The 10U Cherry City Crush softball team posted a 4-2 overall record for fourth place at the ASA State Tournament played June 22-24 in Albany. This summer, the team vaulted into the championship game in three tournaments and added a pair of semifinals berths, to go along with their impressive state finish. In the group photo are, from left to right, starting in the back row, Christy Hansen (assistant coach), Makaila Collins, Wes Faulkner (assistant coach), Laci Hoylman, Sydney Newby, Despina Seufalemua, Lily Marx and Roger Hoylman (head coach) and Jackie Begay. In the front row are, from left, Hailey Johnston, Makiah Iven, Bryce Newby (with trophy), Ava Graves, Siyra Faulkner and Jayden Hansen.
The 10U Cherry City Crush softball team posted a 4-2 overall record for fourth place at the ASA State Tournament played June 22-24 in Albany. This summer, the team vaulted into the championship game in three tournaments and added a pair of semifinals berths, to go along with their impressive state finish. In the group photo are, from left to right, starting in the back row, Christy Hansen (assistant coach), Makaila Collins, Wes Faulkner (assistant coach), Laci Hoylman, Sydney Newby, Despina Seufalemua, Lily Marx and Roger Hoylman (head coach) and Jackie Begay. In the front row are, from left, Hailey Johnston, Makiah Iven, Bryce Newby (with trophy), Ava Graves, Siyra Faulkner and Jayden Hansen.
The 10U Cherry City Crush posted a 4-2 overall record and took home fourth-place honors against a 16-team field at the ASA State Championships June 22-24 in Albany.
During the summer, the Crush made great strides in their play and moved into the championship game in three tournaments and added a pair of semifinals berths to go with their state finish, so head coach Roger Hoylman is satisfied with the direction this group is headed.
“The girls’ skillset grew at each and every tournament we played in. I’m very proud of the effort they gave at practice and games,” Hoylman said. “At state, I felt any team we played knew they were in for a dogfight. We never quit and gave great effort to the last out. I’m very proud of these young ladies.”
On Friday, June 22, the Crush scored an 11-1 mercy-ruled win versus the Gresham Roughriders to get the winning trend started.
The team then hit the diamond for three contests and went 3-1, with the first game recorded as a 12-4 loss to the Lake Oswego Renegades.
While errors led to the setback in Saturday’s first matchup, the Crush came back stronger as the afternoon wore on.
After that defeat, the Crush got the bats rolling and supported their pitching staff defensively to the tune of a 12-5 victory over the Rogue Valley Indians.
With a six-hour break between games, the Crush had an opportunity to find their groove again and delivered a 5-1 win against Lady Lockdown, from Scappoose.
That win vaulted the Crush into the next round, where they faced a familiar foe, the Sherwood Fireballs, the same group that the Crush gave the championship trophy to in their last tournament.
The final score read 6-0 over Sherwood, which gave the Crush a 4-1 record entering Sunday’s round.
Playing four Saturday games, the last one ending around 10 p.m., Hoylman’s squad had to wake up the next morning at 8 a.m. to lock horns with the Roughriders once again.
The Crush jumped ahead by a 4-2 margin until the fifth when fielding and throwing miscues opened the door for five runs and a 7-4 Gresham advantage.
Despina Seufalemua inched the Crush closer, at 7-5, in the next inning with a solo home run, but time ran out on the team’s comeback bid, so they ended up with the loss and fourth place.
On the roster with Seufalemua were Jayden Hansen, Hailey Johnston, Makiah Iven, Sydney Newby, Makaila Collins, Laci Hoylman, Jackie Begay, Bryce Newby, Ava Graves, Siyra Faulkner and Lily Marx.
With Hoylman and his assistants Christy Hansen and Wes Faulkner on staff, he was able to build upon the foundation built by former coaches Bob and Patti Delaney, so following that blueprint of fundamentals and offensive and defensive execution, now this core can take another step forward down the road.
“I believe their future will be bright in softball, as long as they continue to have the desire and discipline needed for this amazing game,” coach Hoylman said. “Bob and Patti gave them a great start to most of their careers last season, and I feel they definitely all got better. Their softball IQ grew a lot, and I saw that in their language and body positioning during the games.”
Through the course of summer softball, it takes countless hours of organization and teamwork to make everything run seamlessly to give the girls many memories they can cherish in the future.
Coach Hoylman spread the love around those who were in the background but were the backbone of the program.
“I would like to thank my wife Lynn for her support and doing the books, Jenilou Graves for being the person always willing to do anything asked of her and Jackie Tharp for masterminding this process,” coach Hoylman said. “I would also like to extend a big thanks to both assistant coaches, Wes and Christy, for their time and experience.”
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