It’s true. History does repeat itself, much to the chagrin of the Tamalpais High School softball team and their star pitcher Kim Scarsella.
We chronicled the success of the team last year as well as detailing the outstanding personal performance of Scarsella, who earned all-state honors. That season was marred by losing to the Redwood Giants in the Marin County Athletic League finals, followed by a heart-breaking loss to Bishop O’Dowd in the finals of the North Coast Section Division 3 finals, despite the no-hitter pitched by Scarsella.
Fast forward one year and it’s the same tune, second verse. Tam faced Redwood again in the MCAL finals and fell short as Redwood’s 11 seniors finished their high school career with league titles in all four years.
Tam’s foray into North Coast Section playoffs had a familiar ring as well. In the second round, they faced MCAL rival Terra Linda. After the regulation 7 innings, Scarsella had a no-hitter, but the game was tied. After 8 innings, Scarsella still had allowed no hits. Terra Linda finally managed a hit in the ninth that led to the winning run.
The country and western lyric goes, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” You could forgive Scarsella if she adopted it as her theme song.
She earned first team all-MCAL honors, a fitting follow-up to her sophomore year, when she was named the MCAL Pitcher of the Year. (more…)
The determination on Annie Boyer's face tells you all you need to know about why the Redwood Giants are once again MCAL champions.
There are a lot of words that describe Annie Boyer and her Redwood Giants teammates … but the one word that captures it all is champion.
When you talk about Marin County Athletic League softball, the 800-pound gorilla in the room is Redwood. They’ve won the last six conference championships, which means that the 11 seniors on this year’s squad never experienced an unsuccessful season.
It’s not unheard of for a high school athletic program to achieve similar dominance. The basic ingredients are a feeder program that starts to develop skills prior to high school and then a high school coach who can mold those talents into a cohesive team.
Redwood had the feeder program, with most of its players coming out of the Marin Girls Softball organization. And after six consecutive titles, the bona fides of coach Gary Casassa are unquestioned. (more…)
Camille Gaito pitched the UCSD Tritons to the NCAA Division II championship.
The accolades and honors poured in for Camille Gaito this season. Most of them were for individual achievement. But the best honor is the one she shares with her University of California at San Diego teammates: NCAA Division II champion.
Gaito has been named Most Outstanding Player of the national championships, first team All-American by Daktronics in a poll of sports information directors, second team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, pitcher of the year in the West Region as named by Daktronics, and pitcher of the year in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Statistics never tell the whole story, but Gaito’s stats confirm her domination of the Division II scene this year. She was second in the nation in wins by Division II pitchers while posting a 35-4 record, second in winning percentage at .897, fourth in earned run average at 0.75, and seventh in least walks allowed per 7 innings at 0.69. She eclipsed the UCSD marks for career wins (65), wins in a season (35) and appearances in a season (44). (more…)
The UCSD Tritons claimed their first California Collegiate Athletic Association softball title Saturday, behind the pitching of Camille Gaito, who won both ends of a doubleheader against Cal State East Bay.
Gaito started and won the first game 12-2 and followed that up with a relief appearance in the second game, where the Tritons came from behind for a 2-1 victory.
The title accomplishment ensures some favorable postseason action. The Tritons will be the top seed next weekend in the CCAA tournament in Stockton, California. And no matter what the results of that tournament, the Tritons are sure to get an invitation to the NCAA West Regional tournament the following weekend.
Gaito began developing her talent in the Marin Girls Softball organization. (more…)
Camille Gaito won 8 games in 8 days. -- Photo courtesy UCSD.
Camille Gaito and her University of California at San Diego teammates may wish all their games were played in Turlock, California.
In the Mizuno Tournament of Champions, which was held at the Cal State Stanislaus campus in Turlock in the first week in April, Gaito pitched in, and won, five games in three days as the Tritons went 6-1 while winning the tournament.
The following week, the Tritons were back in Turlock to play Stanislaus. They won three of four games, with Gaito getting credit for all three wins as the Tritons cemented their position at the top of the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings.
Gaito posted the second lowest earned run average in NCAA Division II softball last year, so it was hard to imagine what she could do as an encore. How does this sound? A 21-1 record and an ERA under 0.50 runs per game. (more…)
Fran Fleet is the Sandalady, but don't let that title fool you. She'll fix your baseball glove as good as new.
The first thing you need to know about the sandal lady is that she doesn’t make sandals.
The second thing you need to know is that she’s a one-woman salvage crew who can bring back to life and usefulness one of the most precious possessions in a ballplayer’s life … his glove.
Think about it. The millions of kids in youth baseball and softball organizations have two tools that they use to play the game. One of them is an aluminum bat. No matter how dedicated you are, it’s really hard to get up close and personal with an aluminum bat.
But the glove … the glove is a different matter. Players buy and break in their own gloves. They spend hours developing the pocket and the feel of the glove, shagging balls during practice until the glove is like a second skin. Players use a bat a few times a game; they use their glove every time they take the field. The glove becomes that most personal of possessions … mine.
Eventually, players who stay with the sport must confront the inevitable: even the best made gloves will degrade because of the wear and tear of extended use or because of benign neglect. Then comes the decision: is this second skin to be discarded in favor of something new and untested, or is there a way to breathe new life into a tried and trusted friend. (more…)
SportsDashboards year-end player salutes go to Camille Gaito and Kim Scarsella. Both are outstanding softball pitchers who honed their craft playing for Marin Girls Softball teams. Pitching success is often viewed as an individual achievement, but no pitcher succeeds without the offensive and defensive support of her teammates. Consequently, this recognition is not just for the pitcher but for her team as well.
This is the salute to Camille Gaito and the University of California at San Diego Tritons. The salute to Kim Scarsella and the Tamalpais High School Hawks from Californiais here. (more…)
A strong postseason and all-California honors earn Kim Scarsella a SportsDashboards year-end player salute.
This recognition is shared with Camille Gaito. Both Gaito and Scarsella are outstanding softball pitchers who honed their craft playing for Marin Girls Softball teams. Pitching success is often viewed as an individual achievement, but no pitcher succeeds without the offensive and defensive support of her teammates. Consequently, this recognition is not just for the pitcher but for her team as well.
This is the salute to Kim Scarsella and the Tamalpais, California, High School Hawks. The salute to Camille Gaito and the University of California at San Diego Tritons is here. (more…)
This is a story that encompasses two magnificent feats.
Primarily, it’s about a group of young — as in under 10 — softball players who achieved a first in Marin softball history. The Nor-Cal Smackers 10U softball team traveled to Sunnyvale, went undefeated in four games over a three-day tournament, and earned the right to participate in the Amateur Softball Association Class A National 10U tournament. The Smackers are the first 10U team representing Marin to earn a berth in the national tournament, paving the way for future young teams to find their way into national competition.
But this story is also about the organization which they represent. The Smackers are only in their second full year of operation. To have brought a team along to the point of qualifying for an ASA national tournament is a real tribute to the coaching and management of the Smackers.
This started out as a paean to Marin Girls Softball for the quality of training they give their players, as reflected in those players’ contributions to the Marin County Athletic League when they reach high school.
However, simultaneous with putting this post together, we became aware of the research of Betsey Stevenson, which puts the contributions of MGS, MCAL and similar organizations in a vastly different light. Girls sports programs have a positive effect on the futures of their members.
Camille Gaito delivering a pitch for her UCSD team.
The numbers don’t lie: Camille Gaito is among the elite college softball pitchers in the nation, but that’s not the only reason Sports Dashboards salutes her.
The numbers are a good place to start. Gaito ended her season with a 0.96 earned run average while pitching for the University of California at San Diego. The Tritons play in NCAA Division II as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
How good is 0.96? It’s third in the nation. Of the 300 pitchers that the NCAA tracked who pitched more than 100 innings this season in Division II, only two pitchers recorded lower numbers. For those of you into that kind of metric, it means that she is in the 100th percentile. She is among the creme de la creme. A pitcher nonpareil.
This season, she finished with an 18-10 win-loss record and her team was ranked 10th among all colleges competing in the Western Region.
The thing is, Camille Gaito is only a sophomore. When you’re already at the top, what more is there to strive for? Well, there are some individual honors that have eluded her and there are plenty of team accomplishments that will have to wait for next season.
The Mill Valley All-Stars nipped the San Anselmo All-Stars 12-11 in extra innings to win the Marin Girls Softball Seniors All-Star Tournament.
The Seniors are seventh and eighth graders and each team is a collection of the best players from several teams competing within their individual leagues.
The championship game was an exciting contest, with twists and turns to delight the fans of both teams. But one of the most interesting things about it was that it didn’t figure to be this compelling.
The Novato All-Stars edged the San Rafael All-Stars 3-2 to earn the Marin Girls Softball Majors All-Stars Tournament championship.
Majors teams consist of girls in the fifth and sixth grades. The all-star teams are formed from the best players within each league.
The level of play in the semifinals and championship game belied the ages of the players involved. These girls definitely got game.
In the championship game, Novato scored single runs in the middle innings to take a 2-0 lead. Starting pitcher Dixie Thompson benefited from her battery mate, catcher Samantha Tong, who threw out two would-be base stealers in the early innings to keep San Rafael in check.
The values of participating in youth sport groups are well known. A non-comprehensive list would include such things as developing cooperative skills through teamwork, dealing with the highs of winning and the lows of losing, learning sportsmanship skills, and experiencing camaraderie with teammates, coaches and family. Oh yeah, having fun comes in there pretty high as well. Some organizations are better at one facet of youth sports than others. But every kid benefits to some degree by participating.
Then there’s that more prominent facet of any sports program: the development of skills in the chosen sport. Some organizations misplace their emphasis, placing it on winning, rather than skills development.
That’s not the case with the teams that comprise the Marin Girls Softball League. Obviously, every team tries to win each time they take the field. But the emphasis is on skills development and the less tangible values of being a part of something special.
Exhibit 1 for this fact was the recent showdown between Marin County Athletic League powerhouses, Redwood and Tamalpais. The two high schools entered the game knowing that the winner would be tied with San Marin atop the MCAL softball standings. That’s enough drama right there.
As the honors mount, Kim Scarsella is our nominee to be the poster girl for the value of youth sports programs.
Kim is a mound mainstay for the Tamalpais High School Hawks, who sit atop the softball standings in the Marin County Athletic League.
Last week, Kim was cited by the Marin Independent Journal as the girl prep star of the week. It was an honor well deserved. But calling her the “star of the week” is an understatement of the magnitude of calling Mohammed Ali a fairly tough guy. Or saying Lady Gaga has a strange sense of style.
Kim Scarsella is more than a one-week wonder, she dominates a softball game the way the best pitchers do. Statistics never tell the whole story, but here are some numbers that hint at the exceptional season she is having:
During the week for which she was honored by the Marin newspaper, she defeated Terra Linda 6-0 while striking out 17 and then bested Novato 6-2 while chalking up 11 more K’s.
The ball girl shows up the Triple-A pro with an unbelievable catch! …
We got fooled on this one along with thousands of other people. We wanted to believe the fiction that an ordinary ball girl could make this extraordinary catch. The real game setting, including a reference to real player Jake Wald, added to our willingness to suspend disbelief.
But this was a commercial, using special effects. The whole story is told by Snopes, including the detail that the ball girl was really a stunt woman who had the help of wire rigging when climbing the wall.
It’s the harness and rigging that is puzzling. Anyone who has ever competed against a team of stunt women knows that there are many in their group who could have made this catch without assistance.
It still wouldn’t have been a ball girl, but if they had used a real ball (see Snopes’ explanation) and an unaided stunt woman, we would still be wowed, even if it wasn’t in a game situation.
Girls softball is one of the most fast-paced and interesting spectator sports as well as being exceedingly satisfying to play. This video, of a college game in the Upper Northwest, captures a moment of true sportsmanship. It’s special when fair really is fair.
