Hawks 16U Black
Hawks Do It Again - Play For Championship
2008
2008 ASA
2008
2008 NSA 18U Firecracker 2nd
2008 ASA National Qualifier,
2008
The 16th annual Sparks Invitational
Tournament featured some of the best teams from all across the
The Hawks made it to the championship game of the Sparks Exposure Tournament this past weekend despite rain that cancelled all of the games on Saturday.
The Hawks got off to a fast start on Thursday against the Michigan Finesse team scoring 4 runs in the 1st, 4 runs in the 2nd, 6 runs in the 3rd and 3 runs in the 4th inning to win 17-0. The Hawks pounded out 14 hits and were really focused for the start of the tourney.
In the 2nd game the Hawks faced the familiar foe Chi-Town Black. The Hawks were down 1-0 in the third when the bats finally woke up. Becca Gray singled and went to second on a passed ball, Andi Senne bunted her to third and Staci Bonezek executed a perfect suicide squeeze scoring Gray. Nikki Goranson singled and then Chloe Oprezedek clobbered a triple scoring Goranson. With Oprezedek on third alert baserunning allowed another run to cross the plate on a passed ball giving the Hawks a 3-1 lead they would never relinquish. In the bottom of the 4th, the Hawks loaded the bases with back to back singles by Gray and Senne and a walk to Bonezek. Goranson hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored 2 runs. The Hawks completed their scoring in the 5th inning when Jess Perkins led off with a single followed by a Sara Daley single and Kelsey Wirth reached on a fielder’s choice. Gray then reached on an error, which scored Perkins. The Hawks won 7-1, Dani Goranson pitched the first 3 innings, and Kendall Ryndak closed out the game. The 2 pitchers combined for 7 strikeouts and only gave up 2 hits.
In the first game on Friday, the Hawks faced the Avanti’s Angels and faced a tough pitcher who hit the outside corner with a breaking pitch that had the Hawks off-balanced all day. The Hawks were only able to scratch out 3 hits. The game was tied 0-0 into the 7th inning when the Angels were able to push across 2 runs that ended up being all they needed. Final score Angels win 2-0.
Friday’s second game started off in an unusual
way for the Hawks when the tough Southern Express jumped out to
quick 6-0 lead in the top of the 1st really surprising
the Hawks. This Hawk
team is determined and if you were walking by the game in the bottom
of the 1st you wouldn’t know which team was losing.
The Hawks slowly and
confidently pecked away at the 6-0 deficit.
In the bottom of the 1st the Hawks scored 4 runs.
Senne and
Perkins reached and
Sunday’s elimination play started late due to
the rain but it didn’t deter the Hawks from playing their best.
The 1st game Sunday was against the Great Lakes
Lightning and a scary moment occurred when the shortstop for the
Lightning was seriously injured and an ambulance was called to take
her to the hospital for precautions.
While Paramedics attended to the injured player, a wonderful
moment came about. Hawk
parent Thea Oprezedek and the two teams were joined by other teams
warming up nearby to hold hands in a circle to offer positive
thoughts and prayers for the Lightning player.
Despite the specter of that injury looming what a great game
it turned out to be.
Both teams battled hard and the Hawks were leading 1-0 on a
Jess Perkins HR in the 4th
inning when in the bottom of the 6th inning the Lightning
tied the game on an unearned run.
In the top of the 7th the Hawks finally broke out
and scored 3 runs to take a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the 7th.
The determined Lightning would not go away as they were able
to get 2 runners on and followed with a game tying 3-run HR.
The game went into International tie-breaker and the Hawks
were able to get their run in.
Kendall Ryndak was
on second,
The second game was against the Beverly Bandits
and the Hawks were able to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st.
Daley singled,
Bonezek bunted her over
and N Goranson drove her
in with a single.
Perkins singled and Oprezedek
reached on an error scoring both
The Hawks played the familiar Chi-Town Black
team again this time for a chance to advance to the championship
game. The Hawks were
trailing 2-0 into the bottom of the 5th when they finally
were able to score. Dellorto singled,
Gray sacrificed her to 2nd
and Daley was safe on an
error.
Bonezek doubled scoring
Dellorto and
Daley.
The Hawks faced the Avanti Angels in the
championship game and one pitch made the difference.
Despite a great effort in center field by
Victoria Dellorto on a hard hit ball she wasn’t able to prevent the
ball from sailing over the fence and that sealed the fate for the
Hawks as they lost 2-0 giving the Angels their second consecutive
championship at the
Homer Hawks 16U Black Keep Flying High
2008 ASA
2008
2008 NSA 18U Firecracker 2nd
2008 ASA National Qualifier,
2008
The Chicago Metros is the premier 16U tournament in the Chicagoland area and there were 44 top quality teams entered. In the first game of pool play, the Hawks faced the Elk Grove Heat. The scoring did not begin until the third inning when Dani Goranson led off the inning with a walk. Becca Gray sacrificed her to second and Sara Daley came through with an RBI single to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The Hawks broke the game open in the 4th inning when again a lead off walk by Jess Perkins started everything. Chloe Oprezedek executed a sacrifice bunt but was safe on an error. Andi Senne followed with a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to 2nd and third. Lani Grogan came through with a sacrifice fly scoring Jess Perkins to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. Dani Goranson reached on a drop third strike, which scored Oprezedek. Gray singled and Sara Daley was hit by a pitch. Up stepped Staci Bonezek who came through in a big way with a grand slam homerun giving the Hawks a 6-run inning and a final score of 7-1. Dani Goranson pitched the first 4 inning and had 6 strikeouts and Becca Gray came in the last inning to seal the win.
Immediately after the Heat game, the Hawks faced Lakeland Wildcats in the second pool play game. The Hawks again started their scoring with a leadoff walk this time by Vic Dellorto. Gray followed with a single and stole second. This time the big hit was provided by Sara Daley when she singled home 2 runs. The Hawks scratched out another run with heads up base running when Nikki Goranson singled and worked her way into a rundown between first and second allowing Daley to scamper home with what ended up being the winning run. The final score was 3-2 Hawks. Gray was the starting pitcher and pitched the first 3 innings and Goranson came in with 2 innings of relief.
Mother Nature intervened on Saturday and washed out all games. Play resumed Sunday with the format changing to single elimination. The Hawks found themselves in a very tough bracket facing elimination. First up was the Chi-Town Express Black team. The Hawks broke through in the third inning in an unusual way by stringing together a couple of singles. Sara Daley singled, Staci Bonezek reached on a fielder’s choice and Jess Perkins singled. Andi Senne was the Hawk that came through with a big RBI single giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The Hawks scored again in the 4th inning when Dellorto reached with a bunt single. Becca Gray followed with a single, which allowed Dellorto to score on fielding errors. Staci Bonezek singled to drive in Gray. The final run for the Hawks started with the walk. First Senne then D Goranson walked to open the inning. Lani Grogan moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt and Gray came through with an RBI single to give the Hawks a 4-0 lead. Rebecca Gray pitched a 7 inning complete game facing only 25 batters.
The Hawks then faced a very formidable team in the New Lennox Lightning. This game turned into a pitchers duel. The game went the distance with no score. In the international tiebreaker, the Hawks held off New Lennox without scoring, despite the Hawks allowing the Lightning to get runners on 1st and 3rd with no outs. However, great defense and pitching prevented the Lightning from scoring in the top of the inning. The Hawks started the bottom of the inning with Nikki Goranson at second base. Vic Dellorto came in to pinch run and was immediately sacrificed to third by Jess Perkins. The next batter Chloe Oprezedek came through in a big way with only the second hit of the game for the Hawks with a single just over the infield that allowed Dellorto to score the winning run. Dani Goranson pitched a complete game giving up no runs and had 7 strikeouts.
The final game the Hawks played was against the Chi-Town Express Silver team. The Hawks continued the trend of scoring first with a run in the third inning. Staci Bonezek singled and Nikki Goranson crushed an RBI double scoring Bonezek. The score remained 1-0 going into the 5th inning when the Hawks were able to score a few more insurance runs. Gray singled, Daley walked and Bonezek singled loading the bases. Nikki Goranson came through with an RBI scoring Gray. Chloe Oprezedek completed the scoring when she singled in 2 runs scoring Bonezek and Goranson. The final score was 4-0.
The Hawks pitchers and defense did a phenomenal job limiting their opponents to only 3 runs in 5 games. The Hawks pitchers Becca Gray and Dani Goranson allowed only 1 earned run. Goranson had 15 strikeouts and Gray did not allow a run. The 2 combined for an opponent’s batting average of .182 and an ERA of 0.23 in the tournament
Next up for the Hawks is the Sparks College
Exposure tournament in
Homer Hawks 16U Black Take Third at
ASA Elgin Tourney
The
Hawks participated in the tourney featuring 28 teams of outstanding
16U ASA teams. The Hawks began pool play with a game against
the Wolfpack that they won 8-0. The Hawks exploded for 6 runs
in the bottom of the first inning. Bringing 10 batters to the
plate the Hawks had the first 7 players reach safely.
Gray, Oprezedek, Bonezek, Goranson all opened with singles while
Daley belted a double. The bottom of the 5th
inning saw back to back HR’s by the Hawks to end the game. It
started with a HR by Stacy Bonezek and that was followed by
Nikki Goranson. Rebecca Gray was the starting pitcher
and had 7 strikeouts and gave up only 2 hits in 5 innings pitched.
The second game was against the Wasco
Diamonds and didn’t have the same result as the Hawks came out flat
and didn’t perform to their abilities. Wasco put up 4 runs in
the top of the first and the Hawks just couldn’t fight back.
Chloe Oprezedek had the only 2 hits of the game for the Hawks
as they lost 8-3.
In the double elimination games the
Hawks started strong. The first game was against the always
tough Chi-Town Silver team. This time the Hawks held Chi-Town
scoreless in the first inning and were able to draw first blood in
the bottom of the inning when Rebecca Gray led off with a HR.
In the third inning Chi-Town was able to string together a couple of
hits to draw even at 1-1. However the 4rth inning saw the
Hawks bats wake up as the put 3 runs on the board. Nikki
Goranson led off with a single, Jessica Perkins walked
and Lani Grogan singled to drive in a run. Victoria
Dellorto then got a big single driving in 2 runs. The Hawks
ended the game with 2 more runs in the 5th when Bonezek
doubled and Daley reached on an error. Perkins
then drove in the 2 runs with a single. The game ended because
of time with the Hawks still batting and the bases loaded.
Rebecca Gray was the starting pitcher and got the win.
The next game the Hawks faced the
Illinois Chill and the story of the game was how the Hawks scored
first and went on to win 8-0. They put up 3 runs with a
Gray single, Bonezek double and a Daley single.
Gray and Perkins finished 2 for 3 on the day.
Dani Goranson came on in relief of Rebecca Gray and the 2
pitchers combined for 6 strikeouts and no walks.
The next game the Hawks faced the
Lakeland Wildcats and the same story unfolded for the Hawks when
they were able to breakthrough first with 2 runs in the 1st
inning. Gray singled and Oprezedek followed with
a HR. In the 3rd Bonezek Homered to give the
Hawks a 3-0 lead. In the 4th Andi Senne
singled and was driven in when Oprezedek reached on an error.
Daley and Senne were 2 for 3 for the Hawks. The
pitching tandem of Gray and D. Goranson combined for 9
strikeouts, 2 hits and no runs.
The Hawks had to face New Lennox
Lightning next and the Lightning just returned from the Compuware
tourney where they finished 2nd overall. In this
game the Lightning were able to capitalize on Hawk errors to score
first getting 2 runs. But as always the Hawks battled back in the
bottom of the first to score a run of their own on Lightning
miscues. Bonezek singled and N Goranson singled,
Bonezek was able to score on errors. In the
3rd inning Oprezedek and Bonezek were both
able to reach base on errors and Daley came through with a
big hit driving in both runs to give the Hawks a 2-2 tie. In
the 5th Oprezedek again reached on an error but
Daley, who was 2 for 3, doubled to drive in the important go
ahead run putting the Hawks up 4-2. Gray pitched the whole
game and had 6 strikeouts as the Hawks won 4-3.
The Hawks then faced the Orland Park
Sparks for the right to play in the championship game. The
Hawks fought hard and were winning 3-1 into the 6th
inning when the wheels feel off. The Hawks were shocked by the
Sparks when they allowed 8 runs in the top of the 6th.
The final score was 9-3.
The Hawks entered the loser’s bracket
for the first time and had a rematch with the New Lennox Lightning
team. The difference in the game was the 2 errors committed by
the Hawks. Despite 2 hits from Andi Senne the Hawks
lost 3-2 to be eliminated.
The Hawks finished the tourney with an
8-3 record overall for the weekend and 3rd place in the
28 team tournament..
Hawks 16u Black Announces 2008 Calendar & Player Profiles
The Homer
Hawks 16U Black are please to present the 2008 Homer Hawk Black
Players Team. The 16U Black page now has several new features
for College coaches to track and scout our players. Each
player now has online downloadable "Player Profiles" to be viewed
and printed.
This feature will make it easier for Colleges to get the necessary information to meet their roster needs. In addition our 2008 online calendar that will list all times, dates, and locations of 16U Black games and tournaments. Please take the time to visit the calendar page to get the latest information by clicking on our calendar logo.
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hawks 16u Betcher Win NSA National Bid
Pekin Illinois - The Homer Hawks 16U Betcher/Goranson traveled to Pekin Illinois New Years Eve weekend to compete for a NSA national Bid. Despite starting out a little sluggish on Saturday, the Lady Hawks came back with a vengeance on Sunday to knock down both Midland Magic teams to capture their first NSA National Bid. The Hawks were able to hold on to win the first game by a score of 3-2 against the Midland Magic (Black). In the second game the ladies continued to move runners throughout the game to edge out the Midland Magic (red) by a score of 4-2.
Congratulations Lady Hawks.
Coach Betcher Announces Roster for 2008
Welcome to the Hawks 16U-Black Homer Hawks web page. The page is dedicated to the 16U Black Homer Hawks team coached by Dave Betcher and Jim Goranson. The rosters for the 16U Hawks is contained below.
Make sure you check back here for the latest news on our great Homer Hawks 16U Black Team