Closing Out The Fall
The completion of the Don Battles On yesterday brought the Fall season to a close for the players of Firecrackers Rico/Weil. The team had a very productive fall, will take a break for the holidays, and get back into the swing of it come January.
The journey started back in August with the team’s first practice. This brought the players together to see what the fall would hold for them and the coaches to view the team they had assembled.
The hard work continued through August and early September, getting ready for their first competition at the Firecrackers Organizational Workout on September 14th.
August practices and the games at the Org workout would give us an early look at the team and what the product on the filed might look like in the future. We think the future looks bright.
The Fall also brought some great moments for our players. We had two of our Juniors verbally commit to the schools of their dreams. Infielder Emma Sellers, after much deliberation, decided that South Carolina was the perfect fit for her to continue her academic and athletic career once she graduates high school.
She had an amazing visit and fell in love with the school, the city, and found a great rapport with the coaching staff and the players. We couldn’t be more excited for her and her family.
Another Junior on our team, Sophia Nugent, found her dream school at the University of Oklahoma. Sophia was looking for a small town college feel, with good academic programs and a competitive softball program, she feels she found exactly that in Norman.
Sophia had an amazing visit to Oklahoma and felt the campus and the city was exactly what she was looking for. The time she got to spend with the coaches and the players of the Sooner softball program showed her that this would be a great place to spend her college years.
This fall, we also got to see nine of our Seniors sign their National Letter of Intent. The signing party was an amazing event that celebrated these players’ hard work and showed that their grit and determination has paid off and will play well for them in the next chapter of their softball career and life.
The players that signed that evening were Xophia Venegas (Iowa), Shelbi Ortiz (Utah), Britton Rogers (Georgia), Antuanett Dean (New Mexico State), Thessa Malua’ulu (UCLA), Alessandra Samperio (LMU), Bailey Wallace (Cal State Fullerton), Payden Bordeau (Georgia), and Riley Orcutt (Georgia). Congratulations go out to these fantastic young women!
We saw some good things this fall and some that we need to work on to prepare for a successful summer run. The team was playing some of their best softball the last couple of weeks. There was a very successful run at the Wilson Fastpitch Championship Series in Viera, FL at the USSSA Space Coast Facility. The team earned their way to the championship game but was unable to play the game as our flight was schedule to leave at the same time the finals would have been finished. Link to detailed article about the trip.
Mixed in was a game against the Czech National team and some fantastic play at the Don Battles On. As for now, the team will take a nice holiday break to recharge and get ready for the 2020 season. We will be back in January, ready to get the ball rolling.
Till then, have a Happy Holiday Season!
