Bringing Home the Silver . . . this year . . .

Well, the Japanese lived up to their reputation, and crushed the North American Liberty Belles 10-0. A disappointing end to an amazingly awesome tournament. The Far East Bloomers are a great team and they played a better game than we did.

There was a lot of nervous energy amongst the Belles before the game began. For many of us, this was the most important game of our baseball careers. I was pumped. I played shortstop all day. Defensively, I had a great game, but I wasn't able to deliver on offense. I went 0 for 4 with 2 ground outs and 2 pop outs. I was a little disappointed I didn't get to pitch against Japan, but in the end it wouldn't have mattered since we never scored any runs. Overall, our team only managed 3 or 4 hits all day.

Japan didn't get a ton of hits either, but they walked a lot, and scored many of their runs on passed balls/wild pitches. Each team had a couple of defensive errors but we were never able to capitalize on theirs.

Even though we lost, I am still proud of my team and I feel good about bringing home the silver medal. Considering the fact that the North American Liberty Belles had never played together before, we did darn good. Most of us had never met one another until we got to Hong Kong, whereas the Far East Bloomers have been playing together for years.

I love my new teammates and my new coach, and I know we have the potential to bring home the gold next year. We're going to play as a team in a few tournaments this year to prepare for the 2010 Phoenix Cup. By then, we should be polished and primed enough to bring home the gold!

Now that the tourney's over, I have a couple days to site-see. I'm looking forward to a fun, adventurous time in Hong Kong! When I get back to Chicago, I'll post more about my incredible tourney experience. Bye for now!

Championship Bound!

The North American Liberty Belles are headed to the Championships!!!

We kind of played Taiwan today . . . We started the game with a great first inning on defense, then the Taiwanese first base coach questioned the ump's call and got thrown out of the game. I guess their honor was marred, so they chose to forfeit the game. Heavy politics.

Oh well, we get to play Japan tomorrow! I'm so psyched, the Japanese have consistently been ranked the best team in the world, and tomorrow we get to show them what we're made of! Win or lose, this has definitely been an amazing experience. We're gonna go out there tomorrow and play our asses off!

Phoenix Cup - Pool Game Results

I am thrilled to report that The North American Liberty Belles won both games today and have clinched the first place spot in our division!

We beat South Korea 10-5 and Hong Kong 18-5. I pitched the entire first game and Sam pitched the entire second game. Pitching here takes some getting used to because the umps zone is about the size of a peanut! They weren't calling any inside corner strikes or anything hip level or above. Nevertheless, Sam and I managed to give up only about 4 hits each. The bats were on fire today. I think every Liberty Belle got at least one hit, and we played aggressive on the base paths. There were a few errors, but once everyone got settled in, defense was tight.

In our division, we are the first place seed, South Korea is second, and Hong Kong is third. In the other division, Taiwan beat Australia today, and Japan had a buy. So Japan is in first, Taiwan is in second, and Australia is in third.

Tomorrow are the playoffs. We're playing against Taiwan and Japan is playing South Korea. If we win tomorrow, we'll be fighting for the Championships. I'll keep you posted!

Phoenix Cup - Day 1

Whew! It's been a busy couple days, sorry for the late updates. The Liberty Belles had a buy today so we watched South Korea defeat Hong Kong 14-4. Japan beat Australia 11-1 and Japan also beat Taiwan 11-0. We got some solid practices in today and yesterday and I must say, our team looks really solid! We inherited a great coach from Hong Kong . . . actually he's from Alaska, he spent time in Washington state, and now he coaches baseball in Hong Kong. He really knows his stuff and has done a fantastic job leading our practices. I took some great pics of opening ceremonies, and am contemplating the best way to post them. I will share them with you soon!

We have our first game tomorrow at 9:30am against South Korea. I'll be the Liberty Belles' starting pitcher. We'll have a 3-hour break, then we'll face Hong Kong. These are our only pool games heading into the playoffs, so we have to win both to earn the first seed in our division. I'll try to post results and highlights tomorrow night, but if you can't wait, you can visit the Phoenix Cup website for score results. Wish us luck!

Goodbye San Francisco, Hello Hong Kong!

I had two more great training days in San Francisco and was having so much fun I almost didn't want to leave, but the tournament was calling, so I said goodbye to SF and hopped a plane to HK with my teammate Kelly. It was a long 14.5 hour flight. The plane wasn't terribly comfortable, but it did have good movies. We finally landed and took a cab to the Newton Hotel.

I met three more of my teammates there - Tiff, Amy, and Sam - and we went downstairs to breakfast. The Aussie Hearts were there so we exchanged some hellos then scoped out the area. As luck would have it, there was a huge park right across the street from us, so we gathered our gear and headed over for our first semi-team practice. There were a lot of gawkers who couldn't believe there were American women playing baseball in their park.

Things were going pretty good until the park authorities came and told us we had to move to the other side of the park. We graciously obliged. This happened about 4 more times so it was starting to get annoying. A woman spoke to Tiff and almost had a breakdown, saying we were too dangerous and might hit a jogger. It was pretty funny.

We wrapped up our practice and went back to the hotel. Tiff, Kelly, and I went to a restaurant for dinner. We were trying to stay awake to overcome jet lag. I finally couldn't hang and retired around 10pm Hong Kong time. My roommate Robin arrived around 11pm. I groggily said "hi" and was out like a light. I slept pretty well but I'm pretty certain jet leg will hit me big tonight. We're hoping to get an uninterrupted practice in today. The rest of the team has arrived, so we'll get to see how we play together. Should be fun!

New NCAA ruling

I want to share a new ruling by the NCAA which is a huge step forward in the acceptance of girls playing baseball. With a formal recognition that baseball and softball are not the same sport, perhaps more doors will open for women to play baseball at a higher level.

NCAA Baseball and Softball
Talking Points
February 2009

NCAA legislation governs NCAA amateurism regulations, allows student‐athletes
to use four seasons of competition in any one sport and limits outside athletic
activities in the student‐athlete’s sport (amateur team participation, etc.).

Previous interpretations of NCAA legislation stated baseball and softball were the
same sport for NCAA amateurism and outside competition regulations. Therefore, a
softball student‐athlete could not participate on an organized baseball team during
the academic year, for example, without jeopardizing her eligibility in softball.

The Women’s Sports Foundation asked the NCAA Committee on Women’s
Athletics (CWA) to review the issue of softball and baseball being considered the
same sport. The CWA asked the divisional interpretive bodies to reconsider the
interpretations.

Based on the information gathered, including a West Virginia court case that
treats the sports as different, NCAA Divisions I, II and III voted to reverse the
interpretations.

The reversal now allows a softball student‐athlete, for example, to participate on a
baseball league and vice versa, within other NCAA rules and bylaws.

San Francisco - Day 1

I arrived in San Francisco yesterday and had an awesome day. My flight got in at 10:30am. Jim Nemerovski of girlsplaybaseball.com picked me up from the airport and took me to a baseball facility about 5-minutes away called Futurepro Baseball. They have state-of-the-art pitching machines with simulated pitchers. The ball comes out on the pitcher's release, so you can time your swing the same way you would in a game! I met Ed Sickinger of the CWBL Fillies there and he gave me some valuable hitting tips. I talked baseball for awhile with Ed and the owner of the place, and when the time came to pay, he wouldn't even charge me! Talk about nice! Futurepro Baseball was a really cool place with the best pitching machines I've ever seen. If you're ever by the San Francisco airport, check it out!

After our session, Jim picked up his son, Jason, and the three of us headed over to Treasure Island. I met my Liberty Belles teammate, Kelly Bay and her dad at the cages and got some more hitting in. Then the five of us went to a baseball field, where we took some grounders, pop-ups, and live BP. It was cool to get to meet and practice with one of my teammates. Kelly and I hit it off right away and we plan on getting together for another practice today.

After we said our goodbyes, Jim showed me around town (he's the best tour guide!) I looooooooove San Francisco and it just so happens that his house is walking distance to just about everthing! After all that practicing we were pretty hungry, so we picked up one of my favorite foods - tacos! and headed back to the house, I met Jim's lovely wife, Maxine and his daughter (a fellow baseball player), Jessica. We chowed down and had some good laughs. Then Jim said, "you are welcome to stay with us, but I may have another option that you may prefer, let me show you." We hopped in the van and he drove me to the secret location. I was kind of apprehensive, "what is this place he has in mind? A hostel? Someone's garage? An old abandoned building?" We finally pulled up to a gorgeous house, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Wow! It is immaculate and also walking distance to everything! So I dropped my bags off and settled in.

But the day didn't end there. We went back to Jim's house, watched the MLB network (which I don't get back in Chicago. Curse you Dish Network!) and Jim prepared fresh Dungeness Crab . . . free baseball, awesome digs, MLB Network, dungeness crab! . . . am I in heaven? (Kevin Costner: No, you're in San Francisco). Jim brought me back to my new home and unloaded a bag full of gluten-free foods he bought for me. Wow, I couldn't have asked for a better welcome to San Francisco. Thanks Jim and Ed! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Comment Me

I fixed the comment section on my page. Previously, you had to sign up for Blogger to leave comments, now you don't, so hit me up!

The Time Has Finally Come

I can hardy believe it, but in 3 days I will be leaving Chicago and heading to Hong Kong for the biggest tournament of my baseball career . . . the 2009 Phoenix Cup! After training 6-days a week indoors for the past 4-months straight, I NEED to get outdoors and play a real game!

I'll spend 3 days in San Francisco, where the weather is similar to Hong Kong, for one last training bout, then meet my team, The North American Liberty Belles, in Hong Kong. I'm really excited to meet many of these gals for the first time, and sharing time with them on the diamond.

I want to thank all my supporters and sponsors for helping make this dream a reality. My goal was to raise $3,000, and I came awfully close. I raised a total of $2,200 which means I won't have to take out that loan!

Thanks to Line Drive Baseball Academy I feel more prepared for this tournament than I have for any other. I've been working hard to fix some flaws in my pitching mechanics. It was frustrating at times, with a lot of ups and downs, but I finally feel confident with where I'm at and better than ever!

I'll be posting game results and cool pics on this blog while I'm in Hong Kong, so stay tuned!

Jimmy Scott's High and Tight

I discovered this blogsite called Jimmy Scott's High and Tight. It's funny stuff and all baseball related, so of course, I loved it! I started reading, and before I knew it, it was 3:30am! Two days later, I found that I was the subject of his latest blog! Read this blog about me and I'm sure you'll have a few laughs. Or better yet, subscribe like I did and get your laugh on everyday!

Another Sponsor!

I am pleased to announce Flat Top Grill at 1000 W. Washington in Chicago as one of my latest sponsors! If you haven't tried the food there, run out your door and go! But be careful, it's icy out there!

Flat Top Grill was inspired by a restaurant in Hong Kong called Happy Valley. I may check it out while I'm there. At Flat Top Grill you can create your own stir-fry and soups with fresh vegetables, meats, noodles, rice, sauces . . . hungry yet? Run . . . don't slip . . . get your eat on!