Beware the Gator!

Beware of the Gator!

New Hanover County Middle School Champions!

Back-to-Back 2004-2005!
(5th 1st place finish in 12 years under Coach Williams!)

Final Record 2005: 10-2
click here for the online article in the Wilmington Star News - November 9th, 2005 edition

Thurs., Sept. 8 Noble (A) 10-0
Thurs., Sept. 15 Virgo (H) 7-0
Tues., Sept. 20 Trask (H) 2-1
Thurs., Sept. 22 Williston (A) 11-1
Tues., Sept. 27 Roland-Grise (A) 12-1
Thurs., Sept. 29 Murray (A) 6-0
Tues., Oct. 4 Noble (H) 14-8
Tues., Oct. 11 Virgo (A) 11-0
Thurs., Oct. 13 Trask (A) 6-4
Tues., Oct. 18 Williston (H) 4-7
Thurs., Oct. 20 Roland-Grise (H) 12-2
Tues., Oct. 27 Murray (H) 1-4


Team Stats

Team Hitting

team hits - 90 (79 were singles)
team batting average - .305
team on base percentage - .486
team runs - 103
team RBI's - 62
average runs per game - 8.6

Trivia moment: What is the ONLY TEAM to "outhit" the Lady Gators in one of its two games with the Gators this season? Answer at the bottom of the blog. :)

Individual hitting stats
Highest Batting Average - .500 (Katie Foy)
Highest On Base Percentage Average - .682 (Katie Foy)
Most runs - 22 (Katie Foy) - NEW SCHOOL RECORD!
Most RBI's - 16 (Kelsey Hopper) - NEW SCHOOL RECORD!
Most singles - 15 (Katie Foy)
Most doubles - 4 (Katie Foy)
Most triples - 3 (Savanna Allen)

Players hitting .333 or above
Katie Foy - .500
Savanna Allen - .424
Morgan Tilley - .414
Kelsey Hopper "great name for a softball player" - .351
Amanda White - .344
Allison Sylvestri - .333

Players with an on base percentage .500 or above
Katie Foy - .682
Amanda White - .571
Morgan Tilley - .559
Savanna Allen - .514
Eva Valle - .500
Samantha Turley - .500


Team Defense

What Myrtle Grove did
MG team turned 4 doubles plays
MG total errors = 20 in 12 games
MG passed balls = 3 (Kelsey caught every game, that's 1 every 4 games!)
MG pick offs = 5

What Myrtle Grove did to their opponents
opponents batting average = .129 (GREAT TEAM EFFORT!)
opponents ERA = 1.36 (GREAT TEAM EFFORT!)
opponent stolen bases = only 8
opponent # of hits = 40 in 12 games (3.3 per game) (GREAT TEAM EFFORT!)
opponent strikeouts = 101 (8.4 per game) (combined efforts of Amanda, Morgan, Savanna, and Kelsey)
opponent walks = 25 (2.08 per game)
opponent earned runs = 14 in 12 games (GREAT TEAM DEFENSE!)
opponent average runs per game = 2.25


Special thanks to Richard Foy for keeping the "book" all season, and providing all the information for these statistics!

Thanks also goes to Kay Foy for organizing the snack schedule, and making all those reminder calls, AND, last but not least, to all the parents for making sure Gators had refreshments during the games.

Game Twelve: Tuesday, October 25 - Murray at MGMS

New Hanover County Middle School Softball Champions 2005!
front row: Allison S., Allison D., Morgan M., Carly, Michel, Savanna, Morgan T., Katie; 2nd row: managers holding banner: Crystal, McKenzie; back row: Amanda, Dalla, Samantha, Kelsey, Eva, Coach Williams, Coach Casey, Coach Steve.

After being rained out on Tuesday, Murray finally makes it to Myrtle Grove after beating Williston on Wednesday and insuring that Myrtle Grove wins the County Championship for the second consecutive year.

Even though the championship was secure, the Gators wanted to win. It was a defensive duel with the score 0-0 going into the top of the 6th. Good Murray hitting gave the Falcons the victory, 4-1.

That's okay though, because the Lady Gators got to celebrate like its 2005, because they are BACK 2 BACK New Hanover County Champs!

Neat Stats:

Hitting

Morgan T led the team going 1-2 with a double, and 2 RBI's.

Morgan Montgomery scored the only run of the game for Myrtle Grove.

Team bats a collective .217.

Defense

It was 0-0 going into the 6th inning. Opportune hitting and MG errors gave Murray 4 runs in the top of the 6th. MG had chances in the bottom of the 6th, but couldn't deliver. MG left two on base in scoring position.

************

LP - Amanda White

Score: 1-4 Record 10-2

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Way to go Gators!

Coaches:
Coach Bill Williams
Coach Steve Taylor
Coach Casey Reid

8th graders:
Dallas Caulkins
Katie Foy
Kelsey Hopper
Morgan Tilley
Eva Valle

7th graders:
Savanna Allen
Allison Dubrouillet
Carly Klinedinst
Morgan Montgomery
Michel Shackleford
Allison Sylvestri
Samantha Turley
Amanda White

Managers:
Crystal Harrell
McKenzie Rasmussen

News Flash: Murray beats Williston 5-3 giving Myrtle Grove Middle School the New Hanover County Softball Championship for the second straight year!

Game Eleven: Thursday, October 20 - Roland-Grise at MGMS

Roland-Grise came over to MGMS and gave it all they had, keeping the game close until the 5th inning. But the MGMS bats proved to be tough in the end AGAIN, and MGMS ended up with a 12-2 victory.

With this victory the Lady Gators assure themselves of NO LESS than a County Co-Championship.

Okay Lady Gators, 10-1 with one more game to go. Williston has two losses with one more game with Murray, as do the Gators. Looks like Murray will decide the final outcome. If Murray beats Williston in their postponed game, then Myrtle Grove wins the championship outright! Whoo hoo! So we'll have to cheer hard for Murray one day and try to beat them the next!

Picture: Eva gets ready to steal 2nd.

Neat Stats:

Hitting
Savanna and Morgan M. led the team with hits and runs.
Allison D, Savanna, Morgan, Allison S, Katie, and Amanda scored all the runs needed to defeat Roland-Grise, 12-2.

Carly AGAIN got hit twice by the pitcher to get on base.

Team had a collective batting average of .348

Defense
Amanda pitched a 12 strikeout game, which puts her total of double digit strikeout games to 3.

**********

WP - Amanda White
Kelsey again had no passed balls.

Score: 12-2 Record: 10-1

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Game Ten: Tuesday, October 18 - Williston at MGMS

The 9-0 Lady Gators finally make it back home for their last three games. Seems like its been forever since the Lady Gators played at home.

With an undefeated season in its sight, the Lady Gators were ready to take on the Williston Tigers. Well, just as the Tigers had done last year, coming into the "Grove" and upsetting the undefeated Gators, they did the same thing again this year.

While the game was a tough one to lose, what will be most memorable was the awesome coaching job Coach Williams did, and does every day during the season, whether it be practice or game days. The Gators aren't a team, they are FAMILY! YOU GO COACH WILLIAMS!

Picture: Carly hits a monster double!

Neat Stats:

Hitting
MG could only muster 6 hits, but still had chances to win this game. Allison D., Savanna and Morgan T. got MG a little momentum in the 2nd inning, but leaving 4 baserunners in scoring position, dashed any chances MG had. A couple of "interesting calls" took the steam out of a couple of innings, but in the end, errors by the defense hindered any comebacks.

Defense
Amanda threw 11 strikeouts and only one walk.

**********

LP - Amanda White

Score: 4-7 Record: 9-1

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Game Nine: Thursday, October 13 - MGMS at Trask

The beginning of the real second part of the season, Myrtle Grove at Trask. This will tell the Lady Gators if they really have a chance at the championship. Trask is out for revenge. They have only lost once, and that was to Myrtle Grove. So, which ever team wins this game will be in the "driver's seat".

The game started out with big hitting from both teams, and by the end of the second inning, the game was tied 3-3. From there Myrtle Grove tightened up on pitching and defense, and scored three more runs to finally win the game 6-4.

That brings Myrtle Grove's record to an OUTSTANDING 9-0. Whoo hoo! The final three games are with Williston, Roland-Grise and Murray. Way to go Lady Gators!

Picture: (above) Savanna throws the runner out at first. (left) Michel steals 2nd.

Neat Stats:

Hitting
Amanda went 3-3, with 2 runs and 1 RBI; Kelsey went 2-3, with 2 runs and 1 RBI; and
Carly, Michel, Katie, Morgan T, and Savanna all had hits against a very good pitching Trask team.

Team bats a collective .370.

Defense

Michel, Katie and Kelsey performed the most perfect double play this gator parent has seen in a long long time.
After making a great catch in right field, Michel smartly threw it QUICKLY to Katie Foy at cutoff, who then threw a durn bullet to Kelsey, who was waiting for the ball to tag the runner out at home.
That play was the turning point, from which MG continued on to take the game

**********

WP - Amanda White

Score: 6-4 Record: 9-0

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Games Seven and Eight: Tuesday, October 11 - MGMS at Virgo (makeup Doubleheader )

The Lady Gators traveled to Virgo to play a double header against Virgo. Morgan and Savanna pitched and combined for 2 shutouts! Savanna throws a NO-HITTER in the second game! The bats were a bit rusty after the week layoff, but they finally saw some good action in the second game.

The scores were 7-0 and 10-0. With those wins, Myrtle Grove Gators move to 8-0, and are at the top of the County standings. Upcoming games are Trask (Away), and then MG finishes the season with three games at home (Williston, Roland-Grise, and Murray). Toughest four games on the schedule, but you can do it girls!

Pictures: (left) Dallas at the plate. (below) Morgan Montgomery on the mound.


Neat Stats:

Hitting
Game 1:
Savanna went 3-3, as she continues her hitting spree, and Morgan Tilley went 2-3. Eva scored and had an RBI.

Team bats a collective .292.

Game 2:
Savanna NO-HITS Virgo! Dallas goes 1-2 with an RBI, and Morgan T, Katie, Amanda and Kelsey go a combined 7-7 as the bats woke up in the second game of the Virgo doubleheader. Very efficient hitting, scoring 6 runs on 7 hits. Carly had a tough day getting hit twice at bat. Way to take it for the team!

Team bats a collective .727.

**********

Game 1: WP - Morgan Montgomery; Save - Amanda White
Kelsey's streak of no passed ball games ends with one passed ball in the 3rd inning.

Score: 7-0 Record: 7-0

Game 2: WP - Savanna Allen; Savanna struck out 6, walked only 1, and allowed NO HITS in her first game on the mound of the season.
Kelsey again had no passed balls.

Score: 11-0 Record: 8-0

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Game Six: Tuesday, October 4 - Noble at Myrtle Grove

Myrtle Grove starts the second half of the season 5-0, (a double header with Virgo on October 11 will make up for the one team MG didn't play first half of season).

The second half begins with a rematch with Noble. Noble has gotten a lot better since the beginning of the season, and got out in front of MG 5-0. MG came back to take the lead, but Noble came back to tie the score. However, in the bottom of the last inning, Myrtle Grove finally pulled ahead for good, winning 14-8.

Picture: Michel warms up in right field.

Neat Stats:

Hitting
Kelsey went 3-4 with 3 singles, and Savanna went 2-3 to lead the Lady Gators to their first 'come from behind' victory.

Carly, Morgan M, Morgan T, and Katie all went 2-4. A big 6th inning by the Lady Gators sealed the victory.

Team bats a collective .419.

Defense
Carly turned an unassisted double play at first, and 9 put outs.

Katie Foy had a part in 7 outs, with 6 assists and 1 unassisted.

**********

WP - Amanda White
Kelsey again had no passed balls.

Score: 14-8 Record: 6-0

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At the Half: 5-0 and rolling!

v Noble: 10-0
v Trask: 2-1
v Williston: 11-1
v Roland-Grise: 9-1
v Murray: 6-0
________________
38 - 3

Picture: Morgan Tilley gets ready to steal 2nd.


Picture to the left: Samantha, Morgan T, Morgan M, Amanda and Eva pack it up after another win in the Gator blue home uniforms.

Game Five: Thursday, September 29 - MGMS at Murray

Okay, the truth is, we gotta beat 'em. Gotta get 'em now, gotta get 'em at their house.

So what do these Lady Gators do? Got 'em, and got 'em at their house.

While Karly Pierce of Murray did a good job of shutting Gator bats through the first two innings, you can't keep 'em down too much for too long. RBI machine Kelsey Hopper continued her streak, (surely she has some kind of streak for consecutive games with RBI's, doesn't she coach?) of making the big hit with Gators on base when they need it most.

After the 3rd inning, the Gators were up 2-0, after the 4th, 3-0; after the 5th, 5-0; and after the 6th, 6-0. Murray got some baserunners on, but stellar defense made short work of the Murray batting opportunities, and the Gators ended up with a 6-0 win.

Okay girls, you've been through the first rotation of the season undefeated (with the exception of Virgo), how do you feel? Now it's time to buckle down and put the championship away. You've shown you can do it, so keep it up!

Picture: Kelsey prepares to hit.

Neat stats:

Hitting
Kelsey went 3-3 with 2 singles and a double, a run and 2 RBI's Michel scored two runs. Samantha's discipline at the plate helped her get a big run for the Gators in the 4th inning.
Very efficient hitting, scoring 6 runs on 7 hits.

Team bats a collective .259.

Defense
Katie Foy had a part in 7 outs, with 6 assists and 1 unassisted; and Carly and Amanda teamed for a game-ending double play,

Carly had 9 put outs at 1st base.

**********

WP - Amanda White. Kelsey again had no passed balls. She finishes the first half of the season with no passed balls.

Score 6-0 Record: 5-0

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Game Four: Tuesday, September 27 - MGMS at Roland-Grise

It was another team effort (are we getting a bit repetitive here?) where offense and defense played equal parts in a 9-1 win over the Roland-Grise Lady Knights.

With the bats starting out giving the Lady Gators a 2-0 lead in the 1st, the Lady Knights were not able to get a base runner until the 3rd inning, when oh my, Amanda's sister, Ashley gets on base. Amanda, how could you? Fo Sho Sho....

Morgan Montgomery relieved Amanda in the 5th inning, and pitched 2 scoreless innings closing the game in her first appearance for Myrtle Grove.

Everyone got to play in this game, and we saw Dallas get up to bat for the first time this season! Whoo hoo, YEA! Fo Sho Sho...

Picture: Morgan pitches to Kelsey while Savanna, Amanda and Samantha wait for the result.

Neat Stats:

Hitting
Katie Foy continued her hot hitting ways, and Eva got a hit in only her 2nd time at bat to guide the Lady Gators to a 12-2 win over the Lady Knights. Savanna went 2-4, and Samantha got on base each time at bat, going on to score 1 run.
Katie topped the scoring with 4 runs, and a 1.000 batting and on base percentage for the game.
Team bats a collective .308.

Defense
Morgan Montgomery relieved Amanda in the fifth inning. Together, they combined to give up only 3 hits, and allowing no earned runs. Carly had 7 put outs at 1st base.

**********

WP - Amanda White; Save - Morgan Montgomery
Kelsey again had no passed balls. One pick off.

Score: 12-1 Record: 4-0

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Game Three: Thursday, September 22 - MGMS at Williston

Myrtle Grove used its bats to do its talking in this game, as every batter that made a plate appearance made it to first base. As Coach Williams said several times, "Batter, the bases are juiced, this is your time!", and most of the time, the batter delivered either a hit, an RBI, or the patience to take a walk (and get an RBI!).

A couple of errors in the field couldn't get the girls or the coaches down as they would regroup and get out of just about every "pinch" they got themselves into. The defense picked the pitching up, and the offense picked the defense up. All in all, another TOTAL FAMILY EFFORT! Congrats girls!

Picture above: Coach Williams talks with Allison S. before her time at bat.
Picture to the left: Allison D. hits one to right field.

Neat Stats:

Hitting
Allison S got a hit in only her 2nd time at bat, and scored one of the 11 runs by MG in a well executed game by the Lady Gators at Williston.
Morgan Tilley went 1-1, and Morgan Montgomery went 2-4 leading the offense, which was really "on" today.

The offense was so hot, that even with 11 runs, they left 6 baseruuners in scoring position on base.

Team bats a collective .304.

Picture: Eva steals 2nd.

Defense
Morgan Montgomery also contributed with the glove, getting three assists at 3rd and also combining with Kelsey to throw the runner out at 3rd in the 1st inning. Carly had 7 put outs at 1st base.

**********

WP - Amanda White
Kelsey again had no passed balls.

Score: 11-1 Record: 3-0

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Game Two: Tuesday, September 20 - Trask at MGMS

Most folks who are interested in Middle School softball this year, would have probably wagered that Trask Middle School was the favorite to take the county championship in 2005. With a team with lots of 8th graders that play travel ball, and some strong travel ball playing 7th graders, (much like Myrtle Grove in 2004), it was probably not a bad bet. But as we all know, games must be played, and anything can happen.

What happened was an extremely well-played game, with Myrtle Grove's defense stepping up time after time to shut down Trask to only 1 run. What happened was that Myrtle Grove was able to have the top of the lineup start the 6th inning (last inning), and create the winning run.

What happened was a tough, tough, game for both teams, with Myrtle Grove coming out on top 2-1, THIS TIME.

What happened was a TOTAL TEAM EFFORT, with every player contributing to the win in some way! Way to come together girls! Congrats girls on a well-played, gritty, determined WIN! 2-0 and counting!

Picture: Katie gets ready to hit one HARD!

Neat Stats:

Hitting
Bats were kept relatively quiet until the last inning when Katie and Amanda made good contact to get on base and Kelsey got the first of her many RBI's to win the game in the bottom of the 6th.

Team bats a collective .211.

Defense
Lots of excellent defense held Trask to just one run. Twice the defense tightened up to hold Trask from scoring with two runners on.

Katie and Morgan M turned a DP in the 5th with 2 runners on and 1 out.

**********

WP - Amanda White
Kelsey again had no passed balls or stolen bases against her.

Score: 2-1 Record: 2-0

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Hurricane Ophelia Interrupts Softball Season

Hurricane Ophelia, while not anything like Hurricane Katrina, still closed schools for three days, and caused postponement of one game. However, Myrtle Grove lost their precious "bye" game, which means they'll have games every Tuesday and Thursday without fail until end of October.

Game One: Thursday, September 8 - MGMS at Noble

Myrtle Grove started the season playing a very young, and inexperienced Noble MS team away from home.

Myrtle Grove was able to take advantage ofNoble's infield and outfield errors to eventually close the game with a 16-0 win.

Way to start the season girls! 1-0 and counting!

Pictures: Kelsey catching, and Amanda pitching.

Neat Stats:

Hitting
Katie Foy, Savanna Allen and Allison Dubronillet all hit .500 in the first game of the season at Noble.

Samantha T reached base 2 times and scored once. Katie and Allison D. also had On Base % (OBP) of 1.00.

MG team bats a collective .200.

Defense
The battery of Amanda White and Kelsey Hopper broke the school record for strikeouts in their first game as a pitcher / catcher tandem with 14.

**********

WP - Amanda White
Kelsey had no passed balls, or stolen bases against her.

Score: 16-0 Record: 1-0

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Myrtle Grove MS Tryouts 2005

Tryouts were supposed to start two days prior to first day of school with "Pressure free tryout warm-ups." However, the weather didn't cooperate, and tryouts began on August 25th and ended on the 26th. After Friday's tryout, Coach Williams told the girls that the team selection would be posted over the weekend, so practice could start on Monday.

Coach Williams posted the new team roster at the school on Friday night. The 2005 Lady Gators, tasked with defending the County championship the 2004 team won, is made up of only three returning 8th graders. The team makeup: 5 eighth graders (of which 3 return from last year) and 8 seventh graders.

The 2005 Lady Gators are: (In alphabetical order by grade)

Coaches
Coach Williams
Coach Taylor
Coach Reid

Players
8th graders
Dallas
Eva
Katie
Kelsey
Morgan T

7th graders
Allison D
Allison S
Amanda
Carly
Michel
Morgan M
Samantha
Savanna

Managers
Crystal
McKenzie

Answer to trivia question at the beginning of the blog:
Murray Middle School, in the last game of the season.