Final thoughts by Rich (6/16/2006)

Note:  What follows are the thoughts and opinions of me (Rich) and me only.  Coach Rick Bridgens and Coach Bill Murphy are invited to supply their own thoughts separately, if they desire.
 
The first thing I have to say is, where did the season go?  At least for me, that had to be the fastest two months ever.  It seemed like only yesterday that the player evaluations where being held.
 
I must say that this has been a very enjoyable season for me.  Not only because you girls won the league championship, but because of the people you are.  You were a terrific and easy group of girls to coach; you were respectful at all times, listened to the coaches, and played hard.
 
I want to thank all the members of the team.  You gave me great joy this season.
 
Some highlights of this season (not complete, by any means):
 

• Our many epic battles with Pitt during the season and the playoffs.


• The night game at Kimberton on April 18th (which we won 16-6).


• Back-to-back shutouts of Michigan on April 19th and April 24th.


• The game with Pitt on April 29th.  After trailing 7-0 and 8-4 entering the seventh inning, we explode for eight runs with two out and win 12-8.


• Sammy's homerun against Michigan on May 2nd.

 
And the playoffs (a book could probably be written about them):
 

• In the first playoff game against Clemson, trailing 5-4 entering the seventh inning, scoring four runs to win 8-5.


• After losing to Pitt 2-1, beating Michigan 10-7 in extra innings, again coming from behind to tie the game at six in the sixth inning and scoring four in the eighth inning to ultimately win the game.


• Beating Pitt 15-8 to set up one game for the championship.


• Beating Pitt 4-2 to win the 2006 ARA Senior Girls' Softball Championship!

 
To the 16 (and older) girls, Emily, Kati, and Megan Stewart:  thank you for playing.  I hope you all enjoyed the time you played in ARA and especially this season.  You will be missed.
 
Final kudos to the girls on the team:
 

• Jenny Rose Bridgens:  great team spirit, always supported her teammates and was a solid defensive player.


• Nicole Bridgens:  technically not old enough to play in Seniors' yet, but held her own by always giving her best.


• Meghan Chambers:  also had awesome team spirit.  She unfortunately missed some time due to an injury she suffered in a game.  She showed consistent improvement throughout the season.


• Ashley Harkins: a gritty player, anchored our infield by playing great at shortstop.


• Meredith Hassett:  always played very, very hard and show constant improvement.  She had a one of the best batting eyes I've seen (she very seldom swung at bad pitches and had a lot of walks) and had several key hits during the season.


• Taylor Moran:  loved to play, was a good hitter throughout the season.


• Megan Murphy:  the backbone of our defense, our catcher, The Wall, and incredibly, was a an even better hitter than last year (and she was pretty decent then).  She was our best hitter during the playoffs.


• Emily Seeberger:  a consistent hitter and had many clutch hits, including a key one during the championship game.


• Samantha Seeberger:  AKA Sammy, was a tough hitter and hit the only home run all season!


• Julie Sjostrom:  played tremendous at first base, showed an incredible ability to stretch for throws (which allowed many key outs during the season) and was a good hitter.


• Kati Sjostrom:  another one with great team spirit, came to games even when she could not play because of a bad back and was a good hitter when she did play.


• Megan Stewart:  once again, just like last year, hit great and caused the opposition great headaches when she was on base.


• Maggie Thomas:  tried hard, had a hit in the championship game that cost me $5 (which I was very happy to pay).


• Danielle Troisi:  a truly awesome all-around player, one of the best I've seen.  The thing I remember about her, however, is that she always seemed to have a smile on her face.


• Nicole Troisi:  another one technically too young for Seniors'.  By the way she played, however, no one would say she didn't belong; she was great all season and pitched a complete game in the championship.


• Jessica Walchonski:  words cannot describe how valuable Jess was to this team.  This was her first year in Seniors'.  We asked a lot of her pitching wise; she came through brilliantly, showed poise beyond her years, and never complained.  This was especially noteworthy in the playoffs; she came into pitch in the middle of one game (and bailed us out), pitched the last inning in the extra inning game, and pitched four innings in the game before the championship to save innings.  Also, she was a good hitter, to boot.

 
I am very, very proud of all of you.  It was my greatest honor and privilege to be one of your coaches.  I hope you all play next year; I would not be upset to have all of you on the team again!
 
All of you have a great summer and year.  Just in case I don't ever see or talk to some of you again, I hope you a have a long, wonderful, happy life.  Remember, you are champions!!!
 
All the best,
 
Coach Rich Thomas

Championship game vs. Pitt 6/10/2006 (W 4-2)

We are the Champions!!!
 
Words cannot describe how happy the coaches are for you and how very proud of you we are for the effort you provided in winning the championship.  You played a flawless defensive game and on offensive took advantage of opportunities when they became available.  This was all against one the best pitchers in the league.  Of course, our pitching was pretty decent as well!
 
Kudos to:
 

• Nicole Troisi, game ball, pitched an awesome complete game, allowed only three hits and four walks and struck out 13.


• Emily, game ball, had a crucial hit in the first inning to drive in a run with two outs.


• Sammy, had a hit and a walk and scored the crucial third run.


• Taylor, had a hit and a walk and scored the crucial fourth run with great hustle on the base paths.


• Megan Murphy, anchored the top of the order with two hits and a run scored.


• Maggie, had a hit.


• Jenny Rose, great defensive play on a line drive.

 
All of you should be proud of yourselves.  You won this championship with your effort and teamwork.  Hopefully, as the years pass, you will remember this championship as a happy memory.  You have done this for the coaches.
 
Remember, this is an accomplishment that no one can take away from you!
 
Way to go, girls!
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T

Playoff Game vs. Pitt 6/5/2006 (W 15-8)

We win again!
 
Fortunately for the poor coaches' nerves, this one was not a close game.  You did what you had to do to win this game; took it to the opponents early and often.  There was good offensive balance during this game.  Eleven (11) players had hits, 11 players scored runs, and all 16 players were on base at least one time!  Everyone did something good during this game.  Way to go, girls!
 
Kudos to (everyone could be mentioned here):
 

• Jenny Rose, game ball, for a monster double.


• Meghan Chambers, had a hit, two walks, and scored two runs.


• Nicole Bridgens, also hit a monster double and had two runs batted in.


• Danielle, had two hits and four runs batted in.


• Emily, had two hits.


• Kati, had two hits and two runs scored.


• Taylor, had two runs batted in.


• Jessica, (once again) pitched four strong innings to save pitching innings for others.

 
We very proud of you all and no matter what happens in the championship game will still be proud.  Congratulations!
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Playoff Game vs. Michigan 6/4/2006 (W 10-7)

We won!!!
 
Wow.  That's all I can think to say after this game.  This was another tight, tense (extra inning) game.  Once again, however, you girls came through and did what was necessary to win this game.  The coaches are (once again) very proud of you all!
 
Kudos to:
 

• Meredith, game ball, had a critical hit in the fifth inning to drive in two runs.  For the game, she had a hit and two walks and three runs batted in.


• Kati, game ball, for a double in the seventh inning that was absolutely CRUSHED.


• Megan Murphy, three hits, including a triple, a walk, three runs and two runs batted in.


• Meghan Chambers, had a clutch hit in our four run explosion in the eight inning.


• Taylor, a hit and two walks and made two good defensive plays.


• Julie, a hit and two walks and two runs scored.

 
And last but certainly not least, special kudos to:
 

• Jessica, came in to pitch in the eighth inning and calmly got the outs necessary to close out the game.

 
Great game girls!
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.
 

Playoff Game vs. Pitt 6/3/2006 (L 2-1)

Girls, even though we lost this game, there is absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed of.  This was a very well played game by both teams.  We, the coaches, are very, very proud of the way you played the game and the way you cheered for each other.
 
Kudos to:
 

• Megan Murphy, game ball, had two of our three hits, with a monster triple and a double and scored our only run.


• Ashley, had the other hit, a double.


• Nicole Troisi, pitched four strong innings, allowed only one run, no walks, three hits, and had eight strikeouts.


• Danielle, pitched three strong innings, allowed only one run, one hit, and had six strikeouts.

 
Remember, this is only our first loss, so we are not out of this yet!  If you continue to play as well as you did today, the probabilities are low that we will lose again.
 
Again, we are very pleased with your effort today.
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Playoff Game vs. Clemson 5/30/2006 (W 8-5)

We win!  Yessssss!
 
This game was definitely a struggle.  Our opponent played us tough throughout the game and even had a one run lead entering the seventh inning.  To your credit, however, you did not give up and got the hits necessary to go ahead an ultimately win the game.  A great comeback, one to be proud of.
 
Kudos to:
 

• Jessica, game ball, three hits in three at bats, including a clutch hit in the seventh inning to drive in two runs.  She also came in to pitch with the bases loaded an pitched us out of the jam.  We probably should have given her two game balls for her efforts!


• Danielle, two hits, both critical.  One hit drove in two runs, the other started the game winning rally in the seventh inning.


• Nicole Troisi, shut the opponent down with three shutout innings pitched.


• Meghan Chambers, had two hits.

 
One game down.  Time to win the next one.  Great game, girls!
 
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Pitt 5/20/2006 (W 8-6)

No surprise, another nail biter again a team that has become our arch-rivals.  For the most part we played a good game; hit when we needed to and got outs when we needed to.  There are things that we can improve on (aren't there always?).
 
Kudos to:
 

• Nicole T., game ball, pitched four strong innings and shut the opponent down.


• Megan Stewart, had two hits and 3 runs batted in.


• Jessica, continued her hot hitting, had two more hits.


• Sammy, had two runs batted in.


• Maggie, on her 14th birthday!  Happy Birthday.

 
Good game, girls.  We now prepare for the playoffs.  The coaches very confident in our chances!
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Pitt 5/15/2006 (Rain 2-1)

This was another tight, tense game, which is usually the case when we play Pitt.  We were winning 2-1 and playing very well when the rains came in the third inning and wiped out the game.  I really think we had an excellent chance to win this game.
 
Kudos to:
 

• Julie, game ball, for hitting a double to drive in a run and also scoring a run.


• Taylor, showed great patience at the plate to draw a walk and score a run.


• Megan Murphy, gunned down a runner attempting to steal second (when will they learn?).

 
A short game well played by the team.  Great job, girls!
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Michigan 5/13/2006 (L 9-8)

This was a real tough game.  We got behind early, but gradually chipped away at the lead to get within one.  We gave ourselves a chance, but came up just one run short.  This will happen in softball sometimes.
 
As Mr. B. said, it was not a bad game, but our defense can play much better.  I'm confident that it will.
 
Kudos to:
 

• Emily, game ball, at a critical moment in the game threw a runner out at home from the outfield.


• Jessica, yet again pitched a complete game when we asked her to (adds to her iron-person reputation).  She also scored two runs.


• Megan Murphy, had four walks (must be some kind of record) and scored three runs.


• Ashley, had a solid defensive game at shortstop (five assists).

 
Special Kudos to:
 

• The Sjostroms, for the wonderful pizza party after the game!

 
Even though we came up short, there were positive signs.  If we concentrate on that we'll do just fine.
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Clemson 5/8/2006 (W 11-1)

This game was more like it!  Everything was clicking -- hitting, pitching, defense -- it was all there.  A great game, a dominating performance, one to be proud of.
 
Kudos to:
 

• Megan Murphy, game ball, two hits in two at-bats, including the game ending triple that caused the 10-run rule to be invoked.  She also scored two runs and had three runs batted in.


• Emily, hit the ball hard twice, got a double, and was unlucky the other time.


• Nicole Bridgens, had two runs batted in.


• Nicole Troisi, pitched four strong innings, allowed only one hit, one run, and struck out eight.

 
Way to go, girls!!!
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Michigan 5/7/2006 (T 14-14)

This was an interesting game.  For the most part, we outplayed our opponents; we out hit them 17 to six.  If someone had told me that we would score 14 run and not win the game, I would have told them that they were crazy.
 
What happened is that our defense let us down.  For some reason, on defense, we were not thinking about where to throw the ball when we got it.  I think it may have been just one of those days; this is the first really bad defensive game we've had all season.  I know we'll do better from now on.
 
The good news is that the hitting was awesome!  We had 14 runs on 17 hits.  That is not too shabby at all!
 
Kudos to:
 

• Sammy, game ball, hit a home run!!!!  She had two other hits as well, making her three for three for the game.


• Megan Stewart, had two hits, including a triple, scored two runs, and had three runs batted in.


• Nicole Troisi, scored two runs and had two runs batted in.


• Danielle, had a triple.

 
It was a great offensive explosion, girls.  I'm confident that we'll tighten up the defense in the future.
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Pitt 5/6/2006 (L 3-2)

This one was a tight pitchers duel; each team only had three hits.  We had runners on base nearly every inning, but somehow just couldn't get them in.  No big deal, that will happen sometimes.
 
Kudos to:
 

• Danielle, game ball, for a spectacular, diving catch on a foul ball while playing third base.  She also pitched three hitless and scoreless innings.


• Ashley, handled a hot smash at shortstop and threw the batter out.


• Nicole Bridgens, was on base twice and scored a run.

 
All in all, the team did not play badly in this game.
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Pitt 5/3/2006 (W 8-4)

Unfortunately, I (Mr. T.), only saw the last inning of this game (due to a pet emergency), but the team must have played a great game to hang in there in a close game and score runs to go ahead and ultimately win the game in the sixth inning.  The batters in that inning showed great patience to take the walks when the other team's pitcher had trouble throwing strikes.
 
Kudos to (some of this may not be right because it's from hearsay):
 

• Taylor, game ball, had two hits and threw two runners out at first base from right field.


• Megan Murphy, two hits and two runs scored.


• Danielle, hit a triple, scored twice, and pitched three great innings.


• Nicole Troisi, two runs batted in and pitched four great inning.


• Julie had two runs batted in.


• Ashley had two hits.

 
Way to go, girls!  We're proud of you.
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Clemson 5/1/2006 (L 13-8)

Ok, yes, we lost this game, but it really wasn't that bad at all. There are several very good things about the game:

• Our opponents scored all their runs in the first three innings, when we only had eight players.


• We out hit the other team, 12 to 8.


• We put the ball in play, only one strikeout the entire game.

Kudos to:

• Nicole Bridgens, game ball, two hits and scored two runs.


• Meredith, continued her hot hitting, with two hits and three runs batted in.


• Jessica, had two hits (including a double), scored two runs, and pitched the entire game and allowed no runs after the third inning (when we were still short handed).


• Maggie, had two hits and three runs batted in.

This was a tough game because of the circumstances but there is nothing to be ashamed of here. You put up a great fight!

Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Pitt 4/29/2006 (W 12-8)

Wow!!! What a game!!! What a tremendous comeback!!!

I don't have the words to describe how awesome the team was, how it kept on playing hard even though we were trailing 7-0 at one point. The fact that you stuck an eight spot on the opponent in the seventh inning, all with two outs, is the most amazing thing I've seen while coaching softball. I am so proud of you all!

To recap that eight run seventh, we were trailing 8-4 at the beginning of the inning. We had eight runs (all with two out), eight hits (all but one with two outs, including two doubles), and a walk.

It is especially noteworthy that the bottom six batters in our lineup (Jessica, Meredith, Sammy, Julie, Maggie, and Meghan) had six hits and scored five runs.

Kudos to:

• Meghan Chambers, game ball, for her first two hits of the season (including a clutch hit in the seventh inning that drove in a run) and great hustle running the bases.


• Julie had a double in the seventh inning to drive in a run.


• Jenny Rose did her job in the lead-off spot, with two hits and a walk and scored two runs.


• Megan Murphy, caught four of the seven innings with a sore arm and in the seventh inning, threw out a runner trying to steal second and also threw out a batter after a missed third strike from the backstop to end the game.


• Danielle, two hits (including a bases loaded triple in the fifth inning) and five runs batted in.


• Jessica started the rally in the seventh with a hit.


• Nicole Troisi, a double in the seventh inning.


• Our cheering section, helped fire the team up with their raucous cheering.

Again, this was an incredible game; I am happy that I was there to witness it. At the risk of repeating myself, I am very, very proud of all of you. You should be proud of yourselves as well.

Mr. T.

Game vs. Michigan 4/27/2006 (Forfeit 6-8)

Michigan did not have enough players to play this game, so technically we won by forfeit; however, they did outscore us in the game 8-6.

We played decently, but not as well as we had in previous games.  It's nothing to worry about, though, you all were playing on such a high level that no one should expect you to be able to do that every single game.  On the plus side, the effort and hustle was still there.

Kudos to:

• Meridith, game ball, for her first hit and run batted in.  She hit the ball hard in her other at bat but was unlucky in that it was right at one of the other teams players.


• Emily, hit a double and drove in two runs.


• Taylor, started a double play in the field.


• Megan S., had two runs batted in.


• Megan M., took one on the shoulder for the team.


• Kati, even though she was hurt and couldn?t play, showed great team spirit by coming to the game and supporting the team.

Nothing to worry about at all.  The team is still doing great and is sure to continue to do so.

Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Michigan 4/24/2006 (W 7-0)

It's starting to sound like a broken record, but it was another great effort by the team.  There was great pitching and tight defense throughout the game.  The offense was little slow at the beginning, but broke the game open in the last two innings.
 
Kudos to:
 

• Nicole Bridgens, game ball, her first two hits resulted in three runs batted in.  Her hits were at clutch moments in the game.


• Jessica, another outstanding pitching performance; she pitched four innings, allowed no runs, only three hits, and one walk.  She also scored a run by performing one of the best slides I've ever seen; I thought sure she was out, but somehow she slid around the tag.


• Danielle, pitched three innings in relief, allowed no runs, allowed only one walk, and struck out seven.  She also had two runs batted in.


• Meghan Chambers, put the ball in play to drive in a run.


• Meredith, continued to show a good eye at the plate and drew another walk.

 
And from Mr. T., special kudos to:
 

• Mr. Rick Bridgens, for spending a lot of time preparing the field for the game.  If he doesn't spend the time he did, there would have been no game; the field would have been unplayable because of last Saturday's rain.

 
Good job, girls.  We're very proud of you!
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.
 
 

Game vs. Michigan 4/19/2006 (W 10-0)

Another domination of the opponents and great team effort.  We will be a tough team to beat if we play like we did this game!
 
It should be noted that eight different players had hits and nine different players scored runs.  That is great team balance!
 
Kudos to:
 

• Maggie, game ball, for a line drive double off one of the better pitchers in the league.


• Nicole Troisi, allowed no runs, no hits, and struck out six in four innings pitched.  She also hit a triple.


• Danielle, allowed no runs, only one hit (which was barely a hit), and struck out eight in three innings of relief pitching.


• Kati, had two hits and scored two runs.


• Taylor, hit a double.


• Meredith, showed great patience at the plate, with two walks.

 
In a word?AWESOME!  Once again, we're proud of you.  Let's keep the momentum going.  We have a three game winning streak!
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

Game vs. Kimberton Royals 4/18/2006 (W 16-6)

Nothing else can be said except total domination of this game by the team!  All of the elements came together:  pitching, offense, and defense (most of the time).
 
Kudos to:
 

• Danielle, game ball, had a single, double, and triple and five runs batted in.  The triple was one of the longest balls that we've seen hit in the three years we've been coaching in ARA.


• Jessica, another iron-person performance pitching.  Another complete game, only three walks and four hits in six innings.  All of the hits came in the last inning.


• Megan Murphy, on base four times and scored four runs.


• Megan Stewart, two hits and four runs batted in.


• Nicole Troisi, one hit but was unlocking in having a wicked line drive that almost took the third baseman's arm off caught on a deflection.


• The Team, for playing well.

 
Congratulations, girls.  We are very proud of you for this performance!
 
Mr. B. and Mr. T.

     

Game vs. Pitt 4/15/2006 (W 7-4)

Wow, what a great and exciting game! of course it's even better that we won! We are very proud of the effort the all of you girls put into this game; you all showed great hustle throughout the game.

Kudos to:

• Megan Murphy, game ball, was on base three times and scored three runs.


• Danielle, struck out 10 pitching and hit a triple.


• Nicole Troisi, struck out 10 in three innings of relief pitching and hit a double.


• Megan Stewart, had two runs batted in.


• Jessica, also had two runs batted in.

Again, it was a great performance girls.  Congratulations on the first win of many.

Mr. B and Mr. T.    

Game vs. Methacton Glory 4/10/2006 (L 9-1)

Even though we lost this game, we have nothing to be ashamed of. It was a great effort by everyone. We were playing a good team; the final score does not show how well you all hung in there.

Kudos to:

• Jessica, game ball, pitched the entire game and did a fantastic job.


• Megan Murphy, had a triple.


• Katie, made two great running catches on balls hit into left field.


• The Team, for playing great defense.
  

Girls, if you play as well the rest of the season as you did in this game, we will have many wins!

Be proud of yourselves!




Mr. B. and Mr. T

Hello Team

Hello Team!

On behalf of Mr. Bridgens and me, we would like to welcome you to the ARA 2006 Penn State Senior Girls’ softball team.

Our hope is that this season will be full of fun and that we’ll be able to teach you some things about softball.  Oh, of course, we do hope to win also!

We will be seeing you all soon.

Take care,

Mr. B. and Mr. T.