guaranteed a berth to ASA Nationals, the Shamrocks showed up Sunday on a mission - to capture the Regional Championship! In the winners bracket final, the Shamrocks pounded out 12 runs on 11 hits including the team�s only home run of the tournament off the bat of Beth Martin as they coasted to a 12-0 victory over the Heartbreakers from Maryland. Pitchers Kelly Brown and Lauren Schulte combined for the shutout. This set up an all Virginia championship game as the Shamrocks faced the Vienna Stars. Pitcher Kelly Brown and the Shamrocks got off to a shaky start and trailed the Stars 2-0 after one inning. But Brown and her teammates settled down while mustering enough offense to score the final 7 runs of the contest and win the Regional Championship game by a score of 7-2. Once again, pitcher/outfielder Kelly Brown had an outstanding tournament as she went 4-0 on the mound and led the team in hitting with a .545 batting average. Catcher Aimee Bryan batted .429 and Rocky Wigenton batted .385. Pitcher Christy Anch and infielder Shannon McCurdy saw very limited action due to injuries.

      Members of the 14U Shamrocks are Christy Anch, Kelly Brown, Aimee Bryan, Beth Martin, Shannon McCurdy, Caitlin Murphy, "JR" Rhodan, Lizzie Robbins, Taylor Schetzel, Lauren Schulte, Megan Smith, Brooke Sorber, and "Rocky" Wigenton.

      The Shamrocks will participate in a local tournament this weekend followed by the Pony National Invitational in Sterling, VA before departing for Broken Arrow, Oklahoma on August 3rd. The 14U Shamrocks are a girls fastpitch travel softball team from Northern Virginia. They have players and coaches from Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties. Back to Top

      The 14U Shamrocks recently returned from the highly competitive Fireworks Tournament in Denver, Colorado. The tournament featured 42 of the top travel teams from around the country. Unable to perform at full strength due to several injuries (including pitchers Christy Anch and Kelly Brown), the Shamrocks yielded several more runs than usual but still managed an impressive 9th place finish. The team arrived in Colorado a few days early to adjust to the altitude and visit the beautiful Rocky Mountain area. In between practice sessions the team attended a Colorado Rockies game, visited Estes Park in the Rocky Mountains, toured Coors Field (Denver) and the USA Olympic Training Facility (Colorado Springs), and spent a night out for country/western dinner and dancing. The softball portion of the trip began with two practice games - pitcher Kelly Brown was outstanding in a 5-0 victory over a southern California team and pitcher Lauren Schulte suffered a tough 3-2 loss to a local Boulder team. Pitcher Christy Anch was unavailable due to injury and only managed 7 innings for the entire tournament. Pool play began against the Colorado Commotion - the Shamrocks managed 11 hits and 6 runs but poor defense led to a 13-6 setback. The team quickly rebounded in game 2 - although the defense was somewhat suspect, the Shamrocks got some timely hitting and managed a 13-6 victory over the Oklahoma Jitterbugs. Ending day one of the tournament with a 1-1 record, manager Al Anch was so displeased with the team's performance (especially on defense) that he called a practice that night from 6pm until dark. The Shamrocks responded the next day as they concluded pool play with impressive victories over the Washington Diamond Dusters (6-3) and the Nebraska Quake (6-0). The good news was the team finsihed second (3-1) in pool play to the Colorado Commotion (4-0); the bad news was the double elimination began that same night with pitcher Christy Anch still out and pitcher Kelly Brown unable to pitch due to back spasms. Pitcher Lauren Schulte responded with a masterpiece however and the rest of the team put on their best offensive show of the tournament pounding out 13 hits and defeating a very good Pony Express team 12-1 before a large crowd of local supporters. The following afternoon, the Shamrocks faced the Southern California Players in a winners bracket game. After leading 3-0 early, the defense again broke down as did the back muscles in pitcher Kelly Brown and the Shamrocks soon trailed 5-3. Pitcher Christy Anch was able to provide two strong innings of relief however and get the victory as the Shamrock bats again erupted for the 11-5 victory. Pitcher Christy Anch then started her first game of the tournament vs. the Nevada Diamonds. The bats were again strong early as the Shamrocks led 3-0 but the defense would fail later as the Shamrocks yielded 5 unearned runs in the 3rd inning and went on to lose 5-3. On Sunday morning pitcher Christy Anch warmed up but was unable to go and pitcher Kelly Brown again experienced severe back spasms. Pitcher Lauren Schulte again pitched well but neither the offense or defense was up to par and the result was a 6-0 setback to the Boulder Comets. Thus the Shamrocks finished the tournament with a 5-3 record, good enough for 9th place and actually quite impressive given the amount of injuries that plagued them throughout the week.

      Once again, pitcher/outfielder Kelly Brown had an outstanding tournament as she went 3-0 on the mound and led the team in hitting with a .522 average while scoring 12 of the Shamrocks 57 runs. Second baseman "JR" Rhodan batted .500 with 7 RBI and shortstop Caitlin Murphy batted .474 with 8 RBI. First baseman Megan Smith started slow but finished strong and led the team with 10 RBI. Catcher Aimee Bryan also had a good tournament batting .333 and gunning down 4 would be base stealers. Third baseman Taylor Schetzel and outfielder Brooke Sorber each batted over .300.

      This weekend the Shamrocks will be aiming for their 5th consecutive bid to ASA Nationals when they compete in the Central Atlantic Regional Qualifier in Waldorf, MD. The top 2 finishers earn a berth to the ASA National Tournament in Broken Arrow, OK to be held August 3-9th. The 14U Shamrocks are a girls fastpitch travel softball team from Northern Virginia. They have players and coaches from Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties. For additional information - contact Manager Al Anch at 444-2465; the Shamrocks thank you for your time and consideration. Back to Top

      The 14U Shamrocks extended their winning streak to 21 games by going undefeated (5-0) this past weekend and capturing their fourth consecutive tournament championship at the Marylanders AFA National Qualifier in College Park, Maryland. The Shamrocks only allowed 2 runs in the tournament as they defeated the Ohio Tiger Lillies 7-0, the Fairfax Firebirds 15-1, the Braddock Road Blue Jays 5-0, the Vienna Stars (12U) 7-0 and finished with a 12-1 victory over the Marylanders in the championship game. Pitcher Christy Anch (Sterling) pitched the first two innings of the tournament before suffering an acute strain of the rotator cuff muscles in her right (throwing) shoulder. She was lost for the remainder of the tournament and will be out again this weekend when the Shamrocks compete in the D.C. Metro Championships. The Shamrocks didn't miss a beat however, as they parlayed great pitching, outstanding defense and timely hitting into yet another tournament championship and the right to compete in the AFA National Tournament in Illinois this coming August. Pitchers Kelly Brown (Manassas) and Lauren Schulte (Centreville) were outstanding as they picked up 2 victories each in the tournament. Schulte pitched a 3 hitter in a 5-0 win over the Blue Jays and followed that up with a perfect game as she blanked the Vienna Stars (12U) 7-0. Brown also picked up 2 wins as she struck out 16 while allowing just 4 hits in 15 innings work, including a dominating performance in the championship game where she struck out 10 and allowed only 2 hits (both in the last inning) in a 12-1 victory over the Marylanders. Brown, batting lead-off, was again a major contributor on offense too as she reached base 14 times in 19 at bats (.579 tournament average) with 11 hits and 8 RBI, raising her team leading batting average to .512. J.R. Rhodan (Dale City) was the leading hitter of the tournament however, as she batted .600 with 9 RBI. Beth Martin (Vienna) batted .556 for the tournament while Megan Smith (Sterling), Taylor Schetzel (Clifton) and Aimee Bryan (Oakton) all batted .400 or better.

      This weekend the Shamrocks will be aiming for their 6th consecutive D.C. Metro Championship when they compete in a tournament at Barcroft Park in Arlington, VA. Then on June 27th the team will head out to Denver, Colorado to compete against 42 other 14U teams from around the country in the prestigious Colorado Fireworks Tournament to be held in Broomfield, Colorado.

      The 14U Shamrocks are a girls fastpitch travel softball team from Northern Virginia. They have players and coaches from Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties. Back to Top

      The 14U Shamrocks extended their winning streak to 16 games by going undefeated (6-0) this past weekend and capturing their third consecutive tournament championship at the Ohio Bandits Invitational in Canfield, Ohio. In bracket play, the Shamrocks were a perfect 4-0 and did not allow a run as they defeated Pittsburgh Spirit (Black) 8-0, Ohio Extreme 9-0, Trolio's Tornados 4-0 and Strasburg Tigers 6-0. Sunday's semi final game featured the top seeded Shamrocks against a very tough Pittsburgh Spirit (Gold) team. Facing the best pitcher so far this year, CF Kelly Brown led off the game with a solid single to centerfield. SS Caitlin Murphy then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Brown to second and P Christy Anch followed with an RBI single to left scoring Brown and putting the Shamrocks ahead 1-0. The score remained 1-0 until the 6th when C Aimee Bryan led off with a triple to the left field fence and pinch runner Lizzie Robbins later scored on 3B Taylor Schetzel's perfect suicide squeeze bunt. The Shamrocks went on to win by a score of 2-0. Pitcher Christy Anch was superb as she scattered 4 hits and struck out 10 enroute to her third shut out of the tournament. C Aimee Bryan was equally superb as she gunned down a perfect 3 for 3 would be base stealers at second base.

      The Shamrocks advanced to the Championship game vs. Class Act of Ohio where they would trail for the first time in the tournament. Class Act opened the scoring in the second inning as they loaded the bases on a pair of walks and an infield hit. Following a force out at the plate the Class Act DH singled to right field driving in the go ahead run but RF Brooke Sorber fired a strike to C Aimee Bryan to get the second out at the plate. SS Caitlin Murphy followed with an excellent play on a high hopper to shortstop thus the Shamrocks yielded only one run in the inning. P Kelly Brown then settled down as she yielded only 2 more hits on the day enroute to a 9-1 championship victory. For the Shamrocks, CF J.R. Rhodan provided all the offense the Shamrocks would need as she singled in the tying run in the second inning and followed that up with a grand slam home run in the third inning and the Shamrocks never looked back.

      P Christy Anch had another outstanding tournament as she pitched 19 scoreless innings allowing only 8 hits while striking out 31. Outfielder J.R. Rhodan led the offense with 7 RBI's while batting .538 for the tournament. P Lauren Schulte also contributed with a 6-0 shut out from the circle and a tournament batting average of .571 while OF Brooke Sorber added some big hits during bracket play. The Shamrocks are now 38-2 on the season. Through 38 games P/CF Kelly Brown leads the offense with a .495 batting average and P Christy Anch (19-2) now has an ERA of 0.50 with 167 strike outs in 98 innings. The Shamrocks travel to Largo, MD this weekend to participate in the Marylander's AFA National Qualifier.

      The 14U Shamrocks are a girls fastpitch travel softball team from Northern Virginia. They have players and coaches from Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties. For additional information � contact Manager Al Anch at 444-2465; the Shamrocks thank you for your time and consideration. Back to Top

      The 14U Shamrocks Girls Softball team is off to another fast start this year. They began the �98 campaign by going 11-0 and winning the Braddock Road Spring League title. The tournament season began with the Mount Vernon Early Bird where the Shamrocks were a perfect 5-0 as they won the Championship game 7-0 over Blue Ice of Sterling which earned them a berth to the 1998 Pony National Tournament. Following a rained out Pennsylvania Tournament the team participated in the Delaware ASA National Qualifier against the top teams in the Central Atlantic Region. The Shamrocks went 5-2 and finished as Runner-Up to Riviera Beach. Only the winner qualified, however, thus the next chance comes in July at the Central Atlantic Regional Tournament in Waldorf, MD. The Shamrocks rebounded with a 5-0 performance at the Memorial Day Classic in Maryland as they convincingly won the Championship game over the Smashin Apples by a count of 17-1.

      Last weekend the team was again at Mount Vernon for the Mount Vernon Classic. With convincing victories over the Screamin Eagles (13-0), the Stafford Heat (11-1) and Fire N Ice (14-0), the Shamrocks entered Sunday�s elimination round as the top seed. On Sunday they defeated the Prince William Panthers 18-0 in the quarterfinals followed by a 15-0 decision over the Prince William Sliders in the semi-finals. Once again they advanced to face Blue Ice in the Championship Game and once again shut them out, this time by a count of 5-0. Pitcher Christy Anch (playing with a broken nose suffered in practice last Thursday) yielded a lead off bunt single in the first inning and then retired the remaining 21 batters in a row striking out 10 along the way. The game was scoreless until the 3rd inning when SS Caitlin Murphy�s 2 out single scored �Rocky� Wigenton who had walked, giving the Shamrocks a 1-0 lead. CF Kelly Brown added a run in the 5th when she singled and later scored on P Christy Anch�s 2 out single to left. RF Brooke Sorber put the game away in the 6th when she followed C Aimee Bryan�s single with a monstrous 2 run home run down the left field line. The Shamrocks then added an unearned run in the 7th for the final 5-0 margin and the Championship victory.

      Through 34 games, pitcher/outfielder Kelly Brown leads the team in hitting with a .523 batting average and a team low 2 strike outs in 86 at bats. She is also 10-0 in the circle with a 0.58 ERA. P/2B Christy Anch currently leads the team in pitching with 16 wins, an ERA of 0.53 and 136 strike outs in 79.1 innings; she also has the second highest batting average at .467. The Shamrocks have a team ERA of 0.56 and a team batting average of .400 with 7 of the 13 players currently batting over .400. 1B Megan Smith leads the team with 15 extra base hits and 43 RBI�s while C/3B Taylor Schetzel leads in stolen bases with a perfect 18 for 18. SS Caitlin Murphy is the sacrifice bunt leader with 15.

      The Shamrocks travel to Youngstown, OH this weekend for a 14 team Invitational where they will face some of the best teams in the Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Akron areas. Later this month, following the DC Metro Championships, the team will travel to Denver, Colorado to participate in the prestigious 40 team Colorado Fireworks Tournament.