2014 Overall Record:  57 - 8 - 1

Outscored opponents:  623 - 134

Accolades:  6 Tournament Championships / USSSA 14U-Open State Champions / 5th place at USSSA World Series in Kansas / 2 National USSSA World Series Berths / 1 Tournament 3rd place / 1 Indoor League Championship

Coaching Staff:

Kevin LaPoint - Head Coach/Manager
Assistant Coaches - Todd & Karri VandenLangenberg, Pete Weber

Players:

• Sydney LaPoint (Suamico, WI) *Age 13
• Emily Higgins (Pulaski, WI) *Age 13
• Raven Vanden Langenberg (Seymour, WI) *Age 13
• Mariah Hermsen (Ashwaubenon, WI) *Age 13
• Bethany Weber (Green Bay, WI) *Age 14
• Jacie Legois (Luxemburg/Casco, WI) *Age 14
• Natalia Draghicchio (Suamico, WI) *Age 14
• Alexis Tingley (Howard, WI) *Age 14
• Sydney Johnson (Suamico, WI) *Age 14
• Katie Conard (Suamico, WI) *Age 14
• Gabrielle Every (Suamico, WI) *Age 14
• Mikayla Haack (Algoma, WI) *Age 14
• Taylor Arbour (Howard, WI) *Age 14 
• Alexa Schroeder (Suamico, WI) *Age 14

Congratulations to our hard-working young ladies for their 5th Place overall finish out of 56 teams at the USSSA 14u World Series in Lawrence, Kansas!!  Awesome way to finish our best season to date!!  

We began the week-long World Series on Monday with a great day of Opening Ceremonies and socializing with some of the best teams in the Midwest.  Everyone had a blast!  On Tuesday the pool games began with the heat index reaching 115-deg, then fought hard all week to reach Day 6 on championship Saturday.  We came into the 56 team field with the 5th best USSSA Power Ranking of all the teams, so we felt pretty good about that heading in.  We battled hard all week and didn't lose a game in this double-elimination tournament until very late in the tournament on the night of Day 5, in which we came up short by 1 run late in the game to the eventual World Series Champions.  On Day 6 of championship Saturday, we won our first game and then finished 1 game short of reaching the Final Four.  After all the dust settled, we came out finishing 5th place overall; and although we didn't come home with the title, we did finish the tournament with the #1 Power Ranking out of all the teams!!   

Results:  

Day 1 (Opening Ceremonies)

Day 2 (Pool Play): Tied the Pink Panthers from Salina, KS (8-8), then beat the Northern Illinois Thunder Silver from Sugar Grove, IL (9-2)

Day 3 (Pool Play): Beat the highly-ranked Smithville Sting of Smithville, MO (6-4) to earn the #1 seed in our pool

Day 4 (Bracket Play): Started off with a bye, then beat the Kansas Titans from Olathe, KS (9-1)

Day 5 (Bracket Play): Beat the Stingrays from Palatine, IL (11-2) to reach the Elite 8 in the tourney, then lost our first game of the tourney to the eventual champions - Topeka Nemesis of Topeka, KS (3-4), then finished the night by beating the Mud Turtles of Baxter Springs, KS in another tight game (7-6)

Day 6 (Bracket Play): Beat the Oklahoma Nemesis of Tulsa, OK (5-2), then lost our final game to the X-Factor 99s of Ottawa, KS (5-8)

As a coach/manager/dad of these wonderful young ladies, I couldn't be more proud of what we've built together.  The successes these girls have accomplished over these past 4 years have not come easy, it took a group of athletes and families to come together in the belief that success in this game can only be realized by surrounding each other with others that were willing to put in the time and dedication.  Countless year-round practices, hard work, team chemistry, and the act of putting others ahead of ourselves is how success has been accomplished here.  We are all so proud of these girls and families.  Awesome season ladies!! More success to come...

Congratulations to our amazing young ladies for bringing home the USSSA Wisconsin State Open Championship!!

The team went 7-1 on the weekend by outscoring the opposition 42-12.  In pool play, the girls defeated the Kenosha Cyclones 9-3, then the Beloit Toxic 14-2 to earn the #1 overall seed heading into double-elimination bracket play.  Started bracket play by defeating the Wisconsin Twisters '99 team 3-1, then beat the Ignite quickly 8-0.  Lost in the winner's bracket semifinal to a very good New Berlin Heat Red 0-3.  Had to drop down to the loser's bracket for a game and beat the Wisconsin Twisters in a tight one 1-0 (which included stellar defensive play by our Katie Conard - and diving outfield catches by our outfielders that stepped up and knew they had to be aggressive all weekend).  With the win, we earned the right to play again the New Berlin Heat Red team, but to win the championship we would have to beat them two times...and we did, by winning the first game 5-2 and then taking the Championship in the most thrilling game of the tournament 2-1!!  Game was tied in the bottom of the seventh inning, with Katie Conard coming through with an RBI to bring home the winning run...and our first State Championship!!  Congrats to all of our entire team for every single player stepping up to the challenge on a long Sunday by playing awesome both defensively and offensively.  Notable were our pitchers (Syd and Alexa) for facing very experienced batters all weekend, with one of the best catchers out there in our Natalia Draghicchio anchoring things behind the plate.  Home runs, hard line drives, small-ball, and smart base running by our offense will put pressure on every opponent at all times.  Defensively, this team is solid.  There is no quit in the hearts of these girls - they know what it takes to win by digging in with dedication and hard work, all year round...and for that we couldn't be any prouder.

Congratulations to our girls for taking 3rd out of 29 teams in the Eau Claire Fastpitch Classic which draws very good teams from multiple states.  Our ladies went 5-1 on the weekend and outscored the opposition 56-6.

Results:  Earned the #1 overall seed in pool play by only giving up 1 run in three games.  Defeated the Seymour Flames - Eau Claire, WI 11-1, then beat the Hudson Raiders - Hudson, WI 5-0, then finished up pool play by beating the Blizzard - Chanhassen, MN 15-0 in 3 innings (no-hitter thrown by Sydney LaPoint).  Entered the Gold Bracket with a bye as the #1 overall seed and played the Hudson Raiders in the Quarterfinal and won 14-0.  In the semifinal game, we lost in extra innings to a well-built team the MN Rampage - St. Michael, MN 4-5 (game incl. a 2-run home run blast in the final regulation inning to force overtime by Mariah Hermsen).  Finished the weekend taking 3rd overall out of 29 teams.  Everyone played their hearts out once again to make our organization proud!

Congratulations goes out to our ladies for winning the USSSA National World Series Qualifier Tournament hosted at the Field of Dreams tourney in Green Bay, WI.  With the tournament win, our ladies earned a berth and the right to represent Wisconsin at the USSSA National World Series in Kansas City, KS!! 

The team went 6-1 on the weekend and outscored the opposition 38-14.  During Saturday's pool play, the girls outlasted the WI Elite 2-1, then quickly beat the Racine Belles 10-0 in 3 innings (incl. a 235' home run blast by Raven VandenLangenberg ) to earn the #2 overall seed.  Entering the double-elimination bracket play, we again beat the Racine Belles 9-0, then Green Bay Preble 8-4.  On Sunday, we beat the very solid #1 seed Fox River Rush 4-1 (Syd LaPoint pitched a 1-hitter to limit the Rush's offense).  On Sunday evening we played the Rush again, this time they got us 7-4.  Since this was our first loss of the tourney, we got another chance to win the Championship immediately after - and in doing so both teams played their hearts out and we witnessed the best game of the tournament.  The girls dug deep and came out on top this time, winning the 7 inning grudge match 2-1 to take the tourney Championship and earn a National World Series berth!  A ton of credit goes out to our defense for their solid performance diving for balls and turning double plays when we needed them the most.  Our girls have worked so hard over the past four years together, it's wonderful to see everything coming together and witnessing their successes individually and as a team!!  This is the 5th tournament championship in a row for our program this season - we are so very proud of you girls!!

*** And a special congrats as well to our Sydney LaPoint for being awarded the All-Tournament MVP!!! by the tournament staff, opposing coaches, and umpiring crew.

Congratulations to our ladies for taking home the Championship at the Appleton Rockers Kick-Off Classic Tournament!!  16 very good teams battled throughout the 3-day weekend, and our girls won the war - outscoring the opposition 40-15.  This is the 4th tournament championship in a row for our girls who fought hard all weekend amongst very competitive opponents.  It was a great test and measure for our team to see where our progress is at as a team.  In pool play on Friday night, we started a little off-balance and fell short to the very experienced Oshkosh Raiders 3-6, but then dug in and never looked back to win 6 straight.  In the second pool game, we faced another very good team Stevens Point, and won 7-3.  The third pool game we faced the Players Choice Panthers and cruised to a 7-1 win to earn the #5 seed in the brackets.  Saturday night the girls shut-out the Appleton Rockers 6-0.  In the Quarterfinal we beat the Players Choice Panthers again 3-2.  The Semifinal game was the most exciting game of the weekend where we beat the WI Bandits Black team after tied-up 0-0 after 5 innings, to get a come-from-behind win in the bottom of the 6th inning 2-1.  In the Championship game late on Sunday, our ladies finished the tournament out strong by defeating Marshfield Fastpitch 12-2 to take home the title.  

Congratulations to our young ladies for taking home another tournament Championship!  This is the third in a row for our girls.  The ladies finished the weekend with a 4-0 overall record, outscoring the competition 53-3 (giving up 0 earned runs).  The #1 seed going into bracket play was earned by beating Hortonville 15-1, then Luxemburg-Casco 10-2.  In Sunday's games the girls defeated Seymour Thunder 12-0 in 4 innings by limiting them to only 1 hit by Lex & Syd, then finished the tournament by defeating Appleton North Sizzle 16-0 in 3 innings with a combined no-hitter by Alexis Tingley and Sydney LaPoint.  Also notable was Raven VandenLangenberg's 7 for 8 hitting on the weekend.  The start of the season shows much promise for another great season by these hard-working ladies!

Congrats to our 14u ladies for capturing their second tournament championship in as many weeks.  Although only 4 teams were in the one-day mini-tournament, the girls played all games with the same preparation, gametime intensity and focus required to prepare for the long upcoming summer tournament schedule.  Our team swept through the competition by defeating the Mequon Heat Red 14-2 in the semifinal, then took the title by defeating the host team Waupun Eclipse 14-0.  Combined pitching by Sydney LaPoint & Alexis Tingley was once again performed with control through the opposition's lineups.  The girls outscored the competition 28-2 on the day (which included 3 home runs - by Raven VandenLangenberg, Emily Higgins, and Mariah Hermsen).  Also, adding to the offensive arsenal were Sydney LaPoint (5 for 8 - 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 singles), Katie Conard (5 for 8 - 3 doubles, 2 singles), Mikayla Haack (5 for 8 - 1 triple, 4 singles), Alexis Tingley (5 for 7 - 2 doubles, 3 singles), and Beth Weber (3 for 7).

Congratulations goes out to our 14u ladies for starting the 2014 summer season with a tournament Championship!!  The girls had to endure 6 games all in one day, but thanks to a hard off-season training program our girls got it done.  The team earned a 6-0 record and outscored the opposition 113-3.  Opened up the day in Pool play by defeating the Madison Hatters 18-0, then beat Mequon Heat 31-0, then finished up pool play by beating N. Fond du Lac 23-2 to earn the #1 overall seed.  In the quarterfinal the girls beat the Batavia Crush 17-0, semifinal beat Two Rivers Jr. Raiders 11-1, then wrapped up the championship by defeating Bay Port 13-0.  The team run-ruled every team on the day.  Defensively, we witnessed steller pitching by Alexis Tingley, Sydney LaPoint, and Raven VandenLangenberg which limited the opponents to only 4 total hits on the day, and 0 earned runs (including 3 no-hitters).  Offensively, the team collected 113 runs on 96 hits (included 4 home runs - Katie Conard, Mariah Hermsen, and Cassie Foytik).  A special thanks goes out to Cassie Foytik, Camryn Baenen, and Chloe Evans for filling in for our HS freshman who could not play this weekend.

Great start ladies!! All of your year-round training and hard-work ethic is paying off!!  Now let's see what else we can do this year!!

Congrats to our 14u team for earning another Players Choice Winter Indoor League Championship in Appleton, WI. The team went undefeated with a 7-0 overall record, outscoring opponents 70-16.  Great start for another exciting season!