Blaze Red competes at nationals

The Mason Dixon Blaze Red 14U team finished 8-1 to earn a second place finish securing a berth to PONY Nationals in Cary, N.C. From left, are: first row - Julie Garlick, Shayla Murray, Erin Garns, Shayna Baughman; second row - Karah Knight, Bethany Stavrakas, Amber Crider; third row - Katie Shaak, Diamond Byers, Rachel Kline, Jenna Crunkleton and Brittany Norling.

CARY, N. C. - The Mason Dixon Blaze Red went undefeated in pool play on Saturday and Sunday to earn the top seed heading into double elimination play at PONY Nationals.

The Blaze opened pool play with a 3-0 shutout of the Hudson Valley Hurricanes (New York). Shayla Murray led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk and Rachel Kline and Jenna Crunkleton executed bunt singles to load the bases with nobody out. Diamond Byers walked to force in a run. Amber Crider (courtesy runner for Kline) scored the second run on a wild pitch. The Blaze scored their third run as Kline drilled a double off the left centerfield fence, then scored on a single by Katie Shaak.

Kline pitched a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts in six innings and gave up just one walk.

The bats came alive in the second game as the Blaze ended the game early via the mercy rule with a 12-1 victory over the Central Jersey Cyclones Saturday. The Blaze scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning, then pushed across five runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Blaze added four more runs in the fourth inning. Karah Knight had two hits (triple) and a sacrifice fly to lead the hitting attack. Brittany Norling added a double and Kline drove in three runs with a bases loaded triple.

Erin Garns gave up just two hits in four innings earning the victory in the circle.

The Blaze finished pool play Sunday with a 3-1 win over Plainville Pride (Mass.) With the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the fourth inning Katie Shaak led off with a double in the gap in right center. Julie Garlick coaxed a base on balls and Garns reached first base on a bunt base hit. With the bases loaded Brittany Norling lined a bases clearing double to left field as the Blaze took a 3-0 lead. Plainville pushed across an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning to close the score to 3-1.

Kline pitched a three-hitter with seven strikeouts to earn her second victory of the tournament.

The Blaze earned the trip to nationals by finishing second during the Firecracker Classic held July 6 to 8. The Blaze earned the top seed by finshing with six wins against no losses in pool play giving up only 14 runs while scoring 63 runs.

The Blaze opened pool play on Friday with a 10-2 victory over Meridan Mayham (Conn.), then posted a 9-5 victory over the New Jersey Panthers. Blaze ended Friday's pool play with a come-from-behind 6-5 victory against the Bayside Blues (Md.). The Blaze continued its win streak with a 5-0 victory over the Connecticut Charmers and also shut out New Jersey Purple Clash, 11-0. The Blaze continued its torrid hitting, posting a 16-2 victory against the Long Island Fever (N.Y.), which placed the Blaze into the number one seed entering into championship play on Sunday.

The Blaze shut out the New Jersey Panthers 11-0 sending them into the semifinals against the fourth seed Cumberland County Magic. The Blaze prevailed with a hard fought 7-6 victory over Magic to advance to the championship game against the Tri State Thunder.

In the title game, the Blaze gave up five runs in the top of the third inning, but pushed across two runs in its half of the third. The Blaze narrowed the gap to two runs in the sixth inning, but were unable to overcome six miscues in the field as they went down to defeat 8-3, despite outhitting the Thunder.

The second place finish secured the bid to the PONY Nationals. The Blaze team batting average was an impressive .427 led by Rachel Kline (.640), Jenna Crunkleton (.600), Katie Shaak (.565), Julie Garlick (.481), and Brittany Norling (.391). Kline recorded four wins and one save while tossing two shutouts. Erin Garns also recorded four wins while throwing one shutout in the tournament.

Players inculde Shayla Murray, Kline, Crunkleton, Diamond Byers, Shaak, Garlick, Shayna Baughman, Bethany Stavrakas, Norling, Garns, Karah Knight and Amber Crider.

The Mason Dixon Blaze Red 14U team finished in third place in a PONY National Qualifier in Winchester, Va. refore leaving for nationals.

The Blaze earned a number 4 seed during pool play on Saturday as they defeated CT Charmers (Conn.) 10-2. The second game of the day the Blaze outscored the Ashburn Shooting Stars (VA.) 11-3. The Maryland Flames squeezed by the Blaze 6- 5 in the final pool play game of the day. The Blaze opened championship play on Sunday with an 8-0 shutout victory over host Shenandoah Valley Mavericks Blue. The Blaze posted a 8- 4 victory vs. Manassas Blaze (VA.) earning a spot in the semifinals against the top seeded Vienna Stars (VA.). The Stars pushed across a run in the fourth inning taking a 1-0 lead. The lead held until the Blaze scored one run in the top half of the sixth inning. The international tie breaking rule was implemented in the seventh inning, which allows the runner that made the last out in the previous inning to start at second base in the beginning of the inning. The Blaze failed to score in their half of the inning and Stars scored the winning run on a game ending base hit with two outs.