14U Crush News
August 17-18, 2019 (Taylor, MI): The Orange Crush ladies got together one final time for the KRUSHin Balls tournament in Taylor, MI. The tournament was originally set for Perrysburg, OH but was moved to Kennedy High School in Taylor, MI. Crush faced off with Finesse-Flores and easily coasted to a 11-5 victory. Kate Reed smacked a two run triple in her first game back after two years off! Second game saw Crush square of with Mid Michigan Chaos. Crush took the victory by the score of 15-3. Crush would bring home the championship after knocking of Finesse-Flores again, this time by an 11-1 score. The ladies went 3-0 and finally got to play that "one more time" tournament they had been hoping for. Rylie Wakefield led all hitters batting .800 for the tournament.
|
May 31, 2019: We are back! A reunion tournament in Perrysburg, OH, fittingly named KRUSHin Balls. August 17-18. Details to follow.
July 28-30, 2017 (Holland, MI): HANGOVER. That is the word that describes the weekend for the Orange Crush girls in Holland. The Crush girls, coming off a week long tournament in NW Indiana, traveled north to play in the Storm Summer Classic. Friday's game saw Crush forfeiting to the Michigan Sabercats because they were in route from Indiana. Saturday Crush took the field the first game playing the Lakeshore Storm-Sleeman, but looking sluggish and out of sync which led to a Crush defeat. The second game Crush came out with a little more live and scored a 9-2 victory against Saginaw Golds 12U. Sunday Crush came in looking fresh and rested, but exiting looking tired and slow. Game one Crush defeated Lakeshore Storm-Hill 11-1. Game two Crush came out looking poised to make a run by scoring first and playing good defense only to see the Top Prospects rip off nine unanswered runs. As a result, Crush dropped the game 9-1. This concluded a seven day streak of living out of a suit case and sleeping in a different bed all while playing softball. The girls did go home to play Monday and wrap up the North Oakland County League championship for the second straight season.
July 24-28, 2017 (NW Indiana, left): 2017 NSA World Series Champs! The Crush girls concluded their week long World Series tournament with a 6-1 record and a championship! Crush took the long road to become champions, but sealed the deal with an 11-7 victory over the Standish-Sterling Crushers. This was the eighth meeting of the teams in the past year, each winning four games. Crush cruised to a 5-0 record knocking of Highland Blue Thunder, ICE Silver, Krash, Standish-Sterling, and Michiana Reps. The hitting was turned up a notch for this tournament as Crush busted out of a small slump at the plate. The 5-0 record placed Crush in the championship via the winners bracket. The opponent would be determined via the loser bracket. That opponent was the Standish-Sterling Crushers who had to win two early morning games just to get a shot at Crush. The game saw the Crushers draw first blood with a 4 run top of the first inning. Crush, however, answered with a 4 run bottom of the first. From there the two teams would exchange runs, but in the end the Crushers were victorious 11-6. This set up a winner take all game between the two teams. The bats came back alive and Crush jumped ahead early and stayed ahead the remainder of the game, final Crush 11-Crushers 7.
|
July 15-16, 2017 (Grand Blanc, MI): The 12U Orange Crush girls traveled twenty five minutes south to play in the 20th Annual Attack Softball Tournament in Grand Blanc, MI. The weekend was another sluggish tournament for the girls. Saturday saw Crush go 3-0 defeating Valley Venom, Troy Raptors, and Oxford. This gave Crush the division winner and a #1 seed going into Sunday. Crush showed up Sunday to face the #2 seeded team from the other division, Millington Cardinals. Millington came out and scored two runs in the first inning, which proved to be enough as they won the game 3-1. This knocked Crush into the consolation game against Owosso. In the consolation game Crush won 10-2 to finish 4-1 on the weekend and bring home a 3rd place medal. The pitching proved strong, while the hitting, base running, and defense needs to show a quick improvement.
July 1-July 2, 2017 (Hartland, MI, left): Crush traveled to Hartland to play in the NSA State Championships. Crush ran out of gas in the second game of the championship and brought home a second place finish. For the weekend the team went 3-2 and qualified for the NSA World Series held at the end of July in NW Indiana.
|
June 23-25, 2017 (Otisville, MI): A tale of two days. Crush showed up on a sunny Saturday morning to face Eagles Fastpitch. The girls pounded out several hits and had great pitching by Rilee Zachery. This paved the way to a 10-3 victory. Khloe Williams was named game MVP by the Eagles. Game two was played under the same sunny skies. The opponent was the Linden Warriors. Again, good hitting and scoreless pitching by Kenedy Coombe paved the way to an 11-0 win. Kaitlyn Lucero was named game MVP by the Warriors for her great game behind the plate. Crush earned a game, Sunday, with rival Attack in the semi-finals of the winners bracket. Crush showed up Sunday to a grey, gloomy, and rainy day. Little did they know it was a precursor for the day. After two innings, Attack lead 1-0, then the wheels came off. The Crush bats were silenced and defense was out of sorts. Final score was 10-0. Emma Benner earned game MVP for her double. However, this loss did not mean Crush could not have a shot a Attack in the championship game. Defeat the Millington Cardinals and earn a trip to the championship game. It was not met to be. The grey, gloomy, and rainy day continued at the ball fields and for Crush. The girls fell behind 4-0. Some defensive mishaps and sluggish bats limited Crush. The fifth inning saw a glimmer of hope when Crush scored three runs, but it was not meant to be as Millington won 4-3 and Crush settled for a 3rd place finish. Marissa Rombach earned MVP honors from the Millington team for her diving catch that doubled up a base runner at second base, which kept Crush within striking distance.
June 2-4, 2017 (West Branch, MI, left): Crush traveled an hour and a half north to play in the Ogemaw Outlaws Summer Kickoff Tournament. The girls rolled through pool play putting up 42 runs in three games and earned the #1 seed/bye going into Sunday's bracket play. The first game on Sunday Crush met up with an old foe in the Muth Mavericks. The game was close through the first three and a half innings tied at 1-1. In the bottom of the fourth Crush scored six to put the game out of reach. Crush won 8-2. Crush moved to the championship game where they squared off against the Standish Crushers. Crush fell behind 7-1 after two innings. The girls never laid down and continued to fight back. The game was 10-9 heading into the bottom of the 6th, but that's all Crush could muster. Crush brought home a disappointing, but hard fought second place finish.
May 19-21, 2017 (Owosso, MI, left): The ladies were on fire this weekend! The girls finished 5-0, were the #1 seed in bracket play, and brought home the 2017 Owosso Trojan Summer Kickoff 12U Tournament Championship! The bats came alive this weekend as Crush score 73 runs while only allowing 14. The hit parade was lead by Kenedy Coombe, Marissa Rombach, Taryn Murphy, and Brynne Birchmeier. Khloe Williams pitched in with two triples. The pitching held up well. Rilee Zachery finished the tournament with two wins and giving up two earned runs. Fighting a stomach bug Sunday, Ava Taylor came in to hold the Cardinals-White to zero runs over the last three innings to help fuel the come from behind semi-final win (7-6). Kaitlyn Lucero had the game winning hit scoring Birchmeier from third. Taylor ended the tournament with three wins giving up two earned runs. In all it was a TOTAL TEAM effort.
|
May 7, 2017 (Clio, MI--right, below): The 12U Crush girls were asked to volunteer their time to beautufy the Clio Veterans Memorial Park. The girls were up and at it cleaning up the park from 9:00 am to about 1:00pm. They picked weeds, replaced flower beds, planted plants, and blow out leaves. More importantly, they learned some civic duty while doing it with their teammates. Way to represent!
|
April 22-23, 2017 (Potterville, MI): Playing in the annual Potterville NSA tournament, Crush got started by defeating the Mid Michigan Heat 8-6. An 8 run 3rd inning helped the cause. From their, Crush lost their next three (MSA Renagades 5-4, South Lyon Stealth 5-4, and Ann Arbor Gold-Townsend 7-5). Once again, strong pitching was the key for keeping Crush within striking distance. However, some defensive miscues ultimately caught up to Crush. The girls returned Sunday to defeat HangTuf 12-6 and Krash 12-6 to even their record at 3-3 for the tournament and finish 4th out of 8 teams.
April 14, 2017 (Grand Blanc, MI): In their first tournament of the 2017 season, the 12U Crush girls suffered their first winless tournament ever. Going 0-3, Crush was defeated by the Michigan Outlaws-Fadie 5-1, Gold Fastpitch 12U 4-1, and Caldonia Chaos 4-3. The Crush pitching and defense held its own, but the bats were silent. Kenedy Coombe did homer against the Outlaws. Coombe and Rilee Zachary both had strong pitching performances.
March 25, 2017 (Grand Blanc, MI): Crush opened the 2017 season with a double header playing Oxford 12U and Firestix 12U. The Crush girls came out in game one vs Oxford swinging and running the bases well. In the end, Crush won 16-3! Game two saw Crush get down early, 2-0 after the first. Then the game turned into a pitching duel. After seven innings, Crush could not push enough runners across the plate, dropping the game 3-1.
February 14, 2017 (Flint, MI--left):
2017 Winter Session Hitting League Champs! (L to R) Emma Benner, Taryn Murphy, Kenedy Coombe, and Ava Taylor 2017 Winter Session Hitting League Individual Notables Ava Taylor (12U)-1st Place Pacific League Kenedy Coombe (12U)-3rd Place Pacific League October 8-9, 2016 (Caro, MI): 12U Crush traveled an hour north to take part in the Caro Pumpkin Smash Tournament. The tournament started promising for Crush as they won 12-2 against Cardinals Fastpitch. However, it was all downhill from there. The Crush girls took it on the chin by 12U Edge (10-1), MBS Jets 12U (9-2), and 12U Twisters (8-6). The tournament ended for Crush in a wild 13-13 tie with Ann Arbor Gold Fastpitch. Overall 1-3-1 and much to improve to be ready for Spring.
|
October 2, 2016 (Commerce Township, MI--left): The now 12U Orange Crush girls kicked off their new season playing in the Inter-Lakes Pride Pumpkin Smash. Crush defeated Rochester Yellowjackets (13-8), NFWB Impact (8-2), and Inter-Lakes Pride (4-1) to advance to the championship game. In the championship, Crush defeated NFWB Impact by the score of 10-3.
|
August 11, 2016: Orange Crush 12U tryouts at Clio High School. Tryouts will run from 6-8pm. Click here for more information.
July 22-24, 2016 (Rockford, MI--left): The 10U Crush girls ended their 10u play and the 2015/16 season on a high note. Crush traveled to the west side of the state to participate in the 7th annual Rockford Summer Slam. After the dust settled, Crush brought home their fifth first place finish of the season. Game one pitted West Michigan Venom against Crush. The game ended after four innings with a 13-1 Crush win. On Saturday, Crush took on the Rockford Krush. In a very uncharacteristic game, Crush found them selves down 6-5 with 15 minutes left in time. Crush got a lead off triple from Emma Benner which sparked a three run inning and a 8-6 come from behind victory. Game three saw Crush play Mt. Pleasant Fastpitch. The game ended after three innings and a Crush 17-1 victory. With a 3-0 record and the best run differential, Crush was the #1 seed heading into Sunday's bracket play. Sunday saw Crush roll. In the semi finals, Crush defeated Revenna Renegades 13-1. The roll continued into the championship game where Crush put on a hit parade and defeated Rockford Krush 26-1. The Crush Girls ended the tournament season 44-6-1. To add to the weekend, Brynne Birchmeier, Kaitlyn Lucero, and Kenedy Coombe picked up game MVP awards and Ava Taylor and Emma Benner finished first and second place in the homerun derby. Great weekend and season girls!
July 16-17, 2016 (Brighton, MI--left): The 10U Crush ladies hit the ground running from the first pitch of the tournament. Kenedy Coombe lead of the game with a home run and Orange Crush never looked back. On Saturday, they defeated Inter-Lakes Pride 16-1 and followed it up by defeating Huron Valley Mavericks 22-0. Sunday began with a 14-0 victory over Aftershock. Crush won their pool which gave them the #1 seed in bracket play and set up a semi-final game with Riptide. Crush won by the count of 11-0. In the championship, Crush met up with the Standish-Sterling Crushers. The game started out as a pitcher's duel through three innings. Brynne Birchmeier pushed Crush ahead 2-0 with a 2 run single in the fourth inning. Crush would go on to win 5-0. Ava Taylor finished with 13 strike outs for the game.
June 24-26, 2016 (Otisville, MI--left): This tournament marked one full calendar year since the Crush girls played in their first live pitch softball tournament. In 2015, Crush was eliminated after three games and exposed to what improvements were needed to be made for future success. This year, the girls came out game one and fought back from being down 5-1 to Attack to win 6-5. Becca Lucero hit a bases loaded, two out, two strike single to seal the game. Crush cruised in their next two games defeating USA 18-3 and Edge Fastpitch 11-1. This set up a championship game with Attack. Attack fought through the losers bracket to set up the rematch. Crush fell behind 2-0 in the first inning and could never recover, losing 8-1. For the weekend Kenedy Coombe picked up two MVP awards while Becca Lucero and Ava Taylor were awarded one each. |
June 17-19, 2016 (East Lansing, MI): The young ladies of Crush took on their first sanctioned tournament, the NSA State Championship in East Lansing, Michigan. Tournament was filled with high quality teams from around the state. Friday the girls won their two games defeating Krash 13-0 and Eagles Fastpitch 5-2. Kate Reed led the offense Friday with three hits, while Kenedy Coombe had a 3-run inside the park homerun. Coombe picked up the in win vs Krash while Ava Taylor was credited with the win against Eagle Fastpitch. Saturday proved to be the stumbling ground for Crush. The Michigan Outlaws handed Crush their worst defeat in team history, 14-0. Crush fell to the losers bracket and was set up with a rematch with Eagles Fastpitch. The game was nip and tuck, but in the end Eagles Fastpitch found a way to squeeze two runs out of Taylor and end Crush's tournament by the score of 2-0. It was a great learning experience for the girls and opened their eyes to fine tune their own personal game.
June 11-12, 2016 (Millington, MI--left): Crush traveled to Millington and came home champions. After going 3-0 in pool play on Saturday, Crush went 2-0 in bracket play to bring home the championship. Crush defeated the Muth Mavericks in the championship game. Offensive leaders were Morgan Taege and Kenedy Coombe. The pitching was lead by Kenedy Coombe's three wins and Ava Taylor's 13 strikeouts.
|
May 28-29, 2016 (Essexville): Crush traveled to Essexville to play in the Battle By The Bay. The competition was tough facing Midland Line Drive, Mid-Michigan Bolts, MBS Jets, and the Standish Crushers. Crush finished the tournament 2-3 defeating MBS Jets (2-1) and Standish Crushers (9-2), but losing to Line Drive (9-4) and Mid Michigan Bolts both in pool play (11-4) and bracket play (4-3).
May 14-15, 2016 (Davison, MI--left): The Crush girls kicked of the tournament season going 3-0-1 and capturing the championship at the Out of the Park Tournament! Crush tied Tri Valley Twisters 3-3, defeated Edge Fastpitch 11-0, Cards Fastpitch 10-1, and in the Championship Game Attack 10-5. The offense was lead by Emma Benner, Kenedy Coombe, Brynne Birchmeier, and Riley Zachery. The pitching for the tournament was great. Rylee Zachery and Kenedy Coombe each won a game. Ava Taylor won two games, including the Championship game while striking out 15 Attack hitters.
|
December 4, 2015 (Waterford, MI): Crush kicks off its indoor season tonight at the Oakland Yard.
October 17-18, 2015 (Ypsilanti, MI--left): Crush traveled to Ypsilanti to take part in the first Intruder Pumpkin Smash Bash where they took 2nd place. Crush finished with a 3-2 record, losing to Devils Fastpitch in both pool play and in the Championship game. The girls had a great time and played well. The girls did take home a 1st place finish by having their decorated pumpkin voted the best in the 10U division.
|
September 20-21, 2015 (Canton, MI): Crush played in the ICE Breaker Tournament in Canton, MI. This was the first tournament for three of the newest members to the Crush team. The experience provided the team with some important feedback. Though Crush did not play to its potential, they gained an opportunity to play good competition and continue to grow as a team.
Saturday, August 8, 2015: The 10U Crush team welcomed three new members to the team: Brynne Birchmeier, Marissa Rombach, and Heaven Withers. We are excited to call you sisters!
Wednesday, August 5, 2015@ 6:00pm: Tryouts for 2016 Season: --Clio Sports Complex. Any player trying out must be 10 yrs old or younger on January 1, 2016. Players from any area are welcome to tryout.
July 19, 2015 (Capac, MI--left): Orange Crush traveled a good distance to bring home a championship from Capac. The girls played Sandusky in the championship game and came out victorious 8-7. Crush finished with a 4-0-1 record on the weekend. This was the second first place finish this summer for Crush. July 12, 2015 (Clio, MI): The Crush girls ran up against some stiff competition in the Clio Classic Softball Tournament. Crush finished 4th with a 2-3 record. June 28, 2015 (Frankenmuth, MI--left): The Orange Crush girls were the runners up losing the championship game to the Franklin Revolution. Crush ended pool play 4-0. In the semi finals against North Farmington/West Bloomfield, Crush went down early 5-0 but rallied back for a 10-9 win. In the championship game, Crush jumped out to a 4-0 lead but could not hold of the Franklin Revolution losing 10-6. Crush capped the weekend with a 5-1 record.
|
June 20, 2015 (Otisville, MI--left): The Orange Crush girls took on a new challenge this weekend playing in their first live pitch tournament in Otisville. The girls showed moments of promise combined with moments of inexperience. They finished the tournament 1-2. Capturing game MVP awards, selected by the opposing team, were Ava Taylor, Miranda Valkoun, and Emma Benner.
|
June 6, 2015 (Kearsley, MI--left): Crush participated in the Kearsley Summer Slam-a-Rama. After finishing 2nd last season as a 9u team, the girls came back to Kearsley this season to go undefeated while scoring 79 runs! The defense was sound, the bats were alive, and the base running improved greatly. Kenedy Coombe picked up two game MVPs, while also picking up the Player of the Tournament award! Emma Benner picked up the game's MVP in game #1 of the tournament. Great job ladies!
May 15, 2015: Practice is in full swing. The girls are starting to get more comfortable with the changes of the game (kids pitching, moving on past ball, speed of the game). We are less than one month from kicking of the tournament season. First stop, Kearsley!
February 20, 2015: Mandatory practice begins March 18. This is from 6-8 pm at Carter Middle School (7/8 gym). These are important to attend as we look to start address and fine tune some areas to make us an even more competitive team. Furthermore, any "home drills" you can be working on in your spare time before these practices begin will help. Also, we are currently looking over tournaments. New tournaments are being posted daily. We look to finalize the summer schedule soon.
September 28, 2014 (Grand Blanc, MI--left): ICE Breaker Fall Tournament Crush finished 2-1 scoring 33 runs and bringing home Second Place. Crush won Game One defeating The Bat Busters 13-3. Game Two saw an uncharacteristic Crush team fall to Oxford 19-9. In the nightcap, Crush finished strong defeating The Edge 11-6.
August 27, 2014: 2014-15 Orange Crush Softball tryouts, Wednesday, August 27 @ Clio Sports Complex. Registration is 5:00-5:30 (Paper work to fill out), tryouts 5:30-7:30. It is for ANY girl that is 10 yrs old or younger as of January 1, 2015. Bring any and all softball equipment. For questions, call Kevin Coombe at 810-397-4511 or email: [email protected].
July 18-20, 2014 (Frankenmuth, MI): Weekend of ups and downs resulting in a 2-2 record. Game one, against Frankenmuth Mavericks, saw Crush on the short end of a 8-7 score. Second game saw Crush defeat ICE 11-1. This was hands down the best defensive game of the year by Crush. Game three saw Crush fall behind quick and early to North Farmington/WestBloomfield (NFWB). Crush lost by the score of 14-2. In the final game of the tournament, Crush went out with a bang handing Motor City Madness a 16-0 defeat. Crush put on a hit fest backed by solid defense which result in a mercy after 4 innings. Crush worked on many fundamentals and hopefully showed a preview of the future. Keep working hard girls!
July 11-13, 2014 (Clio, MI): The Crush finished the weekend 1-1, defeating Fowlerville and losing to the Romeo Renagades. The third day of the tournament was cancelled due to poor playing conditions. As a result, the girls finished 4th out of 8 teams. The girls played tough and showed flashes of their capabilities. Next tournament is July 18, 19, and 20 in Frankenmuth.
February 20, 2015: Mandatory practice begins March 18. This is from 6-8 pm at Carter Middle School (7/8 gym). These are important to attend as we look to start address and fine tune some areas to make us an even more competitive team. Furthermore, any "home drills" you can be working on in your spare time before these practices begin will help. Also, we are currently looking over tournaments. New tournaments are being posted daily. We look to finalize the summer schedule soon.
September 28, 2014 (Grand Blanc, MI--left): ICE Breaker Fall Tournament Crush finished 2-1 scoring 33 runs and bringing home Second Place. Crush won Game One defeating The Bat Busters 13-3. Game Two saw an uncharacteristic Crush team fall to Oxford 19-9. In the nightcap, Crush finished strong defeating The Edge 11-6.
August 27, 2014: 2014-15 Orange Crush Softball tryouts, Wednesday, August 27 @ Clio Sports Complex. Registration is 5:00-5:30 (Paper work to fill out), tryouts 5:30-7:30. It is for ANY girl that is 10 yrs old or younger as of January 1, 2015. Bring any and all softball equipment. For questions, call Kevin Coombe at 810-397-4511 or email: [email protected].
July 18-20, 2014 (Frankenmuth, MI): Weekend of ups and downs resulting in a 2-2 record. Game one, against Frankenmuth Mavericks, saw Crush on the short end of a 8-7 score. Second game saw Crush defeat ICE 11-1. This was hands down the best defensive game of the year by Crush. Game three saw Crush fall behind quick and early to North Farmington/WestBloomfield (NFWB). Crush lost by the score of 14-2. In the final game of the tournament, Crush went out with a bang handing Motor City Madness a 16-0 defeat. Crush put on a hit fest backed by solid defense which result in a mercy after 4 innings. Crush worked on many fundamentals and hopefully showed a preview of the future. Keep working hard girls!
July 11-13, 2014 (Clio, MI): The Crush finished the weekend 1-1, defeating Fowlerville and losing to the Romeo Renagades. The third day of the tournament was cancelled due to poor playing conditions. As a result, the girls finished 4th out of 8 teams. The girls played tough and showed flashes of their capabilities. Next tournament is July 18, 19, and 20 in Frankenmuth.
June 7-8, 2014 (Kearsley, MI): The Crush 10U team played in the Kearsley Summer Slam finishing with a 3-2 record. The girls played hard and earned a Second Place finish, losing in the Championship game to Adrenaline. Individual game MVP awards, voted on by the opposing team went to Miranda Valkoun, Taryn Tracey (two), and Ava Taylor (two). Great weekend girls!
|
July 13-14, 2013 (Imlay City, MI--left): Making their debut, the Orange Crush 8U traveled to Imlay City and came home with a 2nd place finish. The Crush girls went 4-2 on the weekend defeating Brown City, Imlay City (twice), and Memphis. The two loses came at the hands of tournament champion Almont, each loss by a run in the last inning.
|