Danbury Lady Panthers smash Weimer

SUGAR LAND — Danbury turned a pitchers’ duel into a virtual batting practice Friday night, slashing Weimer with six runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to secure the one-game area playoff bout with a convincing 13-0 romp.

While the 31-3 Lady Panthers picked up their offense after a scoreless three frames, the Ladycats failed to peck out a hit against Danbury starter and winner Kaylee Garner. The sophomore went five innings, allowing only two runners to reach base on infield errors.

“I was very happy the way we played tonight,” Danbury coach Melissa Hansen said. “I was concerned we would be stale after kind of just sitting around the past week or so. But the girls were focused from early on in this one and showed a lot of determination. Once we got our bats warmed up, we were able to win this one big.”

Danbury, which will play the winner of Monday’s Rogers-Edna game, closed out with 16 hits, including three each by Ashley Noak and Cassidy Munson. Catcher Noak, who also gunned down one of the two Ladycats who tried to steal second in the third inning, poked two doubles, a single and drew a walk in her four trips to the plate.

Danbury broke the scoreless tie with a single run in the fourth inning. Noak led things off with a sharp single to left, followed by a walk to Kristen Yeager and an infield single by Macy Peltier to load the bases against Ladycat starter Vanessa Maupin.

Maupin did a fine job getting out of the jam by allowing only one run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kelsie Sellers, her first of two on the night. Maupin prevented any more damage with a short fly to left and then an infield grounder.

But Weimer’s wheels began going flat in the fifth as the state-ranked Lady Panthers sent 10 batters to the plate, scoring six runs on seven hits, including an opening triple to Meagan Bang. Shelby Scott added a pair of RBI with a triple in the inning, while Garner aided her own cause with a run-producing double to right center.

Danbury added an insurance six-pack in the sixth and final inning of the shortened game, this time sending 11 batters to the plate with Noak, Yeager, Sellers and Bang all getting run-scoring hits. Weimer, which finishes the season 25-11, did not help itself any with three of its five errors coming in that fatal inning.

Meanwhile, Garner mastered the Ladycats as she finished her five-inning stint with nine strikeouts and no walks.

With the big lead, Garner gave way to Yeager on the mound in the sixth inning. Yeager set the Ladycats down in order to preserve the no-hit effort.

“We know we need to stay focused,” Hansen said. “The kids have worked very hard to get where we are right now, so I don’t think you are going to see any letup.”

DANBURY - Kaylee Garner redefined perfection Friday night.

Not only did Danbury's sophomore pitcher throw a perfect game in an 11-0 five-inning, run-ruled victory over the Hitchcock Lady Bulldogs, she truly gave her defense a night off by striking out every batter she faced.

In all, Garner fanned 15 Lady Bulldogs, five innings worth of batters. Even more impressive, only one Hitchcock batter touched the ball in the contest, and that resulted in a harmless foul ball over the backstop in the third inning. Every other strike was either looking or a missed swing.

Garner threw a total of 57 pitches, with 46 going for strikes and only 11 balls. In fact, no Hitchcock batter reached a full count and only three worked it to two balls before striking out.

"She's been amazing," Danbury coach Melissa Hansen said of Garner. "She's throwing hard, but this year she's been focused on really moving the ball around, and that's been very effective for her. She's putting a lot of spin on the ball and just keeps getting better and better."

Although Garner earned Friday's spotlight, she had plenty of company on the highlight reel as Danbury's offense scored 11 runs in the first three innings. The Lady Panthers plated two runners in the first frame, followed by a three-run second and a six-run third.

Ashley Noak put the exclamation point on the big third inning with a two-run blast over the left-field wall to account for Danbury's final two runs of the game.

The Lady Panthers finished with five hits and were helped along by seven Hitchcock errors. Britiany Bailey, Kelsey Sellers, Shelby Scott and Meagan Harvey also had base hits for the Lady Panthers.

"What I think is outstanding and speaks about the maturity we have on this team is that every day, at any moment, the lineup can change," Hansen said. "And tonight we had some changes. That shows that all 14 girls on this roster can come in and pull their weight. ... It's nice to see the girls really hitting it hard this late in the season and pushing each other."

The Lady Panthers quickly took control of Friday's game in the opening inning when Bailey walked and was followed by a Hitchcock throwing error on a Sellers bunt. The miscue not only allowed Sellers to reach base, but enabled Bailey to round the bases for the quick 1-0 advantage. Sellers scored later in the frame on a Kristen Yeager groundout.

In the next inning, Bailey singled to drive in both Abbie Box and Harvey for the four-run lead. Box was courtesy running for Garner, who had reached on an error, while Harvey had singled. Before the inning ended, Bailey also crossed the plate for the 5-0 lead after another Lady Bulldog error.

The floodgates opened in the third inning, with Danbury tacking on six more runs. Scott and Sellers both doubled in the inning, while Noak bashed a home run. Macy Peltier, Scott, Harvey, Brown, Sellers and Noak all scored runs in the inning.

Danbury didn't score in the fourth frame, but the damage was already done and Garner was in full control on the mound.

The No. 2-state-ranked Class 2A Lady Panthers improved to 6-0 in district, with every victory coming via the run rule. They're 26-3 overall.

A purple shoelace day

My dance card is filling with have-tos, obligations, commitments, look forward to events. All are good things, none are dreaded….but. I knew it would become a purple shoelace day. A day to put on the worn out tennis shoes that are pale forest green and have shoelaces that don’t match anything other than the day. It is a day that wanderlust may take over with the only constraint being within a 75 mile radius. I want to have a play day, but office requirements are going to change it to a play afternoon.
Only after I traveled the mental path of least resistance, I realized a contributing factor to this is David’s and my wedding anniversary. Twenty nine years ago, when I was 29 and David was 42, we exchanged our vows before family and friends. What a wonderful and unique 21 year adventure started that evening.

Change is possible

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Life is good !

Good morning...

The cold snap has passed for the time being. Overnight lows in 40’s. Definite improvement. And this morning noticed a robin in the front yard and very small pears in the top of the tree that bloomed after hurricane Ike. Bird food in the making.
Next:
I had thought of getting a tattoo at various times in my life. Yes, one of those discretely placed just so cutesy butterflies. The fact that always brought that thought to a screeching halt was wrinkles and sagging. I just couldn’t face (depending on which discrete place it was located) a droopy butterfly. I knew that when I reached the antiquated 58 or 59, it would not be a pretty sight. Now where this is going…while looking at my aged right hand, I noticed an odd arrangement of age spots. I’m sure you have done it…connect the dots (and if you haven’t I don’t need to be reminded that I am one bubble off level). ~ yes, there is a butterfly on my right hand at the base of the thumb. And as more cracks and crevices {fondly referred to as wrinkles} appear, all I have to do is wash the age-spot-tattoo off. Life is oh so good in the quirkiest ways.

and one more thing....

I have a strong belief that all people are connected ~ their very being impacts others in ways that are never seen. I don't think I'm alone in this thought. Read the book "The five people you meet in heaven" or think about the universal "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" {what you do comes back to you three-fold}. Articulating this belief has been difficult for me. I know I don't have to prove to anyone or necessarily show anyone, but I did want to share it. Today, I worked on a conglomeration of photos of spider webs and once assembled, I realized that displays what I am unable to say. Some lines within the web are directly connected. Some just a mess. Yet even in the jumble, there is a connection. Please enjoy, smile, understand.

seems I cannot upload video directly to blog, so took alternate route and it is listed in google videos : http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8495735626736080540

Happy New Year !! 2009

For numerous reasons {some good, some just strange} I have looked at myself and seen others. Or others impact on me. I will soon be 59, the age my mother was when she died. I see the widow’s peak like my father. And the bulb at the end of my nose that is so Duffy. There are the camouflage eyes ~ no longer refer to them as hazel. Partly because of the odd southern twist on it but mainly due to the way they change and reflect the colors I wear. For the longest I would not wear yellow clothes because my eyes looked spooky and I was concerned what others thought. Now I enjoy the skewed coloring. I do wonder if they will change to brown as my father’s did.
I have developed the overhanging eyelids like my mother but this is a combination of heredity and circumstances. And the wrinkles !! although I prefer to think of them as the rings in a tree. Count them, divide by 76, and you have my age. The divide by number will increase in time. It is factored like the calculation of a dog’s age.
There are a few scars thanks to my #1 son and the year we couldn’t explode a toilet so settled for a television. Isn’t it amazing what you do for the love of your kids. There was an exploding commode at a different time. Not quite intentional. Started a fire in the bowl then foolishly put it out with water. Yep, exploded commode. Location backyard. Cleanup mandatory.
And my friend’s influence in what I wear. It is ok to be exotic even if you are the only one to enjoy it.
When I faced 50, I had the Glamor Shots experience. Even then I was shocked at how I resembled my mother. One photo has me decked out in a leather jacket ~ that photo caused them all to go into permanent storage. I saw my mother in a leather jacket and my mind just spun out of control.