Who will represent Texas?

[play4fun]

Any of these teams can do well at ASA Nationals. Lots of factors come into play as we all know. Draw, game times, etc..

SC Mean Green, Hawks, Batbusters would be my favorites do go the farthest. None of these teams seem to be intimidated by anyone they play. That is going to help them a lot at nationals. They play aggressively and hard and they never give up and they are all good defensive teams. (Defense wins championships, right?)

Don't forget the MC Magic. They are always a threat and always play hard. They can bunt you to death if they see they can't hit your pitcher.

Deer Park TPS and Houston Power can sneak up and beat some teams if they think they are just "little 95 teams" If you think you can skate by them because they are young, you are going to be in for a fight!

Peppers are not the same team this year as they have been in the past. They are still quality, but they are no longer the "team to beat" like they were in 12u (one of the best 2nd year 12u teams I have seen.) or 1st year in 14u. I know they lost several girls from those teams. (Bleature Creature, didn't several of the Hawks play on the Peppers?) If the Peppers get it all together, they could do OK.

Kruzers are still young. If their pitchers are "on", they could win some games. If they are not, they are in trouble.

Texas Travelers are a '95 team that can get hot and beat some teams also. They are very streaky. If they come into this tournament on a hot streak, they could make the bracket very interesting.

I think all of the Texas teams are playing for 4th or 5th place. SoCal IS that much better than the rest of the country! I hope I am wrong!

Everyone has their own opionion but what is interesting is that the two teams you are least interested in, Travelers and Kruzers, have out played the other teams you mentioned this year by far. Your favorites have been beaten by the Kruzers this year according to championship tournament play. The Travelers have beaten Deer Park TPS several times along with winning the National Qualifier that contained all the above teams.

I'm not saying that these other teams won't do well but I just don't agree with your assessment of the teams you mentioned.

Besides, it all really depends on the draw so good luck to all and I will be watching from Texas.

[SoftballG]

Good luck to all the Texas Teams at Nationals! Have fun, play ball and stay safe..

[GREENCH]

Have to agree with play4fun on this one. Travelers and Kruzers have been the most consistant teams not only this years, but for the past 2 or 3 years. If anyone is going to make a deep run at nationals it would be one of these two teams. Not saying the other teams can't as well, but Travelers and Kruzers are the most proven teams in the field at 14U from Texas.

[TheBucketeer]

I am curious, what makes the Bandits "one of the most proven teams in Texas?" What is this claim based on? Their finish at HOF? Not saying they are not a good team, but just wondered what you based your claim on? From afar, (CA) and no my team did not make the trip to HOF, the only TX teams we are aware of is the Diamonds, the old BatBuster team which is now Fusion from what we understand, and ST Riptides. Those are the only teams that have been to ASA Nationals. Both the Diamonds and the Riptides had Top 10 finishes in 10U. The Diamonds were an awesome team back then, probably the best TEAM in the whole tournament at that time, but Indiana's pitcher was utterly dominating and thats what won them the tournament. From what we gather over HB and through the softball grapevine, the Riptides are not even a factor any more and not even qualified for Normal. The Fusion/BB team seems to be a top notch team that has not played well when the lights are the brightest. Houston seems to have more quality teams than Dallas, but they all appear to be on the same level. TX Aces win a state tournament with none of the best teams in it. Other than that they dont seem to play in the same tournaments as all of the other "big dog" teams. Bandits play well at HOF but lose to 97 teams. Peppers get beat by Fusion and Diamonds. Red Hots are a first-year team but have had much success against some top teams. From what we read and hear the Diamonds are like the proverbial box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. They kick butt in SA at the HOF Qualifier with all of the best teams from TX, but then dont play real well in OKC. Although according to reports back here, they looked real good in beating the Firecrackers. I read where Fusion beat them twice this past weekend, but then somebody else says they are injured. Also heard Fusion played in a round-robin against all of the good Houston teams and pretty much beat everybody except for Fury. TX Glory seems to be a non-factor based on what we read on HB. Not winning a single game in qualifying play but still going to Nationals sounds awfully ambitious, or dumb depending on your point of view. The bottom line is as a lot of people have stated, it really is going to depend on who is the "hottest" for that week, who plays the best defense and makes the least mistakes, and finally, who gets the luckiest in terms of the draw. Believe me, if any TX team, or team from CA or GA or TN, has to play one of these top teams on Wednesday or Thursday, you can stick a fork in them.

[General Lee]

If you think wins and losses at a friendly equate to a team being dominant then you might want to reconsider. As I recall in Sugarland, the big bad Fusion had several really close games that they were losing until the opposing Houston Area team pulled the plug and put in their second or third string. The Houston teams were all just getting work in against good teams and none were out to win, I heard this over and over from 4 or 5 Houston teams.
The Diamonds might have a shot at hanging with them but if they have injuries then I would put them down there with the Glory and Fusion,
Bandits are a far better team than they were at HOF or Sugarland, they have added some talent and will be tougher. Peppers are also a great team that showed nothing at Sugarland and held back at HOF enough to get a berth and go home at a decent time. Fury is streaky and beatable. Redhots are scary good, but young and beatable. Finally, have not doubt that the Aces will be playing deep into the tournament in Illinois, possibly deeper than any team in Texas.

[Brooke's Dad]

'94 Peppers lost a lot of girls this year... they replaced them with quality girls - but they lost quite a bit.


From last years team them are missing -

Their Starting ~

Catcher (Playing Gold Ball) + she could have played another year in 14U

Pitcher (Playing Gold Ball) + she could have played another year in 14U

Shortstop (Playing Gold Ball) + she could have played another year in 14U

Center Fielder (Playing Gold Ball) + she could have played another year in 14U

Left Fielder (Playing Gold Ball) + she could have played another year in 14U

Right Fielder (Playing Gold Ball) - she had to move up as she was a 2nd yr 14 last year

Right Fielder (Playing Gold Ball) - she had to move up as she was a 2nd yr 14 last year



That is a lot of talent for one team to try to overcome.... just saying





* Yes I know I am listing 2 RF'ers.....

[TheBucketeer]

I understand the whole concept of friendlies, that is what we do out West. But believe me, when things get this close to nationals, you want to go out and try and win and send some messages to your competition. I dont understand why you guys are so hard on Fusion. Based on all of the postings from Houston, which you guys dominate on HB, you are always tooting your own horns about how good Houston is compared to other parts of TX. Especially at the younger ages, 10U & 12U. I cant help but think that if everyone had a better showing at the "friendly" then we might hear or see more positive comments about the friendly a few weeks ago. Win with class, lose with class. Dont come on hear and talk about how you werent trying and therefore it doesnt matter. By the way, I dont recall ever referring to Fusion as being "dominant" in my last post. I simply stated they played in a round-robin and beat most teams they played. Dont get so defensive. Next time tell your coach to try harder if you are going to react this way. Also am I really supposed to take you seriously when you make the comment that the Peppers "held back" at the HOF just so they could get a berth and then make it home at a decent time? If that is the mentality, then I guess we dont have to worry about them in Normal because they will plan on playing until sometime on Saturday at the latest so they can spend Sunday driving back to Houston to get ready for the start of the new week. What top teams have the Aces played this Spring and what is their record? Most of you guys have called them a trophy hunting team because they dont chase the big dogs.

[sbfanatic]

As I recall in Sugarland, the big bad Fusion had several really close games that they were losing until the opposing Houston Area team pulled the plug and put in their second or third string. The Houston teams were all just getting work in against good teams and none were out to win, I heard this over and over from 4 or 5 Houston teams.

Give me a break General Lee, your going to tell us that those teams laid down and let Fusion win.



That must have been some Houston Hospitality. I am sure 96 Fusion will thank you for taking the dives.

[honest bob]

People

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GE ALONG?

YEA YEA YEA We all know how good the Houston teams are. And it goes without saying our NORTH TEXAS TEAMS ARE DA BOMB.

No good team or coach looses on purpose. give us all a break w/ that nonsense. No North Texas team wins all the time & neither does any of those Houston powerhouses we all hear about.

You know what I find so funny my DD has played againest most every good team from the Houston area this season & not even 1 team or player or coach from that area has ever been anything but nice period and they all have showed us nothing but respect and we treated them the same way. I have to believe all you trash talkers don't really have a dog in the hunt or your dog was not good enough to hunt w/ the big dogs. None of these reasons are any of our problems--- SO GET OVER IT!!!!!!

GOOD LUCK TEXAS
MR. BOB BILLINGSLY
HEY BUCKET PROBLEM SOLVER

[Bleacher Creature]

Damn the OP just should of known that you can’t have 18/16/14/12/10-u all on the same thread!
The 12-u and 10-u Dad's are still attempting to demonstrate and justify the fact that they have the largest and most desirable penis for their pissing contests!