Just as the PALL Seniors did, the PALL 10-year-old All Stars captured the District 57 championship.
The team beat the Pleasanton National (PNLL) All Stars 7-3 to gain the title. To reach the championship game, PALL had defeated Livermore National 9-4, Danville 8-6 and PNLL 4-3. Due to its performance in the earlier rounds, the PALL team needed only one win for the title. The PNLL team would not go without a fight. PNLL won the first game 6-4 on Tuesday before PALL was able to come back and win the final the next night.
In the final game, the PNLL team scored first with a run in the bottom of the first. PALL answered back immediately with a 6-run second inning. Singles by Ryan Meisenheimer, Jacob Wipfli and a walk to Kyle Greenan loaded the bases. TJ Friedl singled to score Wipfli and Greenan. Austin Piscotty was hit by a pitch to load the bases again and then Ryan Anderson and Jake Dronkers drove in two more runs each to bring the score to 6-1. PALL scored its last run in the fifth inning when Willie Theofanopoulos drew a bases loaded walk to score Anderson from third base.
The six runs in the second were enough to allow PALL to rely on its pitching. Dronkers pitched three innings, Friedl pitched two and Anderson one inning, combining to allow the PNLL team three runs on only six hits. The PALL defensive also was strong with key contributions from Zach Schmidt, Austin Piscotty, Chase Hennings, Kyle Greenan, Ryan Meisenheimer, Travis Kim and Ryan Alley.
The PALL All-Stars were scheduled to compete for the Section 3 Championship yesterday.
Phantom under 14 softball team takes second place
The Phantom under 14 team advanced through a field of 16 teams to take second place in the Pleasanton Fastpitch Tournament last weekend.The team was stopped on its championship run when it lost 3-2 to the Livermore Smoke’s Black Team in the bottom of the final inning of the championship game. Haley Douglas pitched 31 of 35 innings over the tournament’s seven games, leading the team to five wins.
The offensive stars for the tournament were Jessica Johns, with two triples, and Maggi Horn, Heidi Johns, Macy Masaljo and Syd Shaffer, each with doubles among their multiple hits. Clutch hits from Chelsea King and Emma McGuinness assured the Phantom some needed base runners at key moments in the tournament. Team speed and aggressive base running was evidenced by the fact that 12 of the 51 runs scored by the team came from runners stealing home.
Jenica Holt and Taylor Schoonover flashed the leather with highlight reel plays, snagging difficult balls with impressive diving catches.
Pleasanton Phantom under 16 take second place
The Phantom posted a 5-0 record en route to the championship game of the combined under 16 and 18 bracket.The final against the Peninsula Blaze was a 4-3, 10-inning battle. Georgia Bloom and Lindsey Bly combined on the mound for the Phantom. Alia Ismail was the defensive star for her outstanding efforts at second base. Brittania Bloom, Kellie McKeehan and Brittany Hillman scored for the Phantom.
In pool play, the Phantom team was led offensively by Ismail who hit two homeruns, and posted seven RBIs and four runs scored. The Diablo Falcons of Pleasant Hill fell to the Phantom 7-0 in the tournament opener.
Ismail posted three of her seven RBIs in this Friday night win. She hit a two-run homer in the first and Bloom knocked in three runs to lead the Phantom to a 7-3 victory over the San Leandro Lady Patriots.
With a chance to take the top seed on Sunday, the Phantom fell behind 4-0 early against the Concord Glory. The Phantom battled back in the bottom of the fourth when Ismail sparked the offense with her second homerun of the tournament. Allie Straub made a great defensive play to start a double play that allowed the Phantom to finish off the Glory with a two-run liner from Allie Price.
The first single elimination round game, against the East Bay Blaze, started with the Phantom falling behind 3-1 in the first inning. The Phantom held the Blaze for the rest of the game while the offense chipped away at the lead before finishing off the game with a 4-3 win. Kellie McKeehan who had two RBIs led the Phantom offense.
The semi-final game was a rematch against Concord Glory. Unlike the first meeting, the Phantom made quick work of the Glory with an 8-1 win. Robertson and McKeehan led the offense with two runs each while Allie Price had a run and two RBIs.
Rage Soccer Club honors DeRenzi
The board of the Pleasanton RAGE Soccer Club announced that Melissa DeRenzi, a graduate of Amador Valley High School, has won the club’s 2006 scholarship for academic achievement.In thanking the organization for the award, DeRenzi described the role soccer has played in her life and how she had participated in league soccer since age 6.
“Soccer was a huge part of my life for many years,” she said. “Beginning at 6 years old, I played soccer all the way through my senior year of high school. I was lucky enough to play at the Division I level for seven years, from U-10 to U-16. It taught me not only the typical traits of dedication, hard work and perseverance, but also how to deal with success and failure with dignity and grace.”
“Although soccer was a huge commitment, school always came first with no exceptions,” she added. “It is possible, if given the required time and effort, to succeed at both.”
In the Fall DeRenzi will attend UC Los Angeles and plans to major in microbiology. She said she hopes to continue playing soccer in UCLA’s intramural soccer program.
