Renegades Rebound For Title New Hampshire Softball Team Claims Women’s Major Modified Tournament
Defeating Spokane’s Brunette Sportswear in the semifinals earned PA Club of Methuen, Mass., a fifth-straight appearance in the championship game of the Amateur Softball Association Women’s Major Modified Pitch National Tournament, but the title went to the Rogers Renegades of Hooksett, N.H.
The Renegades fell into the losers bracket on the first day, then won seven straight games, the final two against PA Club.
“They were tired, but they wanted this,” Roger Hebert, coach of Rogers Renegades, said. “When you want something, you give that little extra.”
In the first of their two games, PA Club trailed the Renegades 4-1 when Jackie Gau belted a two-run triple in the bottom of the seventh inning.
However, when Gau attempted to stretch her triple into a home run, she was thrown out by center fielder Kathleen O’Connor, preserving the win for the Renegades.
“I just sat down on the bench and watched what was going on,” Hebert said, “but once I knew that she was throwing the ball, I knew that we had a chance to get her at home plate.”
The Renegades came out swinging in the title game, scoring four runs in the first two innings to take a 4-1 lead. They wound up beating PA Club 8-4.
“To be quite honest, Rogers Renegades just came over and spanked us,” PA Club coach Chuck Lombardo said. “They were doing everything they needed to do to win the championship game. They didn’t slow down and they didn’t slack off.”
The Renegades were led by right fielder Deb Muir, who was 5 for 7 in the two games with three runs batted in.
Of the Eastern Washington teams, Brunette Sportswear finished third, Kimmel Athletic and Colville’s Hites/Crawford Doors tied for fifth, Team Spokane was seventh and Pyramid Car Stereo, Waffles N’ More and The Outlaws of Moses Lake tied for ninth place.
Brunette Sportswear’s third-place finish is the best by a Spokane team in the past nine years and earns it an automatic berth in next year’s nationals in Alabama.
After a strong beginning, however, Brunette team members were a little disappointed that they missed both of their chances of getting into the championship game. They lost 8-3 to PA Club before bowing to Rogers Renegades.
“We didn’t hit the ball, we didn’t play like we should. That’s the bottom line,” Brunette’s coach Fuzzy Buckenberger said. “We made a couple of mistakes and they took advantage of it.”
Area teams produced 15 All-American players, including outfielder Linda Bushinski of Brunette Sportswear, who made the first team and walked away with the batting championship. Brunette’s shortstop Karen Riba also made the first team.