Plover’s 8U Nationals Impress
For the City Times
The Plover Fastpitch 8U Nationals team continued to show improvement this season with their second consecutive podium finish taking second place in Merrill over the weekend.
Coming off of a third place finish in the Shawano tournament the previous weekend, Plover went 3-1 in Merrill losing a heartbreaker to Kaukauna 6-5 in the championship game. Plover powered their way to a 6-0 win over Wausau, a 10-0 win over Mosinee and a 6-1 victory over host team Merrill enroute to the championship game.
Plover rode the stellar pitching efforts of Shelby Brooks and Kelsey Giese as they combined to give up just one run leading up to the championship including back to back shutouts and a no hitter against Wausau.
Plover 8U coach Chris Brooks credited a strong defensive effort and disciplined hitting being the X factor in Plover’s performance.
The first two home runs of the year for Plover were put on the board over the weekend by Mikah Keller and Aleah Breed. Brooks went on to credit the hard work the team had put in during recent practices as the driving force behind the steady improvement
“They really put an entire team effort together and have grown together competitively,” Brooks said.
2015 is the first year Plover Fastpitch has fielded an 8U team in its travel program. Brooks commented expectations were tempered to start the season, but have risen thanks to the hard work of the team and commitment by parents and coaches to get the program to a competitive level.
Brooks closed by saying, “With the bond this team is developing and their competitive spirit, the sky is the limit going forward. It’s as much fun for us to watch as it is for them to play”
Plover Fastpitch 8U Roster
#10 Emma Witkowski
#42 Aleah Breed
#28 Mikah Keller
#44 Maren Sauvageau
#12 Rhiannon Gagas
#23 Delilah Abundiz
#9 Shelby Brooks
#8 Kelsea Giese
#14 Peyton Mancl
#3 Tristin Deuel
#6 Sydney Krueger
Coaches : Chris Brooks, Toby Witkowski, Corey Giese, Chad Sauvageau, Tony Abundiz, Steve Mancl