Maryland STARS Win State Championship

Maryland STARS Win State Championship

The Maryland STARS 16U Girls Fastpitch Softball team recently won the USSSA 16&Under A State Championship.

The tournament was highlighted by great resiliency and desire of the young Maryland STARS.  Six members of the team are still 14&Under eligible and the other 6 members are first year 16&Under eligible players.

Facing teams with older and bigger players the STARS, battled each opponent to the very end, winning 3 games in their last at bats.

In their first game of the tournament the STARS faced the Churchville Lightning, defending State Champions, and the team the STARS lost to 2-1 in last years State Championship final game.

Falling behind 2-0, the Stars gained the momentum on a solo home run by Erin Stephey - her mammoth homerun on a change up pitch bounced to the base of the 300 foot fence permitting her to easily cirlce the bases and ignite the STARS.

Then in the bottom of the last inning, Storm Smith led off and lined a single to right.  Emily Speierman then singled and Stephey worked the pitcher for a walk.  After two force outs on infield ground balls, Kasey Bost singled sharply off the pitchers glove to drive in the game winning run.

Speierman tossed a 2 hitter over 5 innings and then Christina Toven came in to pitch with two on and no one out in the 6th inning.  She proceeded to get the next three batters out to keep the game close.

Next up the Stars played the WHC Fever.  In a steady rain and on a muddy field, the pitchers for both teams struggled with their control.  After two innings the score was 3-3.

The rained let up in the third inning, and Speierman pitched a gem the rest of the way, with only a single ball being hit hard.  The STARS scored their three runs on consecutive singles by Speierman, Stephey, Jessica Swistock, and Alina Milauskas and an RBI ground out by Bost.

With the scored still tied 3-3 in the 5th inning, the Stars bats came alive again in the clutch.  Taylor Hoff singled, Monica Hallmark advanced her to second with a sacrifice bunt and she advanced to third on a single by Shayna Rider.  After a long at bat, Bre Smith drew a walk and Storm Smith singled to score Hoff.  Speierman then singled to score both Rider and Smith.  Speierman scored on another effective infield ground out for an RBI by Stephey.

The big 5-run inning put the STARS up for good and into the championship game.

Facing the Churchville Lightning would battled their way back through the loser's bracket, the Stars appeared confident that this season they would prevail over their arch rivals and bring home the gold.

Jessica Swistock tossed 5 and 2/3rds innings allowing just a single run to the vaunted lineup of the Lightning, but left with two runners on base in the top of the 6th.  Toven pitching in relief (her time in the circle this season very limited due to an injury sustained in high school) allowed a hit and a couple runs to score and to tie up the game.  She then got the next batter out to end the Lightning rally and put the game in the hands of the STARS offense.

The Stars scored their first run on a walk by Storm Smith, single by Speierman, and a squeeze bunt by Stephey.

Leading 1-0 in the 5th Shayna Rider leads off with a single, advances to second on an error and scores on an infield grounder by Monica Hallmark (who reached safely on an error by the 1st baseman receiving the throw).  A single by Breanne Smith advanced Hallmark to third who then scores on a long sacrifice fly by Storm Smith.

In the top of the sixth, the Lightning rallies and scores 3 to tie the game.  Then in the bottom of the inning, Stephey leads off with a single down the RF line.  Swistock works the pitcher for a base on balls.  Milauskas singles to load the bases.  Stephey then scores on a wild pitch for the winning run.

Throughout the tournament the STARS got excellent defense from their outfield of Rider, Storm Smith, and Bre Smith.  Likewise the infield defense proved stellar with Calin Mitchell(1B) , Hallmark (2B), Hoff (3B), Bost (3B and 2B) and Stephey (SS) and catcher Milauskas kept runners at bay with her strong accurate arm.   Speierman, Swistock and Toven teamed up for extraordinary pitching to shutdown the potent bats of the opposition.

And the never say die attitude of this young team kept them in all games until the very end where they found a way to push across the winning run and chalk up another win for the team getting a great group effort.

For more information about this team, please contact Glen Warholic, at glen.warholic@gmail.com .

Names of the persons in the attached picture:

Maryland Stars

16 & Under A

2013 USSSA Maryland State Champions

Front Row (left to right)

Kasey Bost, Taylor Hoff, Storm Smith, Shayna Rider, Bre Smith, Alina Milauskas

Middle Row (left to right)

Monica Hallmark, Erin Stephey, Jessica Swistock, Christina Toven, Calin Mitchell, Emily Speierman

Back Row - Coaches (left to right)

Jerry Bost, Glen Warholic, Steve Smith, Chris Toven