NorCal 10u Teams

[lockdown]

Not sure what you were reading but I did say underwhelmed and not overwhelmed.......meaning Dirt Dogs and RR Gold were awful. I did misspeak on the Monarchs as they were eliminated by KG Hitters in the first game on Sunday.

[HangingCurve]

Breeze and KG Hitters made it to championship game, won by Breeze.

Here's my take on this weekend's participants...

RR Gold: 1 and done on Sunday, losing to Lady Spartans. Went 0-3 in Saturday pool play, losing to Breeze, KG and Dirt Dogs. They are clearly not the same team that from the previous fall season, most likely due to losing key '01s that aged out of playing in 10u. Coaching theatrics don't seem to help the girls either.

Team California: 1 and done on Sunday, losing to Breeze. Went 0-3 on Saturday, losing to Monarchs, Foothill Gold and Monarchs. Overall played poorly (pitching, hitting, fielding) this weekend. Have seen them play better, need to improve hitting the most. Coaching staff is generally positive.

OBS Monarchs: 1 and done on Sunday, losing to KG Hitters in early game. Went 2-1 on Saturday, beating Foothill Gold and Team CA and losing to Lady Spartans on Saturday. They can compete only if their #1 pitcher is on the mound, but otherwise are about as good as Team CA without her. Had heard about the coaching staff, but did not see what all the hype was all about.

Dirt Dogs: 1 and done on Sunday, losing to Foothill Gold in early game. Went 1-2 in pool play on Saturday, losing to Breeze and KG on Saturday, beating RR Gold easily on Saturday. Have a decent #1 pitcher and good shortstop, and some good bats. Need another strong pitcher and to improve hitting to compete. Coaching is generally positive.

Lady Spartans: beat RR Gold on Sunday in late morning game, lost to KG in semis. Went 2-1 on Saturday, beating Team CA and Monarchs, losing to Foothill. Did not face Monarchs #1 pitcher and were beaten easily by Foothill on Saturday and KG on Sunday. Have some good players, but don't see them competing with KG, Breeze, or Foothill unless pitching improves. Negative coaching seems to wear on these girls.

Foothill Gold: beat Dirt Dogs in early morning game, lost to Breeze in semis on Sunday. Went 2-1 on Saturday, beating Lady Spartans and Team CA, losing to Monarchs and their #1 pitcher. Solid pitching, good little shortstop and good bats. Need to cut down on defensive lapses in the field that cost them runs. Good, positive coaching staff.

KG Hitters: beat Monarchs in early game, Lady Spartans in semis, lost to Breeze in championship game on Sunday. Went 2-0-1 on Saturday, beating RR Gold and Dirt Dogs, tying Breeze. Solid overall team - strong #1 pitcher, good fielding and hitting, although Breeze seem to have their number right now. Good, positive coaching staff.

Breeze: beat Team CA in early game, Foothill in semis and KG in championship game. Went 2-0-1 on Saturday, beating RR Gold and Dirt Dogs, tying KG. Good hitting, fielding and pitching. The team rarely makes mistakes in the field. Very good coaching staff, firm but positive. They remain the team to beat in NorCal 10u until someone can step up. Only teams from this weekend's tournament outside of KG that could possibly compete with them are Foothill (need to limit mistakes in the field) and maybe Monarchs (only if they throw their #1). Just don't see any others in this group that have a chance at beating them right now.

As mentioned previously, the well coached teams will make appropriate adjustments and work on their deficiencies to get better.

Based on teams I have seen this season so far, I'd rank them as:
1 - Breeze
2 - KG Hitters
3 - Fresno Force
4 - Foothill Gold
5 - Monarchs
6 - Smackers
7 - Dirt Dogs
8 - Lady Spartans
9 - RR Gold
10 - Team California

[Overwhelmed]

Not sure what you were reading but I did say underwhelmed and not overwhelmed.......meaning Dirt Dogs and RR Gold were awful. I did misspeak on the Monarchs as they were eliminated by KG Hitters in the first game on Sunday.

I was speaking to the Monarchs/Hitters game, which you corrected. I agree with you about the other two teams being underwhelmed. As to overwhelmed, that's my user name.

Nice analysis, Hanging Curve.

[thirdbase1301]

Team Mizuno looking to add NorCal teams to our friendly
June 30, 2013 Softball in the Summer Heat

Would like to invite NorCal Teams down to our friendly. Looking for good teams
who want to play competitive softball.


viewtopic.php?f=97&t=52850

[Turret94]

1- Breeze Been playing together for several seasons. Solid hitting. Winning every weekend.

2- KG Hitters Also been playing together for several seasons. Two strong pitchers.

3- Fresno Force Very strong #1 pitcher that dominates for them. Average team without her.

4- OBS Monarchs Strong #1 pitcher and well-balanced team. Primarily '03 team, strong coaching. Took 1st place past weekend.

5- Lady Spartans A well balanced team. Won consistently last year. Havent played in several weeks.

6- Foothill Gold Good hitting older team. Also havent played lately.

7- Dirt Dogs Solid team and getting better each week.

8- RR Gold Good pitching and coaching. They also run the bases well.

9- Smackers Dont overlook this team!

10- Fired up Hanging in there, lost to Monarchs on Saturday and Sunday.

[Turret94]

Updated Rankings

1- Smackers The new #1 team having beat the Breeze and KG last weekend. This team has been improving rapidly!

2- KG Hitters Strong hitting and very strong pitchers.

3- Breeze Been faultering lately. Internal problems?

4- OBS Monarchs Strong #1 pitcher. Primarily '03 team. Strong coaching. Was not seen in Fresno?

5- Lady Spartans A well balanced team. Won consistently last year. Went 0-4 in Fresno for a very disappointing weekend.

6- Foothill Gold Good hitting older team. Seem to be a strong team but cant get over the hump.

7- Dirt Dogs Solid team and getting better each week.

8- Fresno Force #1 pitcher makes the team strong; average team otherwise.

9- RR Gold Could easily be in #5. Solid coaching.

10- Fired up Haven't been playing lately but good showing.

[lockdown]

How many tournaments have the Smackers placed 1st in when both the KG Hitters and Breeze were in the tourney? None. They need to win a tourney before they have any consideration. I will say the KG Hitters should probably be the new number one team and the Breeze are probably number two. Smackers are probably number three until they beat a top team in a championship game.

[FORCE10UDAD]

They(Smackers) did however do really good in this tournement! I'll admit i was pulling for them after our less then stellar performance this weekend. But hey that's little girl softball, anyone's game on any given day.

[HangingCurve]

There is some good competition in NorCal 10u. Based on this weekend's Fresno Force Classic results, NorCal Smackers move their way to the top of the heap. Hearing feedback from those that attended, one surprise was Foothill beating the SoCal CASE Batbusters on Saturday. Looking at the scores, Batbusters beat Fresno Force and Lady Spartans by combined scored of 32-0 but fell to Foothill 3-1. Aside from that, the strong SoCal teams beat the NorCal teams, but NorCal did compete. Breeze have also been losing to KG recently too.

1- Smackers beat Bakersfield, tied RR Gold, lost to Mizuno Montoya on Saturday. Had an impressive run on Sunday, winning 3 in a row, taking out Mizuno Garcia, KG Hitters and Foothill Gold. Lost to champs Mizuno Montoya, finishing 4-2-1.

2- KG Hitters beat Breeze and Dirt Dogs, lost close game to Corona Angels on Saturday, lost to Smackers on Sunday, finishing 2-2.

3- Breeze beat Dirt Dogs and lost to KG and Corona Angels on Saturday, beat RBI on Sunday and lost to Batbusters, finishing 2-3. Have lost to KG 4x in their last 2 tournaments.

4- Foothill Gold beat Fresno Force and Batbusters, lost to Spartans on Saturday, lost to Smackers on Sunday, finishing 2-2

5- Lady Spartans beat Foothill, lost to Batbusters and Fresno Force on Saturday, lost to Salinas on Sunday, finishing 1-3

6- OBS Monarchs only one of the teams in this list to not play in Fresno. Won a tournament 2 weeks ago with no other top teams participating.

7- Fresno Force beat Lady Spartans, lost to Foothill and Batbusters on Saturday, lost to Bakersfield on Sunday, finishing 1-3

8- RR Gold beat Bakersfield, tied Smackers, lost to Mizuno Montoya on Saturday, beat Salinas and lost to Corona on Sunday, finishing 2-2-1 overall

9- Dirt Dogs lost to Breeze, KG and Corona on Saturday, beat CAS Fastpitch and lost to SoCal Warriors on Sunday, finishing 1-4

10-Salinas Storm beat RBI, lost to SoCal A's and SoCal Warriors on Saturday, beat Spartans and lost to RR Gold on Sunday, finishing 2-3

[FORCE10UDAD]

I also thought Foothill Gold did very well in pool play, had some high expectations of them in the brackets.