EG Thunder Wins First Winterball Tourney of Season

With four new players added to the team this winter season and one player out for the season with an injury, we weren't sure what to expect in the first tournament for the Elk Grove 14U/15U Thunder team. But much to our pleasant surprise, the team went 4-0 on Sept 20-21 to win the "Autumn Ambush" tournament at Freedom Fields in Sacramento.

Kali hit two stingers back up the middle and was on base on walks to score runs several times in these four games. This was a great start to the season for Kali and we're all happy to see the investment in her hitting lessons paying off in a very short time! On defense Kali is playing 3rd base and some time at 2nd base so far this season. If you can't tell, she's the one hold the plaque in the middle of the photo.

Ace Pitcher - Melia's leading the Rockstarz this winter

Melia continues to improve her pitching skills and add new pitches to her arsenal! The team is undefeated in regular season play and went 4-1 in the opening tournament to take 2nd out of 22 teams a few weeks ago. Melia was the losing pitcher in the championship game but otherwise is undeafeted in winter ball to date. She typically pitches one game per week.

Her pitching is now under the direction of a new coach, Ron Engle, who she sees weekly in Lodi. We're hoping that she can follow in the footsteps of many of this former students who have gone on to land softball scholarships all over the nation! That is, of course, if she continues to love the game and keeps her grades up!

'08 3G Family Vacation

What's 3G? Three generation! I wanted to take a road trip this summer and thought it would be great to invite Grandma & Grandpa along since they are both retired. We could rent a BIG RV, bring the D.O.G. (that's my nickname for Uno) and have fun on a leisurely week long vacation.

Duane was not thrilled with the idea, the girls couldn't imagine 6 people and a dog sleeping in the same vehicle and my Mom quickly put the kibosh on the idea because she thought I wanted my Dad to drive. So, I had to come up with an alternative plan. My proposal - fly to a city of our choice and take the Amtrak train back from there to Sacramento over the course of a week. This proposal was accepted by all (Dad by default since he just goes where he's told to go as long as he can be sure that Simon, the bull, will be cared for in his absence).

On July 12th we all flew to Seattle to begin our 3G vacation. Uno was left behind at Camp BowWow for the week. Our first two and half days in Seattle were fun - the weather was fantastic (mid-80's) and we were able to see the city via the free bus system in the downtown area and on foot. This was much to Kali's chagrin - "I do not like the bus!"

We had an amazing Sunday brunch while visiting with my former Grad. Asst. Melissa Sato (who now lives there and works at Microsoft) and her boyfriend. Kali and Melia ate countless pounds of mussels at this seafood brunch at Ivar's on the waterfront. I think they even got the kid's brunch price but surely ate more than I did!

Before we left Seattle on Monday afternoon I was able to sneak in a business meeting and check in on one of our MBA interns who was spending the summer at PwC working with the consulting group. Sean Davis' desk assignment for the day of my visit had the most unbelievable view of the Space Needle!

We hopped on Amtrak later that afternoon bound for Portland, OR and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon riding along, enjoying the scenery and playing cards. Much to Kali's delight we rented an SUV when we arrived in Portland (after taking the metro rail out to the airport to pick up our rental - haha - we might get her to appreciate public transportation yet).

Our Portland stay was three days and mostly fun! We took a drive out through the Columbia River Gorge to the Hood River Valley one day. We visited a lavender farm and got a great view of Mt. Hood and from that vantage point were able to capture pictures with the snow-capped mountain in the distance. We also stopped at a few local farms and bought fresh fruit and other goodies.

We spent one day exploring the International Rose Test Garden at Washington Park and touring the Portland Zoo. And one evening we stopped at a softball complex across the highway from our hotel and watched a couple of innings of a women's league game. That was an interesting experience - ask one of us about it sometime!

After three days we hopped back on Amtrak (after returning the rental car at the airport and making our way back to Amtrak via public transportation again!) and headed to Eugene. Since our train was delayed leaving Portland we didn't arrive in Eugene until mid-evening. Walked several blocks to our B&B Inn, unloaded our bags and ventured back out to find a place to eat. Eugene is a quiet little town when the college students are away for the summer. Our final day of vacationing was spent wandering around Eugene doing a little shopping and eating.

We reboarded Amtrak in the early evening on Friday for the final leg of our trip. This part of the train ride was the least fun. To start with we did not have assigned seats and the train did not originate at this stop, so we spent the first couple hours of the ride in the parlor car (I think that's what they called it). Nice for the view but we couldn't spend the entire ride here. Finally, after reminding the conductor that we still didn't have our assigned seats, they found six seats together for us in the last car where we would be sharing the car with a large group of boy scouts who were boarding the train at a stop high in the mountains as we crossed the border between OR and CA. We settled in for the night and tried to get some sleep as the train rattled and swayed through the mountains. At 5:45am we pulled into Sacramento, bleary eyed and glad to be almost home.

All-Star Softball Summer Fun

The first six weeks of our summer was a new chapter in the softball experience for us. Since the girls began playing softball back in San Mateo they have both wanted to play All-Stars. The first season in San Mateo Kali did try out but wasn't selected. After that we always had vacations and other activities planned well in advance and could not commit to the grueling All-Star schedule. Last summer both girls laid down the law - do not plan any vacations until we know the All-Star schedule because we want to play. Of course, in the meantime Kali moved on to tournament ball and would no longer be eligible for All-Stars, but Melia was on a mission!

So, with the goal of becoming an All-Star Melia led her team to a 13-1 season and 1st place in the league for the 12U division. As the star pitcher she went 9-1 overall and was backed up by two other great pitchers on the team, Emily & Carly. The rest of the team also contributed with great defense and hitting and five of the players all made the All-Star team. Joined by five girls from our friendly rival team (from last year's Winterball league), the Crushers, and five other players from various teams, fifteen girls from Elk Grove's 12U division set out under the direction of Coach Paul (with Duane and me, Emily's Dad Jason and Jessica's Dad Russ supporting) to take on the regions competing All-Star teams.

The highlight of the All-Star experience was the 8 inning game that Melia pitched against the Cordova team. She went the entire game (the 8th inning being an extra) to win our first game of the NorCal All-Star Tournament on July 5, 2008. The Elk Grove All-Stars handed Cordova their first loss of the tournament in a 6-4 win. Melia was cool as a cucumber while the Cordova coach nearly exploded out of his skin at being handed an 0-1 start to the tournament.

The northern California wildfires made the entire tournament season (practices and games) much harder than normal in the typical 100 degree plus heat of June/July in the Sacramento Valley. One prep tournament was postponed until after the 4th of July holiday weekend and ultimately we did miss that tournament due to our family vacation plans (yes, I did plan a vacation after all).

To begin every game the team gathers for a moment of silent meditation while they think of the word "chicken wing". (It's a 12-13 year old thing, don't try to figure it out.)