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Show Page 6 OREM GENEVA TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2005 , M M U U I T Y SPORTS, PEOPLE AMD OUTDOOR F U N n Landon Olson s tcaunns to I here are just as many girlies, practice lasts just as i'liig and the comix-tit ion is just is intense Hut while they sometimes got overshadowed hy their male - ounterparts, there's no Ignoring Ignor-ing the at ( omplishments of wem's top female athletes. They set records, they set precedent, and even the boys had a tough time keeping up. And one of the most notable things about many of this year's top girls is that many of them are young. Sophomores and juniors had plenty of chances to M'-p up, and not only did they i x' el this year, but they'll fx b, k Softball .lust a junior, I impanogrjs piti her Alii I'.ramwell has be- ojne not only one of Region 7's lop aces, but she's one of the nest pit' hers in tlie state. And sir has the numbers to prove- it. A I.V7 record for the team, a 7 1 region record, a 1-0 win at Bonneville, and don't for-g-t the I M strikeouts. Willi pinpoint precision, movement move-ment on tlie ball and velocity as a i 'implement, Bramwell set down b.iiti-r alter batter, game after g.ime. Slie regularly had double figures fig-ures in strikeouts and even threw a no hitter. I ler final strikeouts of the season also put her at the top of the charls, edging" the old season sea-son strikeout mark by two. Bramwell was also one of the l -st at getting on base, hitting I2K on I lie season ( hi the bases slie was aLso a threat, stealing 21 bases in 21 attempts. P.ut, Bramwell's biggest moment mav have been the 'I -wolves second regular season meeting with lme Peak. 1 if. ked in a battle with the Knights lor the region crown, Bramwell k'-pt I -one eak store-less, store-less, striking out live hitters through six innings. In the seventh, she set down anotlier pair . then did it again in extra innings She finished wrth nine strikeouts in tin- game and a shutout as liie Timberwolves won in the bottom ol the eighth. Tfiat victory set up a sfiared region title with I -one Beak - I impanogos' lirst in softball. Then, tin' I -wolves won their first-ever slate plavotf game at Woods Cross, before upsetting Bonneville 1-I on the road. It wasn't just Bramwell's pitching t hiil led to that su cess, tliough The f -wolves' three seniors shortstop I lav li I Juke, center Cobrazz dominate Timp Classic Landon Olson I'l.l.ASANT GKOVl. - Only one tfam touc bed the l-ehi 'obrazz, and did H twice, but it still didn't make much difference. differ-ence. Tirnpanogos' Rachel decker, plaving with the Cobraz, made sure of that, llecker had four BBIs including a three-run home run in the championship champion-ship game to lead t he Oibrazz to a 't-1 victory over the lit ah Twisters. Allowing only three runs through six games, the Oibrazz st eamrolled through the 1 imp ( 'lassie l-'Ki softball tournament I rid.iy and Saturday, outs' or-ing or-ing oponent.s -1 1-3 on the way to the championship. Among those were back -to-back semifinal and championship champion-ship wins against the Utah Twisters, the only team in the tournarnent to put a run on the Iniard against the Cobrazz, who had players from both DTii and Tirnpanogos. After losing 7-2 to the Cobrazz Co-brazz earlier in the afternoon Saturday, the Twisters won in the elimination bracket to get back to the championship They grrt on the txiard in the first inning, putting the Cobrazz behind for the first time in the tournament, but not for long With two on, two outs and in the hole 0-2, Hecker who caught three games, played right field and served as a DH had an infield RBI single to third to tie the game in the second "I think I was Irxjking for a big hit there then I just got a See CLASSIC, Page 7 , .. ''4 " 'I '' ' ' '?. I f Left. Bruin Heidi Houle won (he HfH)-meter run ond hidped Moutii uin View lo ci second pluce finish ut Alii lirumwell helped lead the 7'-uovcs to their first-ever region title und state tournament win. fielder Jen Bilbao and catcher Stephanie .Johnson all did their jobs as well. lAike, the T-wolves' leadoff flitter, flit-ter, was instrumental in setting the tone all season. If she got on base in the first, which she often did, it usually meant gorxJ things for Tirnpanogos as her sjx-ed allowed her to move around the bases, hits or not. If Tirnpanogos needed a liit though, especially in a clutch situation, it could usually rely on Johnson. With her deceptively last sjjeed and power, Johnson not only drove in ruas, but could .stretch hits, getting into scoring position herself. 4 ' fi: 'j -v : A r LANDON OLSON . N.-rtti Co ini , Cobrazz catcher Rachel Keeker swings just bejore connecting during ine i imp Classic ournamcnl on haturdu In the humpionship game, Hecker had four RJils. including a three run home run. f A, "", She aLso was a solid backstop behind the plate, and had little mercy for runners who tried to steal bases. In the outfield, Bilbao was the lone senior, proving to te a solid asset in center, as well as at the plate. Just a sophomore, even without with-out skill Tajia Law would have been an asset for her intensity alone. But she brought much more to the field. I folding down the hot corner. 1-aw was equally tough charging to field bunts or .staring down runners. She also was the pitcher for the .IV team, and while at many other schools she would have had - .LA A 7 'I y ,, s , : ' . " ha " "' ' y ;a r wl;jy the starting varsity spot, playing play-ing behind Bramwell limited her time. Across town, even in the midst of somewhat of a rebuilding year, Orem proved it stiJJ had plenty of talent. No surprise was that Delyse Downey stepped up as one of the Tigers' top players. A star as a freshman the year Wore, Downey could hit with plenty of power, and combined with her speed seemed to reach base more often than not. In the field at second base, her intensity showed, as she wasn't afraid to get dirty to keep a ball T-wolves grab wins in doubleheader Landon Olson iiohhc oui.rv si An It was a different team that took the field for Tirnpanogos on Monday night, and not just due to personnel reasons. After playing six games in two days over the weekend, the T-wolves, even with only nine players available, had plenty of experience going into their summer league U16 doubleheader. "Most of them just know what they're doing," said T-wolf T-wolf Whitney Rode of the young players. "They have good heads. It doesn't matter where you are. You don't have to know the position, you just have to have a head for the game." It showed as Tirnpanogos (5-I) (5-I) picked up a pair of victories, downing the Bruins 4-1 and American Fork 8-3. I Tirnpanogos 4, Armi's Angels 1: Even after handling the Bruins Bru-ins 3-0 on Friday, Monday's game was a classic rivalry battle. Mountain View struck first, scoring on a two-out RBI single by Sami Jeasen in the second inning. The T-wolves were held hit-less hit-less until the fourth inning, when they finally got on the board. Kalee Gonzalez led off, getting get-ting on base after being hit by a pitch, then moved to second on a single by catcher Rachel Hecker. Both runners advance don a fielder's choice, then Gonzalez scored on a sacrifice by pitcher Angie Larsen to tie the game. Mountain View threatened LANDON OLSONNorth County slule. Right, Timpunogos pitcher from sneaking past into the outfield. out-field. Just a few steps over in the infield, senior shortstop Kelly Bridges proved to be a solid complement to Downey, playing with just as much fire and having an equally strong bat. Gimbined, the two made up one of the most solid middle infield in-field combos in the region. Following in the footsteps of standout Devrie Downey, pitcher Alice Smith was an unknown entering the season. She quickly proved the could get the job done though, keeping the Tigers at See GIRLS, Page 7 LANDON OLSONNorth County Tirnpanogos' Whitney Rode makes a backhanded stop at first base against the Bruins in a U 16 game on Monday night. in the fifth, but an unassisted double play by Gonzalez she caught a pop-up then doubled up the runner on second got Tirnpanogos out of the inning. With time expired, the game went to tiebreaker rules in the sixth, giving some mixed emotion emo-tion to the T-wolves "One, we beat them pretty good so you kind of are disappointed disap-pointed with yourself," Rode said, "but you're still excited because they're your rival so it's that much more intense." Great Girls MVPS Softball: ALU BRAMWELL (Tirnpanogos) Track: HEIDI HOULE (Mountain View) TOP PERFORMERS Name: Jen Bilbao School: Tirnpanogos Class: Senior Sport: Softball Position: Center field Highlight: A solid fielder and hitter, Bilbao played in the state 4A5A all-star all-star game. Name: ALU BRAMWELL School: Tirnpanogos Class: Junior Sport: Softball Position: Pitcher Highlight: Set a state record for strikeouts in a season with 168 while leading the T-wolves to their first-ever Region 7 title and a pair of wins in the state tournament. Name: KELLY BRIDGES School: Orem Class: Senior Sport: Softball Position: Shortstop Highlight: The senior provided leadership lead-ership and gave the Tigers one of the strongest middle infields. Name: HOLLI COTANT School: Mountain View Class: Sophomore Sport: Softball Position: Catcher Highlight: In her first year starting behind the plate, the sophomore catcher was a bright spot with solid fielding and hitting for the young Bruins. Name: DELYSE DOWNEY School: Orem Class: Sophomore Sport: Softball Position: Second base Highlight: One of the Tiger's best hitters and fielders, Downey also plays with nearly unmatched intensity. in-tensity. Name: HAYLI DUKE School: Tirnpanogos Class: Senior Sport: Softball Position: Shortstop Highlight: Tirnpanogos' leadoff hitter, hit-ter, Duke had a knack for getting on base and starting up the offense. Name: JENNY FlSO School: Orem Class: Senior Sport: Softball Position: Catcher Highlight: Academic All-state, but also a potent hitter and team leader in her first year starting behind the plate for the Tigers. Name: KATE Harline School: Orem Sport: Track Position: Distance events Highlight: Harline was one of See GREAT, Page 7 Tirnpanogos just missed turning a double play after Hecker snagged a pop up and Megan Bishop was just late on the tag at second, charging in from center field to cover. The runner, Charlotte Lartay, took third on a wild pitch, but the T-wolves caught a break after a walk when Shnaiah Magalei was called out on the look -back rule. Tirnpanogos got out of the See T-WOLVES, Page 7 POOR |