Belmont Blast 14U-B All Stars secure championship at Pleasanton Summer Classic with walk-off win

A walk-off triple by Sarah Adams brought home the winning run for Belmont Blast 14U-B All Stars in a 6-5 victory over Pleasanton Phantom (Hotseung) at the Pleasanton Summer Classic fastpitch softball tournament on Sunday.

Sarah racked up four hits and two RBIs for the Blast.  Jesse Larkin added two RBIs on a single and a sacrifice fly, and Emily Shipley knocked in two runs with a two-out triple early in the game.

Gianna McCrystal was a workhorse on the rubber while bagging the win for Belmont. Gianna pitched 7 1/3 innings and allowed one earned run, five hits and no walks while striking out two.

Both teams loaded the bases in each of the first three innings, but few runs scored until the Blast broke through in the third. The top of the second saw the Phantom take an early 1-0 lead. The Blast answered with three runs in the third, the first on a sacrifice fly by Jesse, plating Sarah, followed by a two-out triple by Emily, scoring Maddie Frick and Sophie Frick. 

Pleasanton pushed one run across in each of the second, fifth and seventh innings, and again in the international tie-breaker innings in the eighth and ninth. After the Phantom tied the score at 3-3 in the top of the seventh, Belmont catcher Teresa Gomez helped limit the Phantom threat when she threw out a runner stealing second base to end the inning, and later tagged a runner out at home to keep the score close in the ninth.

In the bottom of the eighth, Belmont scored on Jesse's single to left field, driving in Maddie from third. A two-out single by Ali Chavez moved Jesse into scoring position, but the inning ended with the score tied 4-4. Belmont started the ninth down 5-4, with Gianna on second base. After Kathy Li was safe on a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt that advanced Gianna to third, the Phantom walked Teresa to load the bases for Sarah, who hit the first pitch over the center fielder for the walk off.

For the tournament, the Belmont Blast went 6-0 behind strong pitching by Gianna and Jesse, who combined to allow an average of less than two earned runs per game. The Blast scored 53 runs over 28 innings, led by Sarah who batted 15 for 20 with four triples and two home runs. Strong defense also played a role in the Blast's success. Ahna Kay continued to take away hits from the opponents with a 100% fielding percentage in right field. Sophie, playing short stop, led the team in put outs. Belmont fielded a 10-girl roster on Sunday, with infielder Kate Wang unavailable.

Under the leadership of head coach Mike Shipley and assistant coaches Bal Kay and Eric McCrystal, the Blast 14U-B All Stars have amassed a 24-9-1 record in 2013 and secured a berth at ASA Western Nationals later this month with their second place finish at the NorCal Regional Qualifier tournament in June.

Video of the walkoff: http://vimeo.com/album/2286482/video/69924572

Follow the 14U-B All Stars on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/2013BelmontBlast14B

More info on the Belmont Redwood Shores Youth Softball Association:  http://www.eteamz.com/BRSYSA/