Stampede took a 6-5 lead into the top of the 5th inning, but clutch hitting and great bottom of the 5th defense secured the 9th win of the season for the Orange Crushers.  Way to go girls!!!

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I would think twice if you think that the school district board of trustees is looking out for the best interests of our  softball league.

For years, the district has assured the league that they would never include our sports fields in any proposed lease of Kettler.   Guess what?  That’s exactly what they did and (oops!) forgot to tell us when they offered up a lease to Seaside Community Church.  We could be less than 30 days away from having a new landlord that has no restrictions on field rental fees or even the right for us to be there.

Hmmmm.  Doesn’t this lack of notice and transparency sound familiar?  Remember just a few months ago when they put all the sports leagues on notice that we would now have to pay $1520 per field, per season?  Did I mention that the notice was mailed on June 19th and payment due on August 1st?

To think that Seaside church will be a better landlord than the school district is debatable.  When you read through the church’s proposal to the district it gives complete control, and exclusive usage of the premises, to the church.  This includes our sports fields.  Here is the wording, in pertinent part, from their RFP.

Seaside is only offering $6,000 a month to lease 5 acres of school property and 5 acres of athletic fields.  Why so low? The other surplus properties are leasing for $25,000 or more.  Should the district allow the church to come in and undercut the market with a lowball lease, the other tenants at Huntington Christian and Brethren Christian will immediately request to renegotiate their leases.  Our research indicates a projected $2,000,000 loss of income if the existing tenants were to negotiate a modest 25% lease reduction.

If anyone would like more information on the proposed lease please visit  www.hbcsdforum.org.    Please sign the online petition located on our website to let the school district know that you do not support this proposed lease.

Whether you support the Church proposal, or not, I urge the SHBGFS community to not sit on the sidelines and to participate in the process.   Please email our board of trustees to let them know your opinion at Board@hbcsd.k12.ca.us.

On March 31st at the Timberwolf Classic in Irvine, Oak Park and Huntington Beach combined for 22 hits and 19 runs in a wild slugfest as the Eagles pulled out an 11-8 victory in the championship game of the on Saturday at Barber Park.  Reagan Zschach had a two-run single and Kaitlyn Lanksbury drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the third to cut Oak Park’s lead to 6-3.  Huntington Beach’s Jacqui Pascal belted a two-run homer to cut it to 6-5 in the top of the fourth. Tamra Hartman had an RBI single, the Oilers got and unearned run and Nataly Salazar added an RBI double during Huntington Beach’s three-run rally in the fifth.   Micaela Vierra and Emily Stoner of Huntington Beach made the all-tournament team.

On March 24th in the Torrance National Tournament, Utah-bound Sammy Cordova pitched a three-hitter with five strikeouts to lift the Chargers to a 2-0 vistory over El Modena in a consolation game at Wilson Park.  Idaho State-bound Madison Hickman went 4 for 4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs and Notre Dame-bound Casey Africano went 3 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs as the Chargers (10-2) defeated the Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.) Mountain Lions in the fifth-place game.

http://www.ocvarsity.com/sports/run-31665-went-game.html
http://www.ocvarsity.com/articles/went-31574-rbis-three.html

Hannah Canfield, aka HANNAHTIME – #10, pitched 6 outs and hit a homerun in an exciting a tie game 2-2 against the Firecrackers!  A beautiful day for softball and all the girls had a great time!! Go HB BRUISERS!!!

As the players were introduced a girl from each SHB team was brought onto the field with an OCC player and stood next to them during the playing of the National Anthem.

During the game our girls sat in a special section reserved only for the SHB players and families and were able to cheer them on play after play!

Although OCC was defeated by Cypress the players kept their heads held high and came out to meet and greet our SHB Players and also enjoyed a BBQ that we had pre-planned before the game. Our players were able to talk about the game, ask questions and hang out with the college players on the bleachers where we had just cheered them on.

The girls were having so much fun we were again invited on the field where some girls ran the bases and then a game of Duck, Duck, Goose! broke out.

If you want your team to enjoy an experience like this please contact Allison Taylor at shbplayeragent@shbgfs.org to set it up.

And, if you think this was a lot of fun, be sure to sign up for the Players Clinic on Sunday, March 25th from 2-6pm at OCC and have your daughters learn and interact with some great local college players!

Opening Day really is the kick-off to our spring season. The morning started off with a beautiful rendition of our National Anthem preformed by Erin Greenlaw. 10U players Zoey Berg and Lauren Taylor introduced UCLA alumni Jen Schroeder (see picture)as she reminded us of how important a positive attitude, keeping your head held high and good sportsmanship is to the game of softball while also remembering to thank your parents for their support. We were also proud to honor our 2011 12U All-Star team for their tremendous accomplishment of coming in 7th place at the ASA Western Nationals. All of our 2012 spring softball teams were then introduced as they showed off their team banners before they got down to business as the exhibition games began.

One thing is for sure, it took a lot of people to make Opening Day possible. From board members, to vendors, to parents and our players, thanks for coming out to help support our league and our daughters. Let’s Go SHB!!!!

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Our SHB girls were split into age groups and assigned Edison Players as coaches.  Each age group practiced infield and outfield strategies, hitting, catching and a variety of games and drills.  Lunch was provided by Love At First Bite catering and at the end of the day, the Edison team demonstrated their speed and softball skills to a cheering crowd.   Our SHB players had a chance to speak one-on-one with the Edison team about what it takes to be a successful rec, travel, high-school and soon-to-be-college player.

It was great day and we thank the Edison softball team for spending the time with us!