Rampage 14U qualifies
for July's Pony Nationals
-
ROCKAWAY - Keith Felix and his coaching staff on the Rockaway Rampage 14U travel softball team can only wonder which team they will be taking to the Pony Nationals in Cary, N.C., in July.
Will it be the team that went 1-2 and, according to Felix, "... played some sluggish ball" on Saturday, May 15, during the seeding portion of the Sparks National Qualifier Tournament played at Pequannock?
Or will it be the team that won all three games it played on Sunday, May 16, to win the tournament and earn a spot in the Pony Nationals the week of July 16-23?
"After Saturday's play, we were seeded No. 8 for the eight-team single-elimination portion of the tournament," Felix said. "But the team came out real strong on Sunday and beat the top-seeded team, 4-0, in our first game and played good ball the rest of the way, too."
The Rampage beat the host team No. 7-seeded Sparks, 8-1, in the championship game; rallied for a 9-6 victory over The Storm in the semifinals; and rode the two-hit pitching of Kim Felix to its 4-0 victory over the No. 1-seed Dutchess Debs in the first game of the day.
The championship game saw Michelle Quail pitch a complete game for the win as the Rampage scored runs in each of the first four innings. Gionna Florey's two-out, two-run single in the third inning "... figured huge" in the Rampage victory, according to Felix.
The semifinal game against No. 4 seed Storm went down to the wire as the Rampage came from behind by scoring four runs in the seventh inning to escape with a 9-6 victory.
All four runs were scored with two-out hits as Amanda Jordan, Courtney Otten, Felix and Faber delivered in the clutch. Liz Adams was the winning pitcher for the Rampage and she got some nice defensive help from second baseman Brianna Horan and right fielder Gina Aragona along the way.
Felix struck out 14 in her two-hit victory over the top-seed Sparks to open Sunda's play. The Rampage scored all four runs in the third inning on two-out, two-run hits by Amanda Faber and Jenn Muhleisen.
Notes: The Rampage showed some good defensive play during the Sparks Qualifier, according to Felix ... "Our second baseman Brianna Horan and right fielder Gina Aragona made some nice plays against the Storm," said the coach. "And Jamie Kelly was solid defensively as a catcher and in right field for us throughout the weekend." ... the Rampage also won the Montville's Michelle Fund Tournament earlier in the season as they finished 3-0 by beating Glen Ridge, 2-1; Lincoln Park, 7-2; and the host Montville team, 8-5, in the championship game.
