Cougars 15U Softball Wins USSSA World Series Qualifier

On June 28th the 15U Cougars Softball Club became the champions of 16U Aurora Summer Bash, a United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) open tournament featuring both USSSA A and B teams. The Cougars did in grand fashion, tallying 6 wins and no losses at the Stuart Sports Complex.

Pool play began for the 15U-A Cougars in the rain against the Plainfield Burn. Kati Potaczek and Hunter Hoffman combined for a 1-hitter 7-0 shutout of the Burn with a combined .694 strike percentage. Next up for the Cougars was the first of 3 weekend games against the Algonquin Aces. Yes, 3; that’s the magic of seeding and a double-elimination bracket tournament. The first contest against the Aces ended in a 6-2 Cougar victory. Offensive highlights included a 2–3 performance from Hannah Bingham (1B, 2B), a 1 for 2 outing from Natalie Nowacki (1B, RBI), and a perfect 2-2 dish outing from Anne Grasse that included a big-time 3 RBI triple to seal the Aces fate.

On Saturday, June 27th the Cougars entered the double-elimination bracket seeded third behind the Palos Storm and the Plainfield Shockers. First up was the host Aurora Raiders who were dispatched by the Cougars 8–1 on another strong outing by Kati and Hunter in the circle. All 8 Cougar runs were driven in by RBIs courtesy of Gianna Frale, Kati Potaczek, Morgan Bojesen, Brianna Suchy, Hunter Hoffman (2), Heather Anderson, and Hanna Kikos. The girls made Hannah Bingham (1-2, 1B) do a bunch of running; Hannah crossed the plate 3 times in the contest.

The Saturday 7:30 PM bracket game against the Plainfield Shockers was a huge game for the Cougars. In 2014, the Shockers ended a Cougar run in a USSSA contest in Geneva. Going into the game both the Cougars and the Shockers were undefeated in the tournament. In the end, the Cougars pounded the Shockers 14-0. Hunter Hoffman shot an amazing no-hitter featuring 9 strikeouts with a .729 strike percentage. 9 of 10 Cougar hitters combined for 11 hits and 14 runs. Kati was 1-2 (2 RBI), Hannah 2-3 (1B, 3B, 2 RBI), Morgan 1-3 (1B, RBI), Brianna 1-3 (2B), Heather a perfect 2-2 (1B, 3B, 3 RBI), Hunter 1-2 (1B, RBI), Anne 1-2, Kaitlyn 1-2 (2B, 2 RBI), and Natalie a perfect 1-1 (1B, BB).

Sunday the 28th was reserved for two contests against the Algonquin Aces. After the completion of a 9 AM game the Cougars dropped the Aces back into the loser’s bracket with a 6-3 victory and earned a berth to the title game. The Aces then went on to defeat the Plainfield Shockers and earned the right to face the Cougars in the title game.

In the championship game against the Aces the Cougars came out flat. At the end of 5 innings the Aces had the Cougars on the ropes with a score of 6 to 2. In the bottom of the 6th the Cougars added 2 runs to bring the score to Aces 6 and Cougars 4. The Aces led off the top of the 7th with a bomb triple. Hunter Hoffman responded by striking out the next batter, then served up two fly-outs to strand the Aces runner at third and end the top of the 7th. Fast forward to the Cougar bottom of the 7th inning with 2 outs with the tying runs on board – Hannah Bingham on 2nd and Morgan Bojesen on 1st. Hunter Hoffman hit a single to left field to load the bases. Next up was Brianna Suchy. On a 1 and 1 count Bri, shot a hard ground ball just fair into left field. Bri’s hit resulted in a double that plated both Hannah and Morgan to tie the game at 6. With the Hunter Hoffman, the winning run, on 3rd and Brianna Suchy on 2nd, up came Heather Anderson the Cougar short-stop. On the first pitch, a letters-high fastball over the middle of the plate, Heather laced a walk-off Cougar line drive to center for the game winner!

The 2015 15U Cougars Softball Club are, in alphabetical order, Heather Anderson, Hannah Bingham, Morgan Bojesen, Kaitlyn Falduto, Gianna Frale, Anne Grasse, Hunter Hoffman, Hanna Kikos, Allie Mullinger, Natalie Nowacki, Kati Potaczek, and Brianna Suchy. The Cougars are managed by Mark Kikos who is assisted by Jim Bingham, Myles Hoffman, and Scott Suchy.

You and your daughter can be become part of one of the best fastpitch families in Northern Illinois. Tryouts for 2015 – 2016 Cougar teams will be on August 1st. We wear Mizuno #ScarletRoyalandWhite. Visit www.CougarsBaseballSoftball.com and their armada of social sites to learn about the Cougars. #HitSomeGetSomeRuns!