Submitted by Nick Sinnott

Siskiyou Heat coach Rob Moser’s U18 line-up truly came together for a tournament in Junction City, Oregon. It was a rough start with two major losses during Saturday’s pool play, setting them up for a low seed in the elimination round. Sunday was a day of battle to bring the trophy home. The Siskiyou Heat played five games in 90 degree weather to win first place.

Saturday
Game-1
The first game of the tournament for the Siskiyou Heat was against “Alliance” from Bend Oregon. Bethany Franklin took the mound and pitched the entire game. She kept the Alliance bats quiet but the Siskiyou Heat bats were quiet also. Teal Rimmer, a young promising player from Fort Jones had a double. Kelsey Moser of Weed was 2 for 3 and Bethany Franklin was 2 for 3 with a double. But, it was not enough and Alliance won by a score of 6 to 3.

Game-2
The next game immediately following was against the host team, the Junction City “Pride.” The Pride was a well balanced team with power hitters and strong pitching. Kelsey Moser was the starting pitcher for The Heat in game 2. She had not pitched in over a year, but Kelsey stepped up to the challenge. The Pride jumped to an early lead but the Heat kept it close. The Pride was the strongest hitting team the Siskiyou Heat had faced this season. The bat for The Heat began to come around in this game. Amber Sinnott was 2 for 3 with two doubles. Both Lizzy De-Avilla Stone and Kelsey Moser had solo home runs. Sierra Skeen, of Weed, and Bethany Franklin went 2 for 3. Bethany Franklin came in to close the game for the Heat.

It was a close contest all the way but the Junction City Pride came away with a 9 to 7 win.

Sunday
Game-3
As a result of the Pool Play on Saturday, the Siskiyou Heat drew the first game of the day at 8: 00 am. Since The Junction City Pride had gone undefeated on Saturday The Heat faced “The Alliance.” The bats for the Siskiyou Heat came to play.
Alyssa Scala and Mallory Greenfield of Yreka went 1 for 2. Madison Moser of Weed went 2 for 3 and Mindi Chandler, another south county player, was 1 for 2 with a home run. Bethany Franklin was the starting pitcher and did an excellent job of keeping The Alliance hitters off the bases. Final score: Siskiyou Heat 10 – The Alliance 2.

Game-4
Second game of the day was to be the biggest test for The Heat. The Pride came out swinging and jumped to an early lead that included a grand slam. The Heat battled but couldn’t get anything going. The defense struggled and it was a hard loss for the Heat. Bethany Franklin started and Mindi Chandler came in to finish. Final Score: Pride 15 – Heat 2

Game-5
Since it was a double elimination tournament, The Heat immediately played the Alliance for the second time. The Alliance came back with much more determination. It was a close battle. Bethany Franklin was the starting pitcher again. She did a great job of moving her pitches around, keeping the hitters off balance. The Heat batters were solid, Kelsey Moser and Samantha Reed were 2 for 3 with a double each and Mallory Greenfield had a good game at the plate going 2 for 3 with two doubles. Final score: Heat 5 – Alliance 4.

Game-6, Semifinal
The next game was the one The Heat wanted. Another shot at the Junction city Pride. The Pride came out with their ace pitcher that had been so effective against the Heat in the earlier game. This time the “Battling Heat” batters would not be denied. Amber Sinnott went 2 for 3 and Samantha Reed was 2 for 2. The Heat defense was solid. Samantha Reed made great stops at first to keep The Pride runners off base. Bethany Franklin was again the starting pitcher. Amber Sinnott at catcher called a great game of switching up speeds and mixing locations to keep the strong hitting Pride batters off balance. It was an exciting game with close calls and several lead changes. The game was tied at the end of regulation time. It was in the bottom of the next inning that Amber Sinnott scored from third on a passed ball to end the game and send The Heat into the finals against the Pride. Final Score: Heat 6 – Pride 5.

Game-7, Championship
After a short break, it was “game on.” The ever ready Bethany Franklin started for the fifth time that day and 6 out of 7 games for the Heat. The Pride didn’t think Franklin could complete a game let alone continue to dominate the pitching. They guessed wrong. Franklin kept the Pride power hitters off balance again with perfect location and changes of speed. Meanwhile the defense was solid. Cierra Skeen at shortstop and Lizzy De-Avila Stone at second led the way with stop after stop. The outfield of Teal Rimmer, Mindi Chandler, Alyssa Scala, Samantha Reed and Madison Moser took away hits and extra bases from the power hitting Pride. Meanwhile, the Pride had to go to their number 2 pitcher and the bats for The Heat got it done, jumping to an early lead of 5 to 2. Bethany Franklin and Samantha Reed went 2 for 3 and Madison Moser was 1 for 2. Both Bethany Franklin and Madison Moser had a double each.  Final score: Heat 9 – Pride 4
At the award ceremony the coach from Junction City Pride said, “Your team played very well. You seemed to get better as the tournament went on”.

Player Highlights
Mallory Greenfield: played a solid defense at 3rd base in place of Sara Jones who had a prior commitment.

Bethany Franklin: Started 6 of 7 games. Amazed the opposing team with her ability and consistency. Kept  Junction City’s batters off balance and had a solid tournament at the plate.

Teal Rimmer: Was solid in the outfield taking away extra bases. Had a great hit in the last game when The Heat needed it most.

Madison “Maddi” Moser: made great catches in the outfield. Gunned down a runner at home from right field in championship game. Great bunting in must win Sunday morning games.

Sierra “C” Skeen: Played solid at shortstop all weekend.  Bat was hot early to keep The Heat in the tournament.

Kelsey Moser: Played a solid first base and was starting pitcher in game-2. Hit very well (home run)

Elizabeth “Lizzy” De-Avilla Stone: Very solid in taking away base hits and snagging line drives.  Her hitting was consistent throughout the tournament (home run).

Amber “Nails” Sinnott: Caught every game. The Franklin/Sinnott combination controlled the tempo of the games all day. Her base running and hitting led to runs and wins.

Alyssa “Super Star” Scala: Arrived Sunday morning during game one. First time at bat hit a 2-RBI single. Played left field very well, had six RBI on the day.

Samantha “Sammy” Reed : Solid hitting. Bat came to life. Played first base and outfield. Great stops at first.

Mindi Chandler:  Solid centerfielder.  Caught everything hit her way. Hitting was good early (home run)