THIS IS WHY WE'RE HOT - CHAMPIONS that is!!!

We did it!!! The Champions

Sunday morning was another early day everyone wondered about the girls ability to win the morning....these games have generally been our downfall - but the extra hour and a half sure worked wonders for our Firebirds. All of the girls were awake and ready to play! They came out swinging and went through all that the KC Impact had to show them. The Impact was a team that had beat us in the Hawaiian Hitfest by 1 run....and no one wanted that to happen again. Firebirds made sure it didn't and with Shelby on the mound the Impact had a tough time hitting! Our fielding was excellent, everyone was stopping balls, catching and making good judgements from the outfield. Firebirds weren't going to be stopped again - they made that point hard with a double digit win over the Impact.

Next was a rematch with the Lightning Green - both teams were undefeated! The Lightning Green jumped out to 4-0 at the top of the 1st inning. We had some coming back to do, but we knew that based on yesterday's late run, we could do it. We had just scored 10+ runs in one inning in the last game against the Impact. The Firebirds came back with EXCELLENT HITS AND BASE RUNNING and made it 7-4, but the Lightning is a great team and we knew we had out work cut out to keep them back. With time expired, they eventually tied it up in the top of the last inning. We knew we only needed 1 run to win one of the biggest games of the day! All 3 fields down on the bottom of the complex were watching this one, very exciting, game. The players in the dugout were up on the fence cheering and making sure that everyone in the stands knew the Firebirds were there to win! Alyvia got the call....she was so nervous she nearly passed out! This one at bat meant more to her personally than any other time. Thanks to Marvin who was posed at the back of the plate reminding her to breathe between every pitch. She hit a hard grounder and made it to 1st. Kathryn was next...the Lightning called time to freeze her out, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, she stood in there and took the pitch - Alyvia stole 2nd. The tension was mounting as our winning run was now on 2nd base.....there she went, stealing 3rd base. The catcher popped up and threw to 3rd, the ball bounce by the outside of the bag and before we knew it, she was on her way to home...........she made it the FIREBIRDS WON THE GAME!!!

How exciting for all of the girls, they knew this was the team to beat and they did it. Sending the Lightning to the losers bracket. Now, if the Lightning wanted the Championship, they were going to have to go through us 2 more times to get it. The Firebirds weren't going to let that happen. Lightning went on to lose to the Southside Slammers in another nail biter for them. Now it was the Southside Slammers against the Firebirds. This would be another re-match. Saturday, they beat us by 2...but we knew that we were a different team. Top of the 1st inning was a bit rough...3 up 3 down. A little scary - but with Lindsey on the mound for the 2nd time in a row, the defense stepped it up and only allowed 1 score. Then our girls turned it on and hit everything. They made it on base nearly every time after that and hit every pitcher that stepped on the mound. I'm sure everyone's heard of the Boston "Green Monster", well there is an Adair "Chain Monster".....Lindsey tamed the beast with a 3 run homer that even the Slammer fans had to admire!!! What a beautiful shot (it may have even cleared the 'Green Monster'). Our girls are dynamite!!!
They came from behind this weekend, they got out on top and never looked back this weekend and THEY WERE THE BEST TEAM THIS WEEKEND - - - something we fans have known all along!
WE LOVE OUR CHAMPIONSHIP FIREBIRDS!

This is why we're HOT!!!

June 23, 2007

Saturday began with an exciting early morning game against the Blue Springs Lightning Green....yep, the same team that beat us at the CowTown Showdown. The Lightning opened up an early lead, but we held off many more scores. In the bottom of the last inning, the girls charged back with some excellent bats and base running, only to end up a few runs short. Great come back girls and way to not give up on yourselves and the team!!! Next was a game against the Southside Slammers. Our bats were on, but we just needed an extra 12 inches on many hits to change the game. The Firebirds were again united as a team and working together! We hit ball after ball, only to have them caught and caught again. Giving credit where it is due, the Slammers are a great defensive team with excellent fielding skills and fundamentals. The girls are maintaining their composure - sometimes better than the coach (we were minus 1 coach for the game)! Firebirds ended up on the short end of the 0-2 score. But another great game - - - we are getting better and better.

After that game, the girls and families all ended up watching the other games and enjoying the shade!

Our final game of the day, but the 1st in the bracket play for the tournament was against the PC Raiders. I don't remember facing this team before and they had a FIERCE pitcher. One of the hardest pitchers to read. The girls did AWESOME - they hit and gained confidence each time at the plate. Everyone was aggressive on the bases and stole whenever possible. The Firebirds came out on top and we would start Sunday in the winners bracket!

June 3rd - Final Day at the Hawaiian Hitfest!!!

Firebirds were pumped to start the final day of the Hitfest. We were up against the Echoes Attack out of Omaha, NE. Firebirds won the matchup with a 13-0 score. Shelby got her 2nd homerun of the season and Lindsey 'hit' the fence - sooo close to her 2nd! The girls were on fire that game.
After the game we decided to have a picnic for them at the ballfield. Since we won, we had another 2 games (hopefully) to go for the day. The girls had fun playing a pick up game of kickball with some of their brothers and sisters. The next game was against the Rhythm....many of the girls had watched the Rhythm play against the Kryptonite (who we had beat the day before). With that, I think we let off the game a bit and with the help of some officiating - the Rhythm came out on top. I think everyone learned a valuable lesson and WE WON'T TAKE ANY OPPONENT LIGHTLY!
The girls really played hard and made some outstanding plays, both offensively and defensively. Lots of caught balls and good fielding - to go along with some excellent hits...
WE ARE PROUD OF OUR FIREBIRDS!

Day 2 - Hawaiian Hitfest - Basehor, KS

Saturday was a 1 game day and the girls made it count. There was lots of fun (and mud) all over the Basehor Field of Dreams! We had another dugout contest with the Hawaiian theme and even the coaches got into the fun....some more willing than others!

We played the KC Fusion in an evening game. Our girls can HIT!!! Lindsey got a 3 run homer that made it over the fence and almost to the bounce house.... Coach Scott made the deal of a lifetime....if the girls win - he'll do a hula at the pitchers mound. The girls made him pay! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -WE LOVE OUR FIREBIRDS!!!

June 1st, 2007 Start of the Hawaiian Hitfest

Our Friday began at 6:00 against the KC Impact. Everyone was ready to get the games in before the rain (yes, rain again). Coaches were making some changes in the field to try to keep our girls focused. Both teams were even through the entire game, until KC Impact's last at bat. They moved a runner around and scored the winning run (0-1) off an rbi to right field.

Between games, the girls had a rare break. They ran around and goofed off, like all 10 year olds do! The relaxation proved to be much needed and at 8:30 we took the field again. This time the Kryptonite was our opponent. I overheard someone say that it's a good thing we are 'SuperGirls'!
TOO CUTE...Firebirds bats were on again - and again - and again. They ALL were hitting their way around the bases and doing some very aggressive base running. It seemed like everyone got on base at some point, and most scored. There were some slight injuries....like a pitch to the inside hip and a tag to the helmet, but they pulled it out, played hard, and won in a very impressive fashion.