GOLDEN, Colo. – The Torrington Twisters 14-and-under softball team went 2-2 at a tournament in Golden over the weekend, with their two losses coming to the first and second place teams.
The Twisters opened the weekend with a loss to the Lincoln Rockets, the eventual champions. The Rockets jumped out early, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, with Torrington rebounding to score three in the bottom of the frame. Lincoln added another two runs in the third inning and another in the fourth, upping their lead to 6-3.
Torrington plated one run in the fourth to bring the deficit to 6-4. The Twisters attempted a rally, scoring one run in the bottom of the sixth, but they failed to score a second, falling 6-5.
The Twisters combined for 10 hits, compared to Lincoln’s nine. Avery Fox paced Torrington in hits, with three, while Brylee Dean added two. Fox, Calysta Trevino and Emily McGaugh each had a RBI in the loss.
Fox pitched all six innings for Torrington, throwing 104 pitches, 60 of which were strikes (58 percent). She surrendered nine hits and three earned runs, while striking out five batters and walking three.
After opening the weekend with a loss, the Twisters rallied for a huge win over the Colorado Bombers, 12-2. They scored three runs in the first inning, with the Bombers scoring two in the bottom of the first. After the first frame, it was all Torrington, as they scored four runs in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth.
Fox, McGaugh, Brady Laucomer, Mariyah Avila and HeLena McGaugh each had two of the Twisters’ 12 hits in the win. Fox and A.J. West each had a double, while Avila added a triple. West had three RBIs to lead the Twisters, with Laucomer adding two.
Trevino pitched the four innings, allowing five hits. She managed to strike out five Bombers and walk only one. Sixty percent of her pitches were strikes.
Torrington continued their hot streak to close out pool play, beating the NC Xplosion 13-3. The Xplosion scored three runs in the top of the first, with all of the Twisters’ 13 runs coming in the bottom of the first. After 16 total runs in the first, both teams were blanked for the rest of the three-inning game.
Trevino, Avila and HeLena McGaugh each had two hits, with six other Twisters contributing a single run. Laucomer, Fox, Trevino and Avila all had two runs, while Dean, Avila, West and Peyton Kriewald tallied up two RBIs apiece.
Dean pitched two and two thirds innings, with Trevino pitching the final third. They combined to give up only one hits, while striking out two and walking six. The duo drew four groundouts and one fly out.
The Twisters posted a 2-1 record in pool play Saturday, earning them the second seed out of the pool, behind Lincoln. Their seeding drew a contest to open the tournament Sunday against the Colorado Stars, the eventual runners-up.
Torrington was shut out the first three innings against the Stars Sunday morning, while the Stars plated three runs in the third. The Twisters rebounded to take a lead in the fourth, scoring four runs of their own. In the fifth, Colorado roared back to score four runs and the Twisters were unable to recover, falling 7-4.
Avila had a big day at the plate recording a homerun on her one hit and racking up three RBIs. Dean had the other RBI for the Twisters, who as a team had four hits in the loss.
Trevino and Fox both pitched in the loss, with Trevino surrendering eight hits and two earned runs and Fox allowing a hit and one earned run. The two combined to strike out two batters and walk two different batters.
The Twisters slid to 34-16 on the season. They hit the road this weekend for a tournament in Greeley, Colo., where their first game is against the Fever Fastpitch at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
