HH Dodgers cap splendid season with title victory
  
By Rebecca Pierson
Assistant Sports Editor
rpierson@starhq.com

   The Harbor House Dodgers came out undefeated in the season and won the championship tournament over the Sand Trap Pirates in a 18-15 decision on Saturday.
   The Pirates put on a good show in their third game of the day, but simply didn't have energy to come out on top.
   "I am outstandingly proud of these girls," Dodgers head coach Tammy Matheson. "This is my fourth year coaching and this is the best team I have had. We have four or five girls who have never played before. I am so proud of them I am about to cry."
   "Three games in one day is pretty tough," Pirates head coach Mike Watson said. "But they did good. You have to give it to the Dodgers. They are just great all the way around. They are a really good ball team. We played them as well as we could, but sometimes you just don't wind up on the right end of the scoreboard. I am tickled to death. My girls played just awesome."
   Sarah Bower opened up the game for the Pirates with a hit up the third-base line for a double. Falon Devoti hit the ball to third for a single, then Taylor Treadway hit one up the middle but was caught out on first.
   Randi Feuchtenberger hit a single for two RBIs to put her team on the board. Kianna Watson hit a single for a RBI but Randi Feuchtenberger was caught out at third.
   Lakin Street hit a single to first for a RBI and Chelsea Grubb hit a short on up the middle for a single and an RBI before Caitlyn Osborne had her fly caught out at third.
   Tournament regulations allowed the teams to bat through their entire lineups in the first. After the third out, the bases are cleared out and play continues.
   Hannah McAdams then hit a single. Laura King was caught out on her hit at first, then Kasey Morley had a single turned into a double and an RBI off a throwing error.
   Savannah Lanney was caught out at first and Heather Feuchtenberger had her fly ball caught out by the pitcher.
   In the top of the first, Jessie Matheson had a powerful hit to the center-field fence for a triple. Kaitlyn Simerly then hit the ball up the third baseline for a single and a RBI. Michaela Matheson then hit it up third again for a single. Shanda Matheson hit a bouncer that went past second for two RBIs. Elizabeth Cochran hit her ball to the pitcher, and was out at first. Calli David then had her fly caught out on the mound.
   After Mackenzie Davis had her hit roll past third base for a double, Krisley Roberts had a hit to the left field for a double and an RBI. Jeara Hutchins sent her hit to the shortstop, but was tagged out coming around to second base.
   Cheyenne Goode put her hit up to third for a single. Taylor Collins hit a double past the shortstop. Lydia Honeycutt was good for a single, but Collins was caught out at second. Grace Roberts then hit a single and Jessie Matheson hit a single for an RBI as the last batter.
   In the second inning, the Pirates pulled in five runs, but in the bottom of the second, the Dodgers came out strong with 10 runs for a six-run lead.
   In the top of the third, the Pirates only had the energy for just three runs and the Dodgers took the championship.
   Pirates 27
   Cubs 25
   The Pirates overtook the Cubs by two runs in the losers' bracket final played earlier in the afternoon.
   "I think we have finally woke up a bit in this game," Pirates head coach Mike Watson said. "We have some late bloomers in the morning."
   Bower opened up the game on the right note with a home run for the Pirates. Devoti sent her hit to third base for a single. Treadway had her hit caught out, and Devoti couldn't turn around in time and was caught out at third.
   Randi Feuchtenberger then hit a single. Watson had a good hit for a double, and Street also had a good hit that was good for two RBIs. Grubb, Osborne, McAdams, and King all followed up with singles, but Osborne would get tagged out at third for the third out.
   Kasey Morley followed with a double, then Lanney had a short hit to the mound and was caught out at first. Heather Feuchtenberger struck out and Gardner had a single as the last batter.
   In the bottom of the first, Emilee Carver came to bat first for the Cubs, and her short hit to the mound caught her out at first. Emily Kiser then had a hit up the center for single. Kaylee Ingram was caught out at first but not before Kiser made it to home plate.
   Megan Pietrowski followed up with a solid double when her hit rolled to the fence. Mackenzie Richardson, Jainie Taylor and Savanna Weddle each hit good singles. Jacqueline Startt and Emily may both backed up their team with doubles.
   Bailey Montgomery then hit a double past the third-baseman for two RBIs. Ruth Ann Walters then hit a single. Danielle Vines was caught out at first. Carver hit a fly to the mound that was caught out. Kiser then had a hit to the center field, but was caught out at second.
   The Pirates came back in the top of the second to earn a 10 point lead. The Cubs came up short scoring only four runs. In the bottom of the third, the Pirates would go back onto the field with a 27-11 lead. The Cubs, however, wouldn't let the numbers bother them. They came back to score 14 runs with 15 batters, but ran out of roster to take the game.
   "They did better than what I could have even hoped," Horace Mann Cubs head coach Kevin Kiser said on his teams third place finish in the tournament. "I figured we would be somewhere in the middle of the pack. Towards the middle of the season, we progressed into around to the third or fourth place team. We finished third, so I am happy."
   Dodgers 18
   Pirates 17
   In yesterday's opening game and the closest game of the day, the Dodgers and the Pirates played in the winner's bracket for a guarantee in the finals. The Pirates lost that guarantee and had to play through two more games in the afternoon to get to the championship.
   Both teams were on the ball defensively, and with the exception of the first-inning rule where the third out is ignored, both teams quickly got the outs they needed.
   The Pirates had a one -run lead going into the second. Bower had a double to third. Devoti had a double for an RBI. Then Treadway popped a great hit past second for an infield home run. Randi Feuchtenberger was caught out at first off her hit. Watson was good for a single.
   Street had a great hit, but was caught out coming into third base territory. Grubb and Osborne were good for doubles. McAdams was good for a single. King then sent her hit to third, but Osborne was tagged out at third.
   The Dodgers started the bottom of the second with solid singles from Roberts, Simerly and Michaela Matheson. Shanda Matheson had a great hit past second base that turned into a home run. Elizabeth Cochran also had a good hit into the center field for a double.
   Calli Davis had her fly caught out by the pitcher. Mackenzie Davis hit a double past third. Roberts backed that up with a single. Then Hutchins knocked a home run into left field for two RBIs. Whitney Andes, Goode and Collins all had good singles. Then Honeycutt backed her team up with a great hit into the left center field, but Collins was caught out going to third.
   The Pirates took back a slight lead in the third, but the Dodgers needed only three runs to win the game.