Saturday, July 23, 2011
Stars finish summer tournaments with big wins in Carroll County competition
In some ways, the Crofton Stars 10-and-under softball team had some bad luck at last weekend’s Central Maryland League tournament in Carroll County. Teams must do a coin flip in these kinds of competitions to determine who is the home team, something most want since they get the final at-bat. But the Stars lost all five coin flips. However, they won everything else. The Stars got their bats out last weekend, averaging over nine runs per game and easily rolling to the tournament title in the final competition this summer. The Stars had about 12 girls in the tournament last weekend, missing some people because of vacations. But they were able to play solid softball, getting good hitting and strong pitching. They got help from a number of …
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Crofton Stars take Rock 'n Rumble competition, edge Tri-State in title game
The Crofton Stars 10-under softball team got their bats out last weekend, and the others in the Rock ‘n Rumble tournament paid the price. Crofton banged out 49 runs in five games, but it needed just one in the finale. The Stars had to go into extra innings but made some big plays in the eighth to pull out a 1-0 victory over the Tri-State Thunder. Caroline Mills threw a no-hitter in the win and struck out 17 batters in eight innings, but she needed to get out of trouble in the eighth. Rules allow teams to start extra innings with a runner on second base, and the Thunder used a sacrifice bunt to get the runner to third with one out. She then tried to score on a passed ball, but catcher Katy Conroy dove for the loose ball and threw it to …
Thursday, May 12, 2011
South River boys get a bye in the first round of play; girls face off against Glen Burnie on Monday.
The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association released the brackets for boys high school baseball and girls high school softball this week. All schools in Maryland are divided by size into four divisions: 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A. South River High School plays 4A ball in the east division. Each regional division hosts playoffs on their home fields at the local schools. The winners of those playoffs in each regional division face off on May 24 at the regional semifinals at the University of Maryland. West plays East, and North plays South. The winner of those games face off for the state final. South River, seeded third, got a bye in the first round of the playoffs and on May 18 will face the winner of the Broadneck (sixth seed) vs. …
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Pitching gives up just two hits in four games; offense produces 36 runs in the wins
The Crofton 10-under softball team did just about everything right at last weekend’s CML Tournament up in Hampstead. The Stars won all four of their games and rolled to the tournament championship, capping it with a tough 2-1 victory over Olney in the title game onSunday. This tournament had six teams—from Catonsville, Olney, Howard County, Westminster and Winfield, in addition to the Stars. In the title game, Olney pushed across a run in the first inning and held that lead until the bottom of the fourth of the five-inning game. That’s when the top of the Crofton line-up made some noise. Allison Page, Caroline Mills and Katy Conroy combined for a quick two-runrally. Page got a single, and Mills followed with a triple. Conroy then added a …
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The Stars finished a six-inning game with 14 walks, to pull out a 7-3 victory in a home game.
The Crofton Stars 10-under travel team showed how to win in softball in a recent game even if you don’t get many hits. Crofton managed only two hits against the HCYP Patriots, but used 14 walks and a lot of patience at the plate to pull out a 7-3 victory in a home game earlier in the week. CLICK HERE TO VIEW CROFTON STARS PHOTO GALLERY The Stars finished the six-inning game with 14 walks, which was a big complement to the two hits. Several of the Stars played a role in helping the offense post the seven runs—especially in the first inning when they scored five for an early 5-0 lead. They added two more in the third inning to stretch the lead to 7-2. The Patriots – who finished with only two hits themselves – pushed across a run in the …
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Crofton Stars 12-U take a tournament win.
The 12-under Crofton Stars softball team had some fun at last weekend's Kickoff Classic in York, Pa., getting a combination of good hitting and pitching to win three of four games. The fast-pitch softball team's 3-1 record in the tournament was good enough to finish in third place overall, which landed the Stars an invitation to the USSSA World Series at Disney World in late July. Crofton fell to the WHC Fever ’98. But the rest of the tournament was all about victories as the Stars rolled over NOVA Screaming Eagles Blue, Solanco Blaze and PA Blitz with little trouble, outscoring their opponents, 19-3. The Fever topped Crofton, 10-1. But Crofton blanked NOVA (4-0) and the Blaze (3-0). The Stars also routed the Blitz, 12-3. Manager Kevin …
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Pitchers combine for two no-hitters; Stars score 17 runs in two games
The Crofton Stars 10-under softball team packed in plenty of good pitching and hitting as they started the season with a pair of victories over Catonsville last weekend. Crofton didn’t give up a hit in both games, beating Catonsville 7-0 and 10-6. Crofton’s Mandy Oyler and Caroline Mills led the way with solid pitching performances against their Baltimore County rivals. Oyler threw three no-hitter innings in the 7-0 game. She struck out eight and walked just two. Mills also didn't give up a hit, struck out nine and walked just two in 3 1/3 innings in the other game. “They were flawless,” said coach Lisa Mills. Emma Ruberg came on behind Oyler to finish that game and struck out the side. Ruberg and Caitlyn Houck pitched in the …
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Crofton Softball program is ready to roll again as the select (travel) teams are scheduled to have their initial tournaments this weekend.
It’s softball time once again. There are players who spent parts of the summer, fall and winter working on their various skills, but now it's time to put that work to good use. The Crofton Softball program is ready to roll again – despite this week’s rotten weather – as the select (travel) teams are scheduled to have their initial tournaments this weekend. “The girls and coaches are looking forward to getting in their new uniforms for the first time and playing a real game,” said softball commissioner Lisa Mills, who also serves as a coach on the 10-under select team. Both the 10-under and 12-under select teams will play similar schedules that begin this weekend and go through mid-July. This is the roster for the 12-under this …
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Crofton Softball puts out a call for volunteers to help the teams
Crofton Softball Commissioner Lisa Mills loves working with the girls and teaching them the finer points of the game. There’s the right way to hit and field and run the bases, all the good stuff that kids need to learn. But being the commissioner also means there’s also the work away from the field, like what Mills is dealing with now. She’s trying to find volunteers to help Crofton Softball in a variety of ways before the season begins in a few weeks. “This is every year,” Mills said. “Recruiting volunteers is part of the commissioner’s responsibility—but it’s probably the hardest part.” Mills said that Crofton Softball needs a number of volunteers to help the program succeed. First, they need people to coordinate and help run the…
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Girls softball squad adds to Crofton’s travel team possibilities.
The weather’s getting warmer, and now it’s time for softball once again. Crofton is going to have two kinds of softball teams this spring. One group is going to play in the North County Community Girls Softball League (NCCGSL). That’s called the recreation league, but there’s also going to be two travel teams this season. The travel teams, called the “Crofton Stars,” will be in the 10 and under and 12 and under age groups. This will be the first time Crofton’s been able to have more than one travel team. Lisa Mills is the 10 and under team coach. She said her team’s been practicing indoors throughout the winter and recently moved outside. They will play in six tournaments this spring. Their first appearance will be April 9-10 in …
