Gators reach Semi-Finals in WNY Aunt Rosie's Tournament

The Guelph Gateway Midgets  suffered a tough 4-3 loss in extra innings to the Hamburg Breakers in the semi-final of the Aunt Rosie's International in Amherst N.Y. on Monday night.  Stacie Cox opened the scoring. She earned a walk and scored when Lyndsay Butler crushed a triple.  Heather Ryder pushed Butler across on a ground out to register 2 runs in the first inning.  Brittany MacPherson got the nod for the Gators and was on her game holding the strong Breakers team scoreless through 3.  In the top of the 4th, with the Gators still leading 2-0 they got some insurance when Mackenzie Hunter and Jade McGarr hit back to back singles.  Michelle Reynolds followed with another single and Hunter scampered home on a misplayed ball by the catcher. Unfortunately, the Gators couldn't cash in the two base runners left on and they went into the bottom of 4 up 3-0.  The Breakers, with two out in the 4th, strung together a single, walk and a double to score two before MacPherson forced a pop fly to close the scoring and leave the double stranded at second.  Despite hits by McGarr and Butler in the following innings, the Gators took only a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the 7th inning.  The first Hamburg batter hit a long double but MacPherson fought back forcing the next two batters to ground out.  With the tieing run at third, a tough passed ball allowed the runner to score before the batter popped up to second to end the inning.  In the 8th, the International Tie breaker rule placed a Jocelyn Hansen at second base.  The Gators got her to third but couldn't scratch out the run.  The Breakers moved their ITB runner to third on a single down the third base line given up by Ryder who came in to begin the 8th inning.  She forced a pop up to the catcher for the first out.  With runners at second and third, the staff decided to put the next batter on with an intentional walk to load the bases.  The winning run scored on a sacrifice bunt.  MacPherson had 6 strikeouts in her 7 innings on the mound.

In the playoff games leading up to the Semi-final, the Gators pitching was perfect.  Sunday morning, Heather Ryder got the start and scattered  5 hits over 6 innings to get an 8-0 shutout against Amherst Lightening - Covel.  Taylor Brown and Andi Smola were hot at the plate with three singles, Lyndsay Butler had a triple and a single, Sierra McLaren and Mackenzie Hunter both had a double and a single, and Jade McGarr hit a double.  Singles also went to Melanie Smith, Alyssa Cantalini, Heather Ryder and Stacie Cox.  In the quarter-final game Lyndsay Butler and the Gators faced the Brampton Blazers.  She allowed only 3 singles through the entire game and struck out 7 at the plate.  The game was 1-0 for the Gators after a single by Cantalini who eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Brown.  In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Gators broke open the scoring with 6 more unanswered runs.  Cantalini, Smith and Smola all hit singles, Nikki Fulton had a double and Butler and McLaren singled as the Gators forced several errors and batted around in the inning.  The final score was 7-0.

In pool play the Gators went 4-1.  The opener saw the only loss before the extra-inning semi-final in a 4-1 loss to The Original Slick Chix.  Stacie Cox threw 5 innings giving up only 1 run.  Butler came in with the game tied but couldn't hold the good hitting US opponents.  The Gators only run came from a lead off walk by Cantalini who scored on a single by Brandy Hansen. Saturday morning the Gators faced Homerun Softball.  Heather Ryder threw a no-hit gem and the offense was hot scoring 9 runs over 6 innings for a 9-0 win. Kelly Nancekivell called a great game at the plate and chipped in with a single and two runs.  The Gators then faced the WNY Adrenaline.  Brittany MacPherson and Butler combined for a the 10-2 win.  The Gators bats remained hot as they scored 2 in the first on a double by McGarr and singles by Smith and McLaren.  The game opened up in the 5th when the Gators scored 7 on 4 hits and several walks.  McLaren and Smola both had triples in the inning. Sunday morning the Gators faced the London Lightning and Lyndsay Butler threw a 1 hitter to notch the 7-0 win.  The Gators scored 4 in the 3rd inning starting with a lead-off single by Nikki Fulton, a double by Stacie Cox, a single by Butler and Ryder.  The scoring continued in the 5th when Butler singled and Ryder doubled her home.  Ryder scored on a single by Mackenzie Hunter.  In the last pool play game Cox and Ryder combined for the mercy-shortened 15-4 win over the Amherst Lightening-Kelly.  The Gators opened with an 11 run first.  After several walks and a couple of mis-played balls, Nikki Fulton came to the plate with the bases loaded and sent a ball deep to left field on a line over the 240' foot fence for a Grand Slam.  Jocelyn Hansen had two singles and scored, Brandy Hansen reached base twice as well and scored.  Michelle Reynolds had a triple and both Fulton and Sierra McLaren also had doubles in the big win.

This weekend the Gators travel to Binghamton NY to the Stop-DWI Tournament of Champions.

Compuware Invitational Fastball Classic - Canton Michigan

The Gateway Gators performed well at the prestigious 24-team Compuware Invitational Fastball Classic at Canton, Mich., with only two losses in six games, but was eliminated from play by the tournament’s double-knockout format.

Competition kicked off with a scoreless tie against Ohio. Melanie Smith and Lyndsay Butler each recorded a pair of hits, Jade McGarr had a double, and Taylor Brown reached base three times on a single and two walks. Pitcher Stacie Cox allowed four hits and had three strikeouts.

Butler helped her team to a 4-0 win over Michigan, allowing a single hit from the pitcher’s circle. Jocelyn Hansen led off a productive third inning by being hit by a pitch, and would eventually score on a McGarr double, while other run-scoring hits came from Butler, Sierra McLaren and Brittany MacPherson.

The Gators moved on capture a 7-2 win over Pittsburgh. Andi Smola and McLaren scored on a misplayed fly ball in the second inning, while Cox singled and later scored on a McLaren double in the third. Smola singled in the fourth, with Brown doubling her to third and a sacrifice fly from Hansen bringing her home, and McGarr broke the game open with a two-run homer. Consecutive hits by Cox, Butler and McLaren finished the scoring, and Butler pitched almost three innings of hitless relief for MacPherson.

A quirk of scheduling pitted the locals against the only other non-American team in their age group, Scarborough, where they prevailed with a 6-2 win. Cox scattered four hits with five strikeouts. Mackenzie Hunter doubled and Cantalini singled and stole two bases for a pair of early runs. In the fourth inning Cantalini doubled and Brown walked to set the stage for a three-run home run by Butler. McGarr drilled a ball over the fence to cap the scoring.

A 3-1 loss to Cleveland featured a long home run from McLaren for the locals’ only run, while other hits came from Brandy Hansen, Brown and Butler.

The locals were eliminated from play in a disappointing 8-1 rematch with Scarborough. MacPherson gave up four runs in three innings and Cox was unable to stem the tide for the tired group playing back-to-back games. Hunter’s RBI single in the first plated the Gators’ only run.

Gold Medal in St. Catharines Tourney for Gateway Gators

     
     The Guelph Gateway Gators took home the gold medal at the St. 
Catharines Midget softball tournament this past weekend, going a perfect
6-0 through the weekend.  In the final vs. Oakville, Stacie Cox got the 
win in a 10-0 finish scattering only 3 hits.  Offensively the Gators 
scored early in the top of the first on a lead off double by Nikki 
Fulton. Michelle Reynolds brought Fulton in with a single followed by 
another single by Alyssa Cantalini. Brittany MacPherson reached on a 
fielder's choice and later scored along with Mackenzie Hunter on a 2 RBI
single by Andi Smola.  Kelly Nancekivell also singled and both were 
brought in on a triple by Heather Ryder to end the scoring with a total 
of 6 runs. Taylor Brown had 2 singles, Ryder, Hunter and Reynolds 
followed their 1st inning successes with additional singles.
       In the semi-final, the Gators bats were on fire as they defeated 
Ancaster 18-1.  Ryder threw a mercy-shortened complete 5 innings.  At 
the plate, Nikki Fulton was a perfect 4 for 4 with 2 triples and 2 
singles.  Alyssa Cantalini had a home run, triple and single.  Brittany 
MacPherson, Stacie Cox, and Mackenzie Hunter also had multiple hits.  
Andi Smola, Kelly Nancekivell, Melanie Smith and Brandy Hansen all 
chipped in with singles.
       The closest game of the tournament was a 6-5 come-from-behind 
victory over Oakville to end pool play on Sunday morning.  Brittany 
MacPherson was on the mound for the victory notching the complete game, 
allowing 5 hits and only 1 earned run.  Gators struck first when Jocelyn
Hansen scored on a single by Melanie Smith. The Gator bats were quiet 
until the 5th when Mackenzie Hunter singled and scored on a second 
single by Kelly Nancekivell.  That tied the game at 2-2.  A couple of 
costly errors put Oakville up 5-2 after 5 complete but the Gators 
rallied in the 6th to score 4.  Cantalini walked and scored on a 1 out 
double by Reynolds.  Reynolds scored on an error. J. Hansen singled and 
scored on a single by Cox, who also scored on a wild pitch. MacPherson 
started the next inning with a 6-5 lead and made no mistakes shutting 
Oakville down to notch the win.
      In pool play the Gateway Gators first defeated Haldimand 10-1.  
MacPherson and Cox combined on the mound.  Offensively Andi Smola had a 
double and 2 singles, Lyndsay Butler had a triple and a single and 
Melanie Smith had 2 singles.  MacPherson, Ryder, Cox and J. Hansen also 
had hits.  Next the Gators defeated the home team St. Catharines 8-4.  
Heather Ryder got the win going the distance and notching 6 strikouts.  
Stacie Cox was hot at the plate with 3 singles.  Sierra McLaren and 
Cantalini had doubles. The final game Saturday was a close one.  The 
Gators faced Ancaster and narrowly won 2-0.  Stacie Cox threw a great 
game on the mound allowing only 4 hits with 7 stikeouts.  The game was 
scoreless until the 5th when Smola singled and was moved to second on a 
great sacrifice bunt by Cantalini.  Ryder then scored Smola hitting a 
triple to left field.  In the 6th, Hunter singled and was moved to 
second by a great Taylor Brown bunt.  Jocelyn Hansen singled which 
brought home Hunter for the final run of the game.
      In Grand Valley action, the Gateway Midget Gators took to the 
field on Victoria Day and defeated Palmertson'94 15-0.  Lyndsay Butler 
threw a 1 hitter gem notching 8 strikeouts and went 3 for 4 at the plate
with 4 RBI's.  Mackenzie Hunter was also 3 for 4 with 4 RBI's.  The 
following night, the Gators were in Kitchener to defeat the Klassics 
8-1.  Heather Ryder got the win giving up only 3 hits and recording 6 
strikeouts.  She also helped her cause at the plate with 2 doubles and a
single.  Cox and MacPherson had multiple hits and Nancekivell, McLaren 
and Fulton all had singles.
    The Gators are hosting an invitational tournament this weekend at 
Exhibition Park featuring 4 of Ontario's premier Tier 1 teams.  Games 
begin at 9am Saturday and run through Sunday on the main diamond with 
the finals beginning Sunday at 4pm.  Come out to support the team and 
enjoy some great softball!

Gators perfect at rain-shortened Brampton tournament

The Midget Guelph Gateway Gators played a rain shortened tournament on the weekend in Brampton.  They finished with a 3-0 record before the tournament was cancelled.

Friday night the Gators faced off agains the Brantford Bobcats, defeating them 10-0 in 5 innings.  Lyndsay Butler got the win going three innings giving up only 2 hits and notching 7 strikeouts.  Brittany MacPherson finished with 2 innings of solid relief, again with only 2 hits and a strikeout.  At the plate, the Gators scored early.  Nikki Fulton drew a walk, Stacie Cox singled, Mackenaie Hunter also drew a walk  before Heather Ryder hit a hard ball back to the pitcher allowing a speedy Fulton to scamper home.  Butler had a sacrifice fly to score Hunter and MacPherson singled home Ryder to notch 3 runs in the first inning.  Taylor Brown and Ryder had doubles, and singles went to Fulton, Brandy Hansen and Andi Smola.

Game 2 was an 11-0 victory over Halton Hills.  Heather Ryder got the win combining with Brittany MacPherson for 5 perfect innings.  Each had 2 strikeouts. Offensively, the Gators scored  4 in the first.  After a walk was issued to Alyssa Cantalini,  Lyndsay Butler cracked a homerun to score 2.  Michelle Reynolds and Fulton singled and scored in the inning on a fielder's choice by Andi Smola and a single by Stacie Cox.  They broke the game open in the second scoring 6 more unanswered runs.  Additional hits went to Mackenzie Hunter, Brandy Hansen, Jocelyn Hansen, Lyndsay Butler and Alyssa Cantalini.  Michelle Reynolds had a perfect game at the plate going 3 for 3 with 3 RBI's and Kelly Nancekivell had a double and a single.

Game 3 saw the Gators strike first scoring 4 runs in the top of the first against the Mississauga North Tigers eventually defeating them 6-0 in a rain shortened 5 innings.  Back to back triples by Nikki Fulton and Stacie Cox were followed by a  Lyndsay Butler single, a double by Heather Ryder and a single by Brittany MacPherson. They would score two more in the 3rd with RBI hits by Cox and Butler. Melanie Smith was solid at third making three great plays to keep Mississauga off the basepaths. Stacie Cox went the distance on the mound throwing a 2 hit shut out with 2 strikeout and 3 walks.

Both Grand Valley league games this week were cancelled but they are hoping to play the '94 Palmerston Marlins at 3pm on Monday afternoon at Exhibition Stadium.

Gators 3rd at Opening Weekend in Brantford

The Guelph Gateway Midget Gators began the season this past weekend with a tournament in Brantford.  The bats were working as the Gators had 53 hits over 6 games to finish third with a record of 3-2-1.  
Game one in pool play saw the Gators face Bramalea for an 11-0 win.  Brittany MacPherson threw a complete game shut out scattering only 2 hits with 6 stikeouts. Lyndsay Butler had 2 singles while Stacie Cox, Alyssa Cantalini, Heather Ryder, Kelly Nancekivel and MacPherson added single hits.  
The Scarborough Rays proved to be tough competition in game 2 where the Gators lost 2-1.  Butler & Cox  combined with a gem allowing only 2 runs, but the Rays held the Gators to only two hits which went to MacPherson and Mel Smith.  Michelle Reynolds scored the only run for the Gators.  
In the final pool game, Guelph tied London 5-5.  Ryder threw 3 innings and MacPherson held London until the bottom of the 4th when our bats came alive.  MacPherson started the run with a solo homerun.  Ryder followed with a 2 RBI single.  Cox had a strong game at the plate again with a double and a single, scoring twice.  Butler and Hunter chipped in with singles as well.
Finishing second int heir pool behind Scarborough meant the Gators defeated the Oakville Angels 11-0 in their first playoff Sunday.  Lindsay Butler got the win throwing 4 innings with 8 strikeouts and allowed only 1 hit.  Ryder finished off the game on the mound.  Overall the team had 10 hits Brandy Hansen had two singles and Ryder had a triple and a single.  Smith, J. Hansen, Butler, Nancekivel, Brown and Reynolds all contributed with singles.
The semi-final was a tough 5-4 extra inning loss to the Brampton Blazers.  Ryder and Cox pitched well against a great hitting team, giving up 3 runs each. Kelly Nacekivel had 2 hits and 2 RBIs. cox chipped in with two hits of her own.
The Bronze medal final also went to extra innings but the Gators came out on top 10-6 against the Mississauga North Tigers.  MacPherson and Butler combined for the win on the mound.  Alyssa Cantalini had a triple while Nacekivel had three hits.  5 other Gators had multiple hits in the final game.  The first weekend of the series produced 53hits and 41 runs over 6 games by the Midget Gators and the pitchers held their opposition to only 12 earned runs.

In their first Grand Valley League game at home on Tuesday night, the Gateway Gators defeated the Cambridge Coyotes 8-0 in 5 innings.  Stacey Cox threw a 2 hit shutout and got the win with 13 strikeouts. At the plate Lyndsay Butler hit a triple, Brandy Hansen had a double and a single.  Andi Smola, Alyssa Cantalini, Heather Ryder, Jocelyn Hansen, Michelle Reynolds, Mel Smith, and Stacie Cox all contributed with singles.

The Gators are in Brampton this weekend.