Congratulations Riot
Hampden-Sydney tops ODAC Preseason Greater Football Poll; Randolph-Macon picked fourth Richmond By Charlie Leffler cleffler@mechlocal.com
Photo submitted by Kendall Hall
Front from left: Emily Marcy, Virginia Irby, Kayla Hugate, Jessica Lindsay and Lindsey Hall. Back: Taylor Wells, Machaela Gunn, Coach Wells, Jackie Tremain, Coach Hugate, Sarah Commons, Coach Hall and Jordan Clark.
Congratulations to the 12U River City Riot Girls Fast Pitch Softball team who recently competed in its last tournament as the Riot in the Softball Nation Fast Pitch National, July 21-24 in Virginia Beach, VA. The Riot completed and 80 run, beating the Richmond Rampage in the championship game. The Riot scored 68 runs and only allowed six through eight games. Despite the brutal heat, the Riot played like champions.
We are very proud of the Riot accomplishments, and the strong name this group of girls and coaches have built for the Riot. Now we will move forward and merge with the RBI Inferno Fast Pitch Organization. 13U RBI will hold tryouts Aug. 10-11 at LC Bird Athletic Complex. Registration begins at 5 p.m. and tryouts begin at 6-9:30 p.m. For more info contact Coach Chris Hugate: (804) 426-7738. Submitted by Kendall Hall
Juniors continue winning streak Staff reports On Sunday evening, the Mechanicsville Junior All-Star baseball team finished pool play in the Southeast Region tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. Mechanicsville started pool play Friday with a 10-7 win over Tennessee (2-1). On Saturday, the Juniors defeated West Virginia (0-3) 7-5. They then completed pool play with a 4-1 win over Florida (1-2). The Juniors advanced
to the semifinals where they were scheduled to play North Carolina (1-1) on Monday afternoon. With a win Mechanicsville would advance to the championship and face the winner of the Georgia (2-0) vs Tennessee game. Mechanicsville finished pool play with the lowest runs allowed average at 0.619. Georgia was third with 0.7143, North Carolina third (1.0) and Tennessee fifth (1.1249).
MLL Juniors not the first In last week’s Mechanicsville Local it was reported that this year’s Mechanicsville Junior baseball team were the first to reach Southeast Regional play. They are in fact the third. In 2003, the 13-14 year old MLL softball team finished third in regional play. More recently, the 2009 MLL Seniors baseball team won the Virginia state championship and advanced to regional play in Florida.
With three first place votes, Hampden-Sydney was selected to top the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Preseason Football Poll last week. The defending ODAC champion Tigers finished last year’s regular season with a perfect 10-0 record while boasting both the league’s top offense and stingiest defense. H-SC was followed in the poll by Bridgewater, Emory & Henry, Randolph-Macon, Washington & Lee, Guilford and Catholic. Hampden-Sydney was not a unanimous selection to occupy the top slot as four teams received first place votes. Bridgewater picked up two number one votes while E&H and R-MC both were given one. As such, both coaches and players believe it should be a highly competitive year in the ODAC.
“I think there’s a lot of parity in this league,” said RandolphMacon head coach Pedro Aruzza. “I think it’s been that way for the last three or four years. You’d better come ready to play on a given Saturday because if you don’t, as we discovered last year when we went down to Guilford, you’re going to lose. “Without a doubt I think there’s a lot of teams that have the capability of being conference champions this year,” Aruzza added, “a lot of teams that have the ability of putting a run together.” H-SC head coach Marty Favret concurred. “We said the same thing last year and it was anyone’s game,” he said. “We were able to navigate through our ODAC schedule but five of the six games were up for grabs going into the fourth quarter, including the game against Catholic that was 0-6 in the conference. None of us were
Justin Jasper wins QB award at Brian Mitchell Football Camp
naïve enough to think that this is a top tier heavy league. “You’ve got to win your home games,” Favret said. “You’ve really got to take care of home then hope you get on the road and you get more than you don’t get.” H-SC was the only ODAC team to be listed on the D-III Preseason Football Poll, coming in second among others receiving votes. The Tigers return a host of local players including two-time All-ODAC offensive lineman, junior Ben Rogers and junior running back Kirk Rohle both from Hanover High School. Mills Godwin product Travis Lane is expected to take over at quarterback, while wide out Sean Cavanaugh (Midlothian), Anthony Mancini (Benedictine) and tight end Andrew Buckner (LC Bird) are back as All-ODAC selections from last season. Two league players were named Preseason AllAmericans. Hampden-Sydney senior safety Bill Doody was named a First Team AllAmerican while Emory and Henry senior running back Caleb Jennings was named to the second team offensive unit.
2010 ODAC Preseason Football Poll 1. Hampden-Sydney 2. Bridgwater 3. Emory & Henry 4. Randolph-Macon 5. Washington & Lee 6. Guilford 7. Catholic
44 pts 39 pts 36 pts 29 pts 22 pts 14 pts 12 pts
Field Hockey players wanted Justin Jasper earned the Top Quarterback Award at the 2010 Brian Mitchell Football Camp held at George Mason University in June. A highlight of the week long camp was the final scrimmage. In the final seconds, Justin threw a 40-yard touchdown pass that won the game. Justin, a fifth grader at St. Christopher’s School, is the son of Keith and Amy Jasper of Mechanicsville. Brian Mitchell holds several NFL records from his years with the Washington Redskins and a Super Bowl XXVI ring. Submitted by Amy Jasper
A Mechanicsville field kockey team for girls and boys ages 5-8 is forming. Please call Merridee Gibson at (804) 7792302 or contact 6gibsons@comcast.net. Practices will take place one time a week in Hanover with games on Saturdays on the southside.
Golf Classic schedule at Richmond Country Club Tuesday, August 10 8 a.m. Practice Round: Practice Round for Duramed FUTURES Tour Players 1:30-2:30 p.m. Medtronic Carling Coffing Golf Clinic 4 p.m. Junior Clinic: Junior Clinic hosted at the Driving Range at RCC 6:30 p.m. Meet The Pros Party: Reception with Duramed FUTURES Tour Players hosted at Richmond Country Club Wednesday, August 11 11:30 a.m. Pro-Am: Registration opens and lunch is served 1 p.m. Shotgun start Thursday, August 12 6:30 a.m. Pro-Am registration opens, breakfast is served 8 a.m. Shotgun start 6:30 p.m. Finals of Sun Mountain Skills Challange 6:30 p.m. Go Pro Fashion Show Friday, August 13 8 a.m. First round of Greater Richmond Golf Classic Saturday, August 14 8 a.m. Second round of Greater Richmond Golf Classic Sunday, August 15 8 a.m. Final round of Greater Richmond Golf Classic. Awards Ceremony Immediately following play
Softball players wanted The King William Bobcats 16U Travel Softball Team will be holding tryouts Sunday, August 22, 2010 at King William High School at 2 p.m. You may contact Mike Jenkins at (804) 4415047 with any questions.
The Mechanicsville Local
August 11, 2010 35