JUNE 4 - Buckley's advanced to round two of the city tournament with a strong showing against the RUG Incredibles team. The Buckley's bats were cracking, but the story was about defense and pitching. Rachel Livengood took the mound for Buckley's, pitching six fast innings with lots of help from the field, including a huge snag on a left-field line drive by Katy Wicks. Buckley's rallied in the third inning with hits by Livengood, Joey Bosserman, McKinley Kellogg, Sage Nicholson, Kate Adler, Kendall Collins and a home run by Alex Wilson. Final score: Buckley's 10, RUG Incredibles 2.
JUNE 6 - Buckley's continued its march to the championship by defeating the number-two seed, Magnolia's Carol Ard team, 9-6. The game was a nail-biter with both teams battling through the sixth inning. Buckley's scored first with heads-up base running by Rachel Livengood and Alex Wilson. The Ard team roared back in the second with strong hitting, but was held to three runs with excellent fielding by shortstop McKinley Kellogg and a tag at the plate by catcher A. Wilson.
The game was tied going into the sixth and final inning. With two outs and three on base, Buckley's Cara Piraino reached base on a catcher's interference call that brought in a run. A base hit by Livengood was deflected by the first baseman into Piraino and on into the outfield for two runs. A base hit by Lindsay Wilson drove in another run. Carol Ard scored one in the bottom of the sixth, just to keep us all on edge, but Buckley's shut down their offense with skillful plays by Livengood, Kellogg and Adler.
JUNE 8 - Buckley's Rachel Livengood and Super-Graphics' Mindy pitched excellent games during the playoff finale on Friday. With the score tied 3-3 at the top of the third inning, it was clear neither team would walk away with an easy win. Both teams were playing with their eye on the championship game to be played at Husky Stadium.
Despite Buckley's great defense, SuperGraphics scored and led by one run in the fourth inning until Buckley's bats came alive. Linsday Wilson drove in two runs with a double, advancing her team's score 5-4. With the bases loaded, McKinley Kellogg's grand slam earned her team four more runs - securing Buckley's 9-4 lead. In the top of the fifth, SuperGraphics batters retaliated to lead 11-9. In the bottom of the fifth, Alex Wilson's homer to the fence, Paige Garratt's double, Sage Nicholson's and Kelsey Overbey's triple advanced Buckley's to a two-run lead with a score of 13-11. In their last attempt at bat, SuperGraphics hitters were aggressive in box and bases.
With a SuperGraphics runner on second and the potential to tie the game, Buckley's Livengood struck out a batter, then proceeded to snag two grounders at the mound and, with the help of teammate Kate Adler, got the last two runners out at first base to win the game by one point with a final of 13-12! Buckley's displayed a great team effort with every player contributing to the victory and their shot at the championship. The team headed to Buckley's for dinner and celebrated with an ovation from the Buckley's restaurant patrons.
JUNE 12 - Buckley's entered the final game of the City Tournament at Husky Stadium as the only team to have defeated Pennon Construction during the regular season. Pennon relied heavily on ace pitcher Samantha Shanahan, who completed the game with nine strikeouts. Despite Pennon's strong pitching, Buckley's managed a couple of great rallies with hits by Paige Garrett, Sage Nicholson, Kelsey Overby, Joey Bosserman and Macauley Cameron.
Pennon's coach commented that Buckley's was one of few teams that had been able to hit off their pitcher all season. Defensively, the second-to-first combination of Bosserman to Kate Adler made a number of quick outs. Catcher Alex Wilson guarded the plate well, allowing no passed balls. Despite the intimidating setting of a big crowd at Husky Stadium, pitcher Rachel Livengood performed with poise and confidence.
The final score was Pennon 11, Buckley's 7, but overall the season was a huge success. For many of the girls and coaches, this was the fulfillment of a dream to play at Husky Stadium.
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