Rule and Hodges stand out for Rebels
By Ronald Bond - Argus Observer
Sunday, July 1, 2007 12:56 AM PDT
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| Ontario’s Paige Branstiter takes a cut at a pitch during U-16 softball action Saturday at the Boise Blast Shootout at Willow Lane Park in Boise. The Rebels fared well facing tough competition in the tournament. |
Boise - The U-16 Ontario Rebels softball team finished with a 2-3 record during the weekend at the Boise Blast Shootout at Willow Lane Park in Boise, splitting their two games on Friday and going 1-2 on Saturday.
In Friday’s opener, Stephanie Rule hit a leadoff home run, and Whitney Hodges struck out six as the Rebels defeated Nampa 8-3.
Friday afternoon’s match-up against the Blast was an entirely different story. Boise scored 13 runs in the first inning on its way to a 14-0 blasting of the Rebels.
Ontario ran into another brick wall Saturday morning as the Boise Sliders defeated the Rebels 14-0. Rule and teammate Jordan Barnett recorded the only hits for the Rebels in the game.
Ontario bounced back from the morning debacle in a big way, plating six runs in the fourth inning of their 13-4 win over the Blackfoot Bandits.
The Rebels jumped out from the get-go against the Bandits, scoring three runs in the opening frame, and taking a 7-0 third-inning lead.
Blackfoot came back to score four in the third frame before the Rebels put the game away.
Kaitlyn Roberts opened the fourth inning with a walk, and one out later, Erika Hopper, Paige Branstiter and Vanessa Machuca each walked to force in a run.
Becky Hernandez followed with an RBI single, and with two outs, Rule, who already had two doubles in the game, hammered a first-pitch delivery out to left-field for a grand slam and a 13-4 lead.
Rule finished 3-4 with six RBIs while Hodges fanned seven in the win.
The tournament ended for the Rebels in heartbreaking fashion, as the Boise Bandits scored two runs in the top of the seventh to steal a 2-0 victory.
Branstiter struck out 10 for the Rebels.
“This is a very challenging tournament,” Rebels head coach David Hopper said. “It’s really good for them. It makes them better players. You don’t grow if you don’t play strong teams.”
Legalie wrote on Jan 14, 2010 8:33 AM: