2007 14U Gold National Championship Log.

Stockton (July 28th-August 5th) Daily Blog By Provided by Sam Shuey

August 7th, 2007 2:29 p.m. Not All Home, Yet!

You would think that the first people to leave the hotel for the airport would be the first to get home, right? Well, not if you're the Laras' They missed their flight and then their plane had to be fixed, and later the flight was cancelled. So, now they're in Oakland catching a flight to Seattle to EVENTUALLY end up in San Diego late tonight sometime. A true episode from the twilight zone :)

I was the last one out of the hotel at 11:45 a.m. and got home around 7:30 p.m. Funny how that works, eh?

August 5th, 2007 11:45 p.m. They Did It!

In the semi-final game, BV played Los Alamitos. They had played three times prior and BV had won each time. This game started a little different with Los Al squeezing in a run on a bunt to take the early lead 1-0. They held that lead for several innings until BV tied and then took a two run lead and holding it to win 3-1. Los Al faced Downey to see who would come back up from the loser's bracket to face Bonita in the championship game.

The girls had a two or so hour wait and some watched as Los Al walked in the winning run 3-2 in the Downey game. Downey moved over to the Stadium and they got to rest up for 15 minutes before facing BV

BV took the early lead 2-0 in the second and then added 3 more in the 4th. After scoring 2 more in the fifth, Downey started a late game rally scoring 5 runs in the top of the 6th, with the tying run on second. We got out of that inning by adding 3 more insurance runs and Downey wasn't able to answer in the bottom of the 7th! Final score 10-5!

The awards ceremony followed and each of the girls was presented a plaque and got their picture taken holding it, and then several game photos by the scoreboard!

After the game, "the diet" was official broken and John took the girls to a local store where he let them get all the munchies they wanted :) The next step? The traditional jump into the swimming pool with all your uniforms/clothes on! Nobody wore white this year (no names will be mentioned!) and almost everyone got their name chanted as they were tossed/dragged into the pool!

After everyone got changed, John put up the banner and trophy in the lobby and the girls took a pix in their "normal" clothes. All week some of the girls wanted to go to the "Blair Witch" house and they FINALLY got to go with John's blessing. The temperature had dropped and the wind was howling so it made for a good trip :) Hmmmm. Why did all the girls run back to the hotel?

Next time you see John, ask him how long it took to take all the toilet paper off his car! Nobody seems to be fessing up to who did it though? Any ideas? See what happens when they don't have their 9:30 p.m. curfew?

August 4th, 2007 11:35 p.m. The re-match!

The girls played the Escondido Extreme tonight at 6:00 p.m. BV scored 6 runs and blanked Escondido to advance to the semi-final game versus Los Alamitos.

If they can win the next two games...Bonita Valley will bring home a National Championship! :) Early curfew since they have a 10:00 a.m. game tomorrow. Wish us luck!

August 4th, 2007 3:35 p.m. The re-match!

It was a much at anticipated game at 11:45 this morning versus Cypress. A good team that we played in PYL and haven't seen since. Both sides knew that the teams they faced earlier weren't what they would see today. BV took the plate first and went down 1, 2, 3. Brace yourselves, we're in for the long haul.

It seemed like the momentum shifted when Cypress had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Cypress sent the runner to 2nd but was thrown out! We got one more out and then Bonita Valley was up! The BV bats were smokin' as the girls scored 13 runs and Cypress used three pitchers, but the BV bats kept swinging to end the game in five innings.

The next game is against Escondido Extreme today at 6:00 p.m. The girls are prepared for this quarter final game and if they win, will only need two more games to accomplish their goal!

August 3rd, 2007 6:14 p.m. Feed Me NOW!!! Contributors: Cierra & Jessica Flores

How convenient that the pizza place was right next to the hotel! No van required :) Their bellies are full of good tasting pizza with enough left over for seconds at 8!

The girls watched X Games highlights on the big screen.

A few hours to chill before their 9:30 curfew. Coach John WILL be calling each room to make sure they're in bed.

The adults are gearing up for their double elimination King's Corners tournament! We have 10 people entered as of right now. We are still deciding on the prizes: large fries, caramel sundae, Starbucks, or some chocolate chip cookies. Who will the winner be? Stay tuned to find out!

August 3rd, 2007 4:18 p.m. Bonita Valley -v- Redmond Reign

112 Degrees! Bonita Valley's defense combined with 2 manufactured runs in 3 and 4th inning leads to a 2-0 win over the Redmond Reign today in a scorcher! The game went the whole 7 innings...and it looks like there will be a re-match with Cypress (game time: 8/4/07 11:45am). As you might know, the last time they met it ended in a 0-0 tie for the championship in PYL due to lack of lights. You gonna watch? Only 8 teams left in the winners bracket out of 50!

The girls have to take a 10 minute shower and head out for our pizza party.

August 2nd, 2007 8:06 p.m. Bonita Valley -v- San Francisco Angels

We played back at Arnaiz park, field 1. If we keep winning then we will continue to play on these fields all the way through with the Championship Game on the Stadium field.

Bonita Valley, the home team seized the lead 4-0 in the first inning, adding 1 in the 3rd, and finally getting 4 more insurance runs in the 4th inning to end the game. BV defense was strong, allowing only 1 hit. The hitting was strong and spirits high. Good job girls... Our next game is against the Redmond Reign tomorrow at 1:45pm. Be there!

Everyone is own their own today for dinner and curfew has been set for 9:30 p.m. Something that we don't think about until it's uniform washing time is that it's interesting that there is only one washer/dryer for this hotel and that you have to line up your bags of clothes for your turn. Make sure that watch the timer!!! :)

August 2nd, 2007 10:30 a.m. Free Time

We now know that we play the San Francisco Angels in our first bracket game. With plenty of time before the game tonight, many are doing the sightseeing in San Franciso, shopping, laundry, relaxing, or going to the movies. We have to be back at around 3:30 p.m.

August 2nd, 2007 8:30 a.m. Team Dinner

What do you like from the Old Spaghetti Factory? The girls got all girlied up and squished into the Van. Some of us got there a little early to make sure that everything was squared away. We had a whole room reserved for us with two giant tables (Adult,s and girls) and then a smaller table for the younger brothers and sister. We sure kept the staff busy (More bread, please) but they handled it well.

Plenty of salad, lasgna, chicken brocolli fet, spinach, bread, etc...for everyone and then topped it off with some dessert. We found out that some of us don't know how to slice bread but we took some lessons :) Some good food and good company. Yes...got some photos, but you have to wait 'till we get back.

The rest of the night was a free night with a 10:00 p.m. room curfew. We knew we got had a 5:45pm game the next day, but we were only waiting for the Championship Brackets to be posted. Glad we have a business center in the lobby. :) BTW, they are posted in the download section.

August 1st, 2007 4:24 p.m. Bonita Valley -v- Oregon Spirit

Our entire team played well versus the Oregon Spirit. Bonita jumped out in front 8-0 in the first inning and never looked back. The final score was 14-0 and the entire team got their at-bats. Jennifer started with Olivia catching and Itza came in to finish off the game in the third inning. 32 Viewers online.

The girls are showering up and heading to the Old Spaghetti Factory for a team dinner tonight at 5:30 p.m. We won't know what time or who we play until all the pool games are completed sometime around 10:00 p.m. Thanks for watching!

August 1st, 2007 10:53 p.m. Bonita Valley -v- Petaluma Steel Breeze

We got up pretty early today. The girls played un-characteristically at first and trailed 3-0, the victim of a clear bad call that shocked even the opposing first base coach, and a "routine" play for what should have been the third out. The coaches asked the girls to step it up a notch and to play some ball! It didn't take long before we tied up at 3-3, and John sent one of the girls home to try to take the lead, but was thrown out at on a close one at the plate. We had several girls dinged up a bit (Jaycee sliding, Jen pitching, Rheanna sliding) but you have to do what it takes!

The next inning, the girls showed what they could do and busted out 6 runs, and added 2 more in the 5th to "run rule" the other team. Jennifer pitched, and Chelsy caught the whole game. After the game, the girls exchanged gift bags/items as is tradition... Good game girls. 49 Viewers online.

We play at 1:45 p.m. for 1st place in pool play and then the seedings will be determined for the championship double-elimination bracket. Although we have to wait until the 8:00 p.m. games are finished before we know where everyone lands in the brackets.

July 31st 11:58 p.m. Opening Ceremonies

Today the girls waited for an hour and half to be officially registered to play in the tournament. The coaches headed off to a meeting to go over all the details concerning the tournament and the parents were in charge of getting the girls ready for a practice at 2:00 p.m.

Hurry up and rush to get back to change into their blue uniforms for pictures which didn't end up happening because of the back-log. Then change again for their opening ceremonies outfits. Finally the girls got to parade down the field representing Bonita Valley. Of course it's not an opening ceremony without being hit by some sort of candy flying through the air!

Bonita Valley at 2007 Nationals

After the ceremonies the BV Van headed out and the girls had dinner before an early curfew since they have a 7:45 a.m. game. As usual, they have to get at the field which is 20 miles away by 6:30 a.m. Regardless of the outcome, they have another game at 1:45 p.m at another field. Both games will be broadcast, if we get a signal at the fields.

July 31st 8:06 a.m. The little things

Today we have to go up and officially register the girls for the tournament, come back, then head out for practice, then come back and then take "official" team photo, then comeback, and prepare for opening ceremonies later on tonight A lot of driving scheduled...and finally our team dinner!

July 29th 9:06 a.m. Relax a little

It's really hot up here - 106F, so we're making good use of the A/C. We've already scoped out the area, but nothing major around here. We plan on going into San Francisco since it's only an hour away, maybe we can get some Chinese food!

Tomorrow morning it's back to business as the girls have practice first thing.

July 28th - Bonita Valley 14U Gold Headed to Nationals

Today is a travel day with practically everyone driving up. I'll report more on what's going on once we get up there! :)