First Half of the Season in a Nutshell

Although the season didn't initially start off the way that the team would like, the 22U Tiger Select Softball team has turned it around and bounced back. Now that they have their allstars back from their distant colleges, they haven't lost since their season opener.

The first game was against Donnewald Distributing. They were missing their whole outfield, but their biggest loss was outfielder Zack Sedlacek. Usually, Sedlacek's prescense on defense is unmatched, considering the distance he can cover in the outfield. Without him there, the other team repeatedly found the holes, and scored runs fairly easily.

Another factor that led to the teams loss was their lack of runs. Again, Sedlacek would have surely helped, considering his remarkable power and hitting skills. The 22U Tiger Select team did hold Donnewald Distributing to only 7 runs, but without their best hitter, they were held to only 6 themselves.

Following a rain-out, the team played the Designated Quitters. From their name, you would think they weren't very good. You'd be right. The team was joke. The 22U Tiger Select team short gamed them in the fourth inning. Sedlacek dominated, hitting two different towering home runs in route to a 16-4 slaughter.

The next game is when they faced a truly tough team. They ended up winning against The Show, one of the league's more talented teams. It wasn't pretty, but it was a step in the right direction. If they didn't have their strong bats, who knows what the outcome would have been. The final score,16-14.

“I just watched the ball in and crushed it. He pitched it high enough for me to get under it, and I cranked it right out, sure enough” Sedlacek (pictured below) said after the game.

Following their dramatic victory over The Show, and a week-long break from their second rainout, the team has been on a tear. The 22U Tiger Select Softball team is averaging 14.3 runs a game on the year, and they haven't been beaten since game one.

Their defense has sharpened up since their showing up of The Show, minimizing their mistakes and limiting their errors. Opposing teams are only averaging 8.4 runs against them.

They have played each team once, and after scouting the other teams, Travis Opel, the team's pitcher, doesn't think the team will lose again.

“Yeah, theres just no way. We have came out and killed every team that we faced. Even the first game was close, and we didn't have our best player. There is no reason we should lose any more games. I don't see us coming up short of first place,” he said in a brief interview after the last game.

Most recently, the team won 19-9 against the only team that has beat them, in a rematch with Donnewald Distributing. Tensions seemed to be growing throughout the game, as the 22U Tiger Select team held them to just 9 runs. The constant smack talk and pestering of the other team didn't help the hostility that was building.

Following the game, I talked to the team about their growing rivalry with the Donnewald Distributing.

“It seemed like they were only there to complain. They didn't acknowledge that we held them to six runs, instead they just whined about only having 9 players. If you ask me, I know we could kill them even with them having 10, 12, even 15 players, no doubt. Hopefully we meet them again in the tournament,” according to Mason McBride, the team's standout right fielder.

Midway through the season, the 22U Tiger Select Softball team sits at first place with a 6-1 record. Multiple teams are tied at a close second with only 2 losses a piece. It will be interesting to see how the second half of the season pans out.