Mean Green Win 14 And Under Districts

The O'Neill mean Green won the 14 and under district tournament on June 15, 16 and 17. Front row (l-r): Libi Slack, Jordan Clement, Shelby Heiser, Randi Pinkerman, Paula Zakrzewski and Sarah Devall. Second row (l-r): Bailey Dougherty, Arianna Dugan, Paige Gaughenbaugh, Alexis Schaffer, Ariel Lichty and Riley Sibbel. Third row (l-r): coaches Bob Pinkerman, Chuck Price and Cris Slack. Not pictured Hannah Zeeb.

The O'Neill Mean Green 14U softball team won their first district softball championship, winning the 14U Class C Tournament on June 16 and 17 in Emerson. The Mean Green did it the hard way, losing their first game to host Emerson, then battling back through the loser's bracket by winning eight games in a row.

In the opening game, both teams showed signs of first-game nerves as hits were hard to come by until Emerson ran off seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Trailing 10-2 in their last at-bat, the Mean Green scored four runs, but could not sustain the rally and ended up losing 10-6.  

Next up was Stuart and the Mean Green came out ready.  Randi Pinkerman, Libi Slack and Shelby Heiser all reached base in the first inning and Riley Sibbel drove a grand slam to the gap in left center to give the Green a 4-0 lead.  They never looked back after that, rolling to a 17-1 win.  Heiser pitched the victory, striking out five in three innings.

On Sunday morning the Mean Green faced a tough Pierce team and came away with a 6-4 win. Pierce scored first, taking a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Pinkerman walked, stole second and eventually scored on a passed ball to tie the game.  In the third, Bailey Dougherty lead off the inning with a line-drive single to left and came around to score on an infield out. The Mean Green plated three runs in the fifth.  Hannah Zeeb drew a walk and Sarah Devall drove a double to left, followed by Dougherty who had another base hit.  The Green then finished the game with three strikeouts in the top of the sixth.  Randi Pinkerman pitched the win, striking out nine.

With the early game out of the way, the Mean Green faced having to win six in a row to take the championship.  Next up was Albion and the Mean Green fired up the bats to defeat them 13-3 in four innings. In the game Shelby Heiser had two doubles and a single and Riley Sibbel was one hit away from the cycle, with a single, double and a triple.  

Sunday afternoon began with a win over a scrappy Plainview team.  The Mean Green offense was in high gear, as they pounded out 14 hits and 18 runs in four innings.  Paula Zak, Paige Gaughenbaugh and Jordan Clement each had key hits in a nine run fourth inning to secure the win.  The battery of Pinkerman and Libi Slack combined to strike out eight Plainview batters.

In the fourth game of the day, the Mean Green faced Jackson and hit their way to a 14-5 win. Pitchers Shelby Heiser and Riley Sibbel combined to get the win.  Ariel Lichty lead the way at the plate with a double and a triple.  

After the Jackson win, the tournament was down to three teams, Emerson, Crofton and the Mean Green.  O'Neill faced Emerson next. The offense got started in the third inning with a lead-off base hit from Paula Zak.  That was followed by three consecutive singles from Pinkerman, Slack and Hieser and another grand slam from Riley Sibbel.  Lichty and Jordan Clement also had hits in the six-run inning.  The Mean Green put the game away with a three-run fifth inning that started with a solo home run from Pinkerman. The battery of Pinkerman and Slack, combined with error-free defense to allow only two hits in the 9-0 win.

The Mean Green now had to beat an undefeated Crofton team twice to claim the championship.  The first game was a tough battle, with the Green coming out on top 5-2.  Randi Pinkerman stayed in the circle and set a team record, striking out 17 Crofton hitters in seven innings and allowing only two hits. At the plate, Jordan Clement had two key hits and Sarah Devall scored twice.

The championship game was not as close, thanks to great pitching from Pinkerman and a defense that again allowed no runs and committed no errors.  Clement again was key, with two hits and a run scored.  Libi Slack broke the game open in the fourth with a bases loaded triple and Ariel Lichty drove in Sarah Devall with the final run for an 8-0 run-rule victory.  

For the tournament, the Mean Green averaged just over 10 runs a game, while allowing an average of three. Their pitchers totaled 63 strike outs in 50 innings.  Defensively, they committed just 10 errors in the field over nine games.  "Our team was able to maintain a high level of energy and focus on Sunday," said coach Bob Pinkerman. "To win seven in a row in one day is difficult. We are really proud of these kids."