Riptide takes ninth in national tournament

The Newport Beach Riptide, a 16-and-under fastpitch softball team,

finished ninth out of 42 teams in the Triple Crown World Series

played in Park City, Utah July 15-20.

The Riptide featured Julianne Bass and Sasha Grumman, who also

play for Newport Harbor High, while teammate Heather Lohrman will be

a junior this fall for Corona del Mar. Bass, who will be a junior, is

the catcher for the Sailors, and Grumman, who will be a sophomore,

also played on the varsity last season.

The tournament included 42 of the best teams in the country. The

squads qualified in regional tournaments throughout the U.S. in their

attempt to advance to the world series.

“Our girls came to the Triple Crown World Series with a great deal

of desire and intensity, and it showed in the quality of their play,”

Riptide Coach Barry Grumman said. “They were really pumped up and

showed just what great players they are.”

Riptide earned a team batting average of .352 in the tournament.

Catcher Jenny Thompkins led the way at .438, while Sara Zeigler was

at .429, Tori Harrison at .364, Markie Bingenheimer at .353, and

Sasha Grumman and Lohrman at .333.

The teams in the world series were placed in pools of five or six

teams and played four pool games which would determine placement in

either a championship or losers’ bracket.

The Riptide finished first in its pool with a 3-1 record and

earned a No. 1 seed in the championship bracket after an 11-2 victory

over the Texas Magic Nine, co-champions of their state and undefeated

in their three pool-play games.

“The girls knew that this was going to be our toughest pool game

and I told them that we had to beat the Texas team by seven runs in

order to finish first in our pool,” Coach Grumman said. “It seemed

like a pretty tall order but I could see our girls getting real fired

up when the Texas team, its coaches and even the parents came to the

field with a very cocky and superior attitude. Instead of being

intimidated my girls came out sky high and really showed this Texas

team what California softball is all about.”

Harrison pounded a home run on a first pitch in the bottom of the

first inning to ignite a four-run frame and Riptide was on its way.

The Newport Beach travel team later came back with more in the third

inning, scoring four runs to grab an 8-1 lead.

Three more runs came in the fourth inning after consecutive hits

from Lohrman, Bingenheimer and Thompkins. Sasha Grumman ended the

game with a great defensive play. She jumped high in the air to grab

a line drive then threw to first to double up the runner who dived

back to the base.

Kelsey Ferguson was in the circle the next day and led the Riptide

to a 3-2 win over the Moreno Valley Quicksilver in the second round

of the championship bracket.

Riptide had a change to go deeper into the tournament, but it was

not meant to be as one player spent time in the emergency room with

an abscessed tonsil, Marilyn Voight broke her ankle sliding into

second base and Harrison, Riptide’s center fielder and best power

hitter, had to leave to attend her brother’s wedding.

The setback was apparently too much to overcome for the Riptide

which were eliminated and finished ninth after losing to the Colorado

Comets, 3-1, and Pueblo Gold, 8-2. Both teams were from Colorado.

The Riptide opened pool play with a 6-3 win against the Colorado

Jais. Ferguson pitched a complete game and received strong offensive

support from Lohrman (two hits and an RBI), Thompkins (two doubles

and an RBI), Zeigler (a double and an RBI) and Bass (two hits and an

RBI).

After Riptide’s victory over Colorado, it lost to the Downey

Nemesis, 1-0. The game included a thrilling finish as Nemesis scored

the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Still, Traci

Quinn pitched a gem for the Riptide.However, Riptide came back the

next day to record a 7-2 victory over Diamonds Gold from Thousand

Oaks. Ferguson pitched again and combined with Gina Catalano to hold

off any rally.

Bingenheimer scored on a line-drive single by Thompkins in the top

of the first inning. Diamonds Gold answered with a run and had the

bases loaded with one out, but that’s when Bass assisted on a double

play. Bass gloved a long fly ball in right field and then threw to

Thompkins, the catcher, to get the runner who was trying to tag up.

Bass’ play brought the crowd to its feet and the Riptide grabbed

momentum. Harrison capitalized for the Riptide when she led off the

second inning with a home run over the left field fence.

Sasha Grumman then followed with a line-drive double that went

through the left field fence. The hitting seemed contagious as Traci

Nava, Lohrman, Bingenheimer, Thompkins and Zeigler followed with

hits, resulting in a five-run second inning.