The newest motto of the baseball and softball federation WBSC “Game Time!” was introduced for the first time in Lausanne, Switzerland on 13th July in the official ceremony. The motto will be a part of the identity of the organization, which secured both sports’ places in the Olympic games.

Among the guests of the ceremony were a lot of people from the International Olympic Committee. They got to know the main goals in front of baseball and softball before the Olympic games 2020 in Tokyo. There were also a lot of sponsors, journalists, partners and representatives of many international sports federations.

The president of WBSC – Riccardo Fraccari assured that the management of the organization has a bright vision for 2024, 2028 and even further. He mentioned about one of his plans – the softball and baseball society to be about 1 Billion people.

“Our organization is really excited that we have our favourite sports back to The Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020. It’s been a long time since the last time we saw baseball and softball at the Olympic games. However, we have already built a new plan and we are looking forward to 2024, 2028 and even further. We established a new brand, which is going to show our long term desire to be a part of the Olympic family. We develop these sports and we make them even more dynamic and accessible to the people. Now is the time to convert our potential into success. It’s Game Time!” Riccardo Fraccari said in front of all the guests of the ceremony in Lausanne.

The last time softball was included in the Olympic games was in 2008. There have only been 4 editions of this competition – from 1996 until 2008. The sport wasn’t included in the olympic games in 2012 and 2016, but we will see one of the favourite American sports again in Tokyo 2020.

The young softball player Abby Ota of Redding is considered as one of the hottest prospects in New England. She has been ranked as 58th of the top 100 by FloSoftball 2021. Ota plays as a shortstop and a second baseman. However, she has recently been playing mostly outfield. She is the only 14 and under player to appear in the chart!

“This game has become a big part of my life. I like it very much. I love to be a part of a team and win as much games as I can,” Abby Ota said in an interview.

To continue with, her best strength is the speed. Ota has a record of .645 batting on average, .705 on-base percentage, 35 RBI, 44 steals and 1 strikeout in a total of 43 games. The stats are from 2016.

“I really like running the bases. I think my speed is my best weapon. However, I think I also have a good arm and I am good at knowing of the game. My desire is to keep going and becoming better and better. I really see my future with softball,” the young talent added.

Abby Ota will go to Joel Barlow High after a couple of months. The softball team of the high school just finished its strongest season, so the young talent can develop her softball career there. Ota’s chance to take part in the team’s matches is big enough, as a lot of the key players are heading to colleges.

The young shortstop has already started to think about her future in a college, even though it looks too faraway. “At the moment I work just to be a better player. I also want to be good in school. I hope I will keep playing softball in college. My ultimate plan is to keep doing it even after the college,” Abby Ota concluded her interview.

The National New Zealand’s Interclub softball championship is going to be very interesting, as the best four teams made it to the playoffs. Here are the teams, which went through: Auckland United, Hutt Valley Dodgers, Mt Albert Ramblers and the champions of Canterbury – Papanui.

One of the most difficult tasks was for The Ramblers, who led by Nathan Nukunuku, managed to record a tight 2-1 victory against the PCU Devils. The second inning of the game was the crucial one, as both the runs came then. In the other Ramblers’ match, they had no problems against Porirua City United, winning 5-0.

The team of Auckland United had also a difficult game against Albion softball team. The outcome was 5-4 in United’s favour. K. Compain, Alfons Oveinikovas and Brock Atwell scored three runs in the fifth inning of the game, securing the victory for their team.

The Hutt Valley Dodgers achieved an astonishing 7-3 win against the North Harbour’s Roosters. Cory Timu, Joel Evans and the pitcher Nik Hayes were again in their best form, helping their team record the good result.

The Papanui’s way to the playoffs was maybe the most difficult one. The champions of Canterbury struggled a lot against Miramar, but they eventually won the game 1-0. The best for Papanui was the pitcher Ethan Johnstone, who stroke out 16 batters. In their other two games, Papanui beat the Stoke Eagles 2-0 and the Waitakere Bears 5-0, to make it to the playoffs.
Sensationally, two of the seeded teams – Johnsonville and Northcote couldn’t make it to the playoffs.

Except for the best seeded 4 teams, the other four, which made it to the top eight were: The Marlborough Saints (qualified after beating Stoke Eagles 3-1), Howick (3-2 win vs. Northcote), Poneke Kilbirnie and Auckland Marist (qualified after a 6-2 victory against the PCU Devils).

New Zealand’s best softball teams are from Auckland again. The men’s and women’s teams of Auckland retained their trophies! That’s the third consecutive title for these two teams, which are going to become totally hegemonies in New Zealand! Both teams managed to win their final games against the teams of Wellington.

The Auckland softball women’s team, with Venita Hokai as a head coach, turned things around to 5-2 against Wellington in the National Fastpitch Championship final game, which was held at Lower Hutt’s Park on Sunday.

The men’s team of Auckland had a little bit more difficulties against Wellington, as they won 1-0. However, the inspirer for the victory was the international softball player Nathan Nukunuku, who led his team towards the victory. Auckland made 6 safe hits against 3 from their opponents, but only one runner managed to get across.

New Zealand’s international catcher Zane van Lieshout showed a great performance, being one of the key players for the team of Auckland. He is the competition’s best batter and managed to score in the second inning to secure the victory for his team! The Japanese pitcher Kenta Okazaki was also on the top of his form. He allowed only two safe hits, recording a total of 8 strikeouts! The pitcher could send the “danger man” Tyson Byrne off at the start of the decisive inning.

The team of Wellington made a good effort to get back into the match, but Ben Enoka made a catch inside the boundary, after Dante Matakatea’s hit towards the central fence.

In conclusion, the Auckland’s men’s team showed a brilliant tactical and technical performance, in order to win their 3rd consecutive title in New Zealand. The women’s team was also really impressive with the comeback against Wellington. Will anyone be able to stop these two teams in the next tournament?

A new coach has been appointed in the softball program of St. Edmond. His name is Nick Clark, as he is a sportsman, who has a good understanding of several different sports. Clark has officially been appointed yesterday and is now in charge of the softball team.

To continue with, Clark used to play basketball at SEHS. He has graduated from Buena Vista University. Firstly, Nick Clark would have taken the baseball freshmen team, but he decided to pay attention on his softball coaching career.

Clark seemed to be really happy for this opportunity and said that he has taken this decision, because he wants to gain some experience with head coaching. The softball coach will meet all the team members until the end of the week.

The new coach will have the pleasure to work with some good softball players. The best hitter in the team is the senior Megan Flattery. She has a record of .342 batting, 11 RBI and 4 steals. Other promising players are Jocy Timmerman (12 RBI and 22 hits) and Jacque Oberg.

“I am new to that. However, I will do my best and I will learn everything about softball I can, but I think it is very close to baseball, which I am very familiar with. So, I think I won’t have any problems. I am very excited for the opportunity. I will meet all the players until the end of the week and we will start working together,” Nick Clark said after his appointment for a softball coach.

The other good players, Clark will have the chance to work with are Page Kinney, Sydney Nelson, Audrey Kolacia, Hannah Zinnel, Devyn Scott, Erin Flattery, Chloe Lewison and Macey Mason. They were an integral part of the last year’s starting team and are expected to be involved in the softball team again.

The University of New Orleans became the place, where a team of 19 legendary American softball players with 36 Olympic medals in total reunited as a part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the inclusion of softball in The Olympic games. As you know the sport was excluded of the games in the previous two editions, but it will return to the program in 2020!

Even though the temperature was about 4 degrees Celsius, this couldn’t stop the legends play their favourite sport! The three-time Olympic champion C. Bustos even said that “Unless it is snowing or raining, every day is a good day for softball”. So, the cold weather only motivated the players show their best.

To continue with, the players also posed for a lot of photos and signed autographs for their biggest fans. Everybody was in a good mood and the players were even joking with the silver medal they won in 2008 in Beijing.

The described as the most popular softball player – Jennie Finch (she took part in the last two softball Olympic tournaments) said that all the players thought they were still gold-medal winners.

There is the possibility for a return to the Olympic stage for one of these players – the youngest of all, who took part in the Olympics in 2008 – Monica Abbott. She is now 31 years old and is still playing softball professionally, so she can be included in the US team for The Olympics in 2020!

In conclusion, we can say that the amateur softball has constantly been growing, even though the sport was excluded from the last 2 editions of the Olympic games. The proofs are these two competitions, which have become among the most interesting sporting events: The Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma and the World Cup of Softball (which is held during the summer in America).

The softball team of The New Zealand Black Sox showed an average performance in a 7-1 record. The Kiwis were defeated to the Argentinian national team in an international softball tournament, held in the South American country. Considered as the best in the world – New Zealand made 3 crucial errors in the final game (4 fumbles) in a 2-0 defeat against Argentina (3rd in the world softball rankings).

The blame for the defeat can be put on the pitchers of The Black Sox, who couldn’t get on with the Argentine batters in the final match a couple of days ago. They managed only to take 3 strikeouts. On the other hand, the heroes for the South-Americans were Huemul Mata and Maxi Moreno.

The 4th frame was crucial for the match. Exactly then, the Argentinians scored twice. In the 5th inning, the hosts made 4 more runs. However, The New Zealand Black Sox out-hit their opponents 4-2, but they also made 4 fielding errors, which is untypical for them! The home side had an advantage in the overall batting.

No one has expected the defeat of New Zealand, as a day earlier, the Kiwis managed to smash the Czech Republic 10-1. Moreover, the captain of the team Thomas Enoka showed he is in form, as he made two hits. In addition, Campbell Enoka made a triple.

The defeat to Argentina meant that The Kiwis had to beat the team of Panama, in order to achieve the second place. They did it easily 7-0 after 5 innings.

At both ends, the coach of the New Zealand’s team – Thomas Sorenson mustn’t be unsatisfied with the overall performance of his team. Even the best can sometimes show a poor performance. However, Thomas Sorenson knows that his players can achieve more and he will demand more from them in the further competitions.

Great news for softball! The Olympic games in Tokyo 2020 are going to include the sport in its program. As you know, the last time softball was a part of the most prestigious sports competitions in the world, was in 2008, when Japan made the surprise of the century, winning the final match against the super favourites USA. The news has been announced by the Olympics Channel, so we can say it’s now official!

There have been 4 Olympic softball tournaments so far – from 1996 to 2008. The United States have won the first three editions of the competition. Now, the Americans will surely have the chance to fight for the gold medals again. On the other hand, the last softball Olympic champions – Japan will have the chance to defend their title as the host nation.

The other sports, which are going to be included in the program of the Olympic games in Tokyo 2020 are karate and sport climbing. Don’t know whether these sports will be successful, but softball is the most popular sport among the newly promoted sports in the Olympics program and it has proven for the period between 1996 and 2008 that it has its large audience.

“If I can still sling the rock pretty well, I would be proud if I am selected to play. I was the youngest player in the competition 8 years ago, and I would probably be the oldest in 2020. But I don’t care about it. It would be my honour if I take part in another Olympics,” Monica Abbott, who is one of the legendary American softball players, said in an interview. In 2008 Abbott was only 22 years old – the youngest player in the USA softball squad at the Olympics in Beijing. However, she won the silver medal, which is not enough for such a player. Now she is going to be more motivated, because this may be the last chance for her to play at the biggest stage!

2016 Class of the Louisiana Softball hall of fame is consist of the names of Michael and Stefni Lotief, who are a part from the team of Ragin’s Cajuns. The whole class, which will be introduced in the hall of fame will get together at the New Orleans Airport – Crown Plaza Hotel after just one month. And everyone, who wants, can become a part of the prestigious ceremony.

Michael and Stefni Lotief are the co-coaches of the Ragin’s Cajuns softball team and they will deservedly find their places among the best in the sport. Other big names, who can be seen in the list are the players Ricky Latiolais, Ted Perrodin, Candice Jackson, Rogers Pope, Marcus Fontenot and the coaches Alyson Habetz, Yvette Girouard and Joseph Brignac.

Let’s take a look at the careers of the Lotiefs. Michael’s very first team to coach was the Louisiana Reflections, where he won five straight state championships. He also made 5 national tournament appearances with the team. Michael also won the U18 Nat. Championship 16 years ago.

Stefni’s role was more to develop the image of the Louisiana Reflections. She was so good at her job, that made the team look like one of the strongest in the USA. As a player, Stefni was a pitcher at the Ragin’s Cajuns between 1987 and 1990, winning the impressive number of 78 matches. She was the coach of the team (including the co-coaching position) in 12 seasons (601 wins).

Both were co-coaches of the Ragin’s Cajuns for the period between 2003 and 2012. After that, Michael kept his position as a coach, while Stefni became the administrator of the team.

No wonders why they are introduced in the hall of fame, because Michael managed to lead the team to 40+ victories per season, advancing to the Women’s College World Series on 3 occasions. He has also won lots of regional tournaments.

Casey Myers has returned to the Auburn softball program, after leaving it several months ago. He tried to find his place at the San Diego Pardes, but couldn’t fit to the team. However, the head coach of Auburn, Clint Myers has confirmed the move of Casey.

“He is back again and we are very happy to see him in the squad,” the coach – Clint Myers said in an interview. “Casey was released from the Pardes and now he is back. He feels much better with us and he is very happy to be part of our team. He just missed the teaching and coaching. Casey enjoyed all the people here!”

The new signing – Myers used to be a volunteer assistant with the Tigers, before making his move to San Diego. Myers was a staff coordinator there, but has now decided to return to his favourite team. Casey Myers also worked with the hitters of the team, and will surely continue with this responsibility.

When Casey left the team, the attacking stats took a down turn. It has decreased from .339 to .317 on average. We can also say that the Tigers have dropped with 1 position, as when Casey was on the team they were 4th in the country. Now they are fifth.

“The players are very, very excited to see Casey in the team again. We told them when we went to Atlanta on 1st September. Well, the new ones hadn’t the chance to work with him, but the others were very happy with his return,” Clint Myers added.

In conclusion, Casey Myers has recently been named to the Hall of Fame of Arizona State Athletics. He also had spent 5 seasons of playing career within the Oakland farm system. For sure, Myers will be very helpful to the team, especially to the hitters, who will surely improve their offensive performance again!

The ex-volunteer softball coach has been sentenced to three years of probation for stealing from his own team! The name of the coach is Aaron Alvelo. He pleaded guilty to the felony in front of judge David Trimmer.

The softball coach Aaron Alvelo, who is 44 years old, is of Carroll. He was the volunteer softball coach of the Bloom-Carroll High School. It’s interesting that his own daughter was the best player of the team. He has been the coach of the team for 3 years, when Alvelo was charged one year ago. The coach immediately resigned (March 2015) after the school district athletic director found out there is money missing. Alvelo was made to repay the amount of $5,400. After he heard his sentence, the former coach paid another $5,500.

The reason for Alvelo’s actions is his money problem. In fact, that was the explanation of his lawyer – Scott Wood. But, the coach surely regrets about his actions: “I am truly sorry for this. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not remorseful and regretful,” the former coach said in the court.

“You obviously have been a very good coach, but your actions are really bad! What a letdown, though. What a letdown for the girls, who will not to be able to take the trip, because no funds were available,” the judge David Trimmer said.

For sure, this is not the most serious steal from a sports team, but it is always disappointing when something like this happens. But, it is always good when the guilty man takes the responsibility of his actions. I am wondering whether is possible, the bigger steals to face the justice. But, Aaron Alvelo’s case shows that sometimes there is a justice! And we can only be glad when such stories end like this!

In the very beginning of this article I have to admit that as a traditionalist, every time I wanted to place a bet I used to go to the betting shop. But, then I found out how easy betting online is. After I started placing my bets via bookmakers’ platforms I was surprised how many depositing and withdrawing methods are available. And the most important thing I found out is that betting with PayPal is easy!

But, let me tell you why I like this method so much. The first and most important thing is that it is the safest way to place your bets, because of PayPal’s terms and conditions. There is the option of depositing and withdrawing money with PayPal in the most famous and reliable bookies like Bet365, betWay, Ladbrokes and BetVictor.

To continue with, exactly in these bookmakers you can find the biggest range of betting markets for baseball, athletics, American football, softball and so on. I would like to talk a little bit more about betting on baseball, because the bookies have limited the markets on softball due to, most of the times, the non-competitive character of some of the matches.

However, in these bookies you can find everything, connected with baseball – from betting on winner in a single game in the MLB, for example – to the winner of a whole competition. There are more than a hundred betting markets on a single baseball match in these bookmakers. Except the most common options you can find everywhere, there are markets like ‘Most Hits’, ‘Total Hits – Over/Under’, ‘Highest Scoring Period’ and many other interesting and fascinating betting markets. There also are lots of Asian Handicaps, which are considered as the best market for making a profit. As I said, betting on softball in all the bookies has become rather occasional, but instead of this you can find the largest range of sports. Sports, that you don’t even know exist!

So, don’t waste your time anymore, visit the more detailed explanation of how to use PayPal as a payment method for sports betting, start placing your bets and outsmart your bookmaker, making a huge profit! Another advantage of PayPal I almost forgot to tell you, is that the payment method is really fast. All the transfers towards your account happen immediately! I think that’s another good reason why you should check the first link in the article.

At both ends, everything looks very easy and safe if you use PayPal as a payment method. You don’t need great efforts to make it happen. Just follow the instructions in the first link in the article and you will find out how easy using PayPal for betting is! And don’t wonder whether to use PayPal – it is better nobody to know your bank account details – with PayPal you can keep your data confidential! If you still have any doubts – remember that there is no easier thing than opening an account at PayPal. And if you still have any questions after reading the article in the link, I am here to answer you.

The American League MLB will have home-advantage in the World Series for the fourth consecutive year. The selection of the AL won the All-Star Game 4-2 against the team of the National League and won their 11th victory in the last 14 years.

Although the match was played at the Petco Park in San Diego, the host of the meeting was the team of the American League, because of the rotation, which was introduced a year ago. Before the start of the match 42 386 spectators in the stands witnessed political propaganda. One of the performers on the Canadian anthem raised a sign saying “All Lives Matter” and even changed one of the verses of the song to sing a slogan, considered racist backlash against the movement to protect black people in the US, named “Black Lives Matter”.

Even during the match the quartet “The Tenors” spread public apology for the actions of its member Remigio Pereira. The remaining three of the singers said that their colleague has taken this demonstration wilfully and they are distinguished from him. They added that Pereira will not sing in the choir “until further notice”.

However, the star of the Chicago Cubs Kris Bryant opened the scoring with a homer for the NL. The AL team answered with a “solo tour” of Eric Hosmer in the second inning and in the same attack his teammate in Kansas City Royals Salvador Perez added a double shot for 3-1. Later in the game, Hosmer again scored a single point hit, which meant the AL were already in front by 4 points to 1. The last productive attack of the match was in the fourth inning, when the NL scored by an RBI-single by Marcell Ozuna.

Of course, the MVP of the match was Eric Hosmer, who was awarded with the crystal bat. He was also given a brand new car. “My dad needed a new jeep. Hopefully now he will stop stealing my cars,” the man of the match said.

The team, which is known as the Slugger Warriors from Louisville will host a free slow pitch softball tournament in Utica on 10th September. The games will be played on the new field in town, which is called “Jimmy John’s Field”. It’s interesting that the team members are veteran soldiers from the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are also active servicemen in the squad. Most of the team members are really fitted, so for sure, the matches will be competitive.

The American House Senior Living Communities will be the sponsor of the tournament. Everyone who wants to watch the matches won’t pay anything, as the tickets are for free. It will be a spectacular softball match, so you should take advantage and be at the stadium. The purpose of the event is to honour the memory of the victims of the 9/11 attacks. So, the event is scheduled for 10th September 2016 at 1 pm.

The Detroit Connection softball team will also take part in the friendly tournament. The other team to appear on the pitch is the American House softball team, which is expected to stay on the field for 3 innings.

The match will become even more interesting, as a veteran from the World War II is going to throw out the first pitch of the ceremony. Of course, the match is going to start with a minute of silence, in a memory of the victims.

“It’s a really big honour, on behalf of the American House team, to be able to invite these valorous, wounded heroes to Detroit for their ceremonial softball game against the Detroit Connection softball team,” Bob Gillette, who is the American House founder, said.

In conclusion, we have to say that these people are giving the world very good example how to show respect to the people, who had sacrificed their lives for their country and how to pay homage to the innocent victims.

There will be a big number of sports stars and celebrities to take part in the 2016 MLB All-Stars and Legends Softball game. This will be the 87th edition of the All-Stars match show and will be the third time San Diego will host the event. Among the announced participants shine names like Ozzie Smith (a former baseball shortstop, who was a part of teams like San Diego Pardes and St. Louis Cardinals), Rollie Fingers (again former player of San Diego Pardes), Tim Raines (he is now a professional baseball coach and ex-baseball player) and Trevor Hoffman (well-known pitcher, who has played for Florida Marlins, San Diego Pardes and Milwaukee Brewers). The match will be held at Petco Park in San Diego, California.

The game is going to be very interesting, because the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Nina Agdal is going to play for the team of the Celebrities. For those who don’t know her, she was from Denmark and has modelled for Billabong, Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret and so on. She has also taken part in the film “Entourage”. There will also be other popular people in the USA, like Landon Donovan, who is a football legend in the USA. Donovan has played professional football for Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy and Everton. He has scored 57 goals (the top goal-scorer of the US football team ever) in 157 matches for the national team of the USA, which makes him an absolute legend.

We can also see the name of Pete Wentz, who is a famous American musician. He is currently the bassist of Fall Out Boy. The famous actors Sterling Brown (“The Suspect”, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”, “Our Idiot Brother”), Tyler Hoechim (“Everybody Wants Some!”), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“Sticks & Stones”, “Specimen”) and J. K. Simmons will also take part in the All-Stars match.

There are still about 20 days until the match, so there are also lots of celebrities and baseball players to be announced. And, we will be looking forward to find out who else will play in this mostly entertaining, rather than competitive game.

Softball and baseball, both will be added for voting by the assembly of the International Olympics Committee in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in August 2016, the night just before the opening of the Summer Olympic games in Rio. The vote is a result of the application of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC). The members of the Confederation are hoping both sports will be included in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (Japan).

To continue with, the vice president of the IOC – John Coates confirmed that softball and baseball are a part of a multi-sport pack, which has already been approved for voting. It’s interesting that the other sports, which can find place in the Olympic games in 2020, are karate, skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing.

For those who don’t remember, baseball was included for the first time in the summer Olympics in 1992, while softball became a part of the biggest sports event 4 years later – in 1996. The last time both sports were played at the Olympics was in Beijing 2008.

There is also the option that only one of the sports – baseball or softball to be included in the Olympics. However, do you think skateboarding is more competitive than these two sports?

There have been 4 softball Olympic competitions, and the US team has recorded 3 golden medals, but they were denied by the Japanese, who won the Olympics golden medals during the last softball tournament at the Olympics in 2008.

The decision whether we are going to watch baseball and softball in the program of the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020 is going to be taken in August. This is going to happen during the annual session (number 129) of the International Olympic Committee, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro.

“This is will be a very good addition to the Olympics, if approved. There is a very good balance between the offered sports, which are also very popular in Japan. The new sports, such as sports climbing, skateboarding and surfing are very interesting for the young people in Tokyo,” said the vice president of the IOC – John Coates.

Yoshiro Mori, who is the head of the organizing committee of the Olympics in 2020, is also very enthusiastic about the inclusion of these sports. He is absolutely sure that the offered sports will be really interesting for the fans of the Olympic games.

In conclusion, we have to say that, if all of these sports are to be approved by the Committee, more than 470 athletes will be involved in the competition.

The former Airline softball head coach Tracey Rambin, who has been out of drilling following 2012, has acknowledged the aide softball guiding position at Benton High School for the coming year.

The Coach of the Year for 2007 will become a part of Michelle Owens’ team in Benton. She is going to join the team that advanced to Sulphur for the state quarterfinals in the LHSAA’s Fastpitch last season.

“I’m very, very excited about getting back into softball coaching. Softball, of course, is my passion. All my activities are connected with softball. That’s the reason why I went to college and it’s something I’ve always loved,” Tracey Rambin said in an interview.

Coach Tracey Rambin played volleyball and softball for one season at Northwestern State, then she moved to Centenary and continued with softball. The first team she coached was the Rusheon Middle School, then Rambin took Mansfield High School before assuming control over the Lady Vikings’ helm in 1991. She left coaching before her son’s last year at Airline, so Rambin could enjoy the most of his baseball games.

Presently, the move to Benton comes from her more youthful child is beginning school at Benton Middle School. Owens is upbeat to get some additional skill for her group, which starts summer workouts on Wednesday morning.

“Tracey Rambin will be a colossal resource for Benton High School since she has an incredible enthusiasm for working with children. I believe it’s enormous for us,” Owens said.

Coach Rambin took her Airline team to the title match in 2007, in which they were defeated to Ruston.

“My dream was to achieve the victory in that match! I had always hoped to win the trophy, but coaching in the state championship final was, for sure, the most important moment in my career,” Rambin told a couple of years ago.

The famous coach also told that leaving the team of Airline had been very difficult for her. Now she might have been ready to take the new challenge, sitting on the bench of Benton High School. “I really cherish Airline – the students, the administration, and the faculty” Rambin said. “But I’m very energized for a change. And we are going to start training as soon as possible.”

It’s always good when you have a person, who has a great understanding of softball on your bench. That’s why Owens should be the happiest at the moment.

The new softball star Makenna Smith has already chosen her home for the next few years. Smith preferred to continue her softball career at the Saginaw Valley State University, where she will try to develop her skills on the pitch. Petoskey senior made easily her choice. Smith just fell in love with the program and the team camp and she didn’t waste her time wondering.

Shortly after visiting the University, Makenna Smith took the decision to continue her softball career at Saginaw Valley State.

‘He’s (Coach Todd) just an awesome person, and my future teammates, they’re all amazing people. Everyone’s character, and the integrity of the program, that’s what really stood out to me when I was at their camp, and I just fell in love with everything the program was about,’ Makenna Smith said after her visit to the college.

Smith had many offers, because she was the best in the previous three seasons. She posted a .456 batting average as a junior! In addition, Smith earned Division 2 all honours as a catcher from the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association. So, Makenna Smith has proved she can perform at top level on every single position on the pitch.

“We needed a catcher, and as the most athletic girl, we figured Makenna would be able to hold her own as a sophomore. She played at top level and earned her all-state honours, which meant she was among the eight best catchers out of the 170 teams that make up Division 2 in the state of Michigan,” Petoskey coach Dave Serafini said for the softball star.

Makenna Smith is very obsessed with the game and that’s why she is very successful. She can play equally well in each position on the pitch and that’s why is one of the best young softball stars.

‘When people think of softball, it’s about basic things like hitting and fielding the ball, but it’s such a mental game. A lot of it is just having the drive, and almost being obsessed with it, because that’s really what I am with softball at the end of the day,’ Smith said in an interview.

Makenna Smith is also the ‘heart’ of each team, she is playing for. She is passionate and don’t give up until the very end of every single game. Her leadership and motivation led her to such a big level and made her show great performance in every single match. Only time will show whether she will become the new big star in softball. At both ends, we can say that the Saginaw Valley State University has attracted one of the most talented softball players.

The construction of a new softball stadium in Missouri will start next week, on Monday. The softball stadium will be located east of the Hearnes Center. Tim Hickman, the MU’s executive associate athletic director, expects it to be ready for the season 2017.

The plans were approved in February 2015 by the University of Missouri Board of Curators. It is expected that the construction of the stadium will be completed at the end of December 2016 and it will be ready for the next season.

“We’re squeaking in under the wire. They’re still telling us we’re going to be ready for the 2017 season. We don’t have that schedule set yet, so whether or not that’s Game 1 or Game 3, I don’t know yet, because, well, I don’t know the schedule, but that is still the plan, is to get in for 2017,” Hickman said in an interview.

The stadium is going to cost at least $17 m. But it’s going to be one of the most modern softball stadiums. $13,5 m. of the total amount would come from private gifts.

There are a few changes from the very first construction plan. However, the design of the softball stadium was released by Lempka Edson Architects 7 months ago. There will be 1,700 seats + additional 1,000 seats. That’s more than 4 times over the capacity of the old Missouri’s home stadium (University Field has been the home of Missouri team since 1980 and there has been about 600 seating places). The new stadium’s orientation will be north.

Another point for discussion is the construction of parking lots southeast of the Hearnes Center. The Parking lots will be created to replace the parking places that will be lost by the stadium’s construction.

Missouri will host a major tournament in 2018 (Southeastern Conference Tournament) and the competition is expected to be held at the new stadium. So, if the construction is delayed for the opening of the season 2017, it for sure will be ready for this tournament.

“Two things: We want to fully vet the facility out before we do host the Southern Conference Tournament in 2018. And just the success of our program, we need that space, and we need that improvement. I’m really excited that we’re going to be able to get it for the 2017 season,” added Hickman.

She is a former softball player. She is one of the best catchers. She has won the Olympics twice. She has played for the UCLA Bruins. Did you recognize her? Yes, she is Stacey Nuveman!
Stacey was born on 26th April 1978 in Los Angeles, California. She began playing softball at the age of 10. Nuveman started her career in 1997 in the UCLA Bruins and she immediately made a great impact with her performance. The former US national softball player won the award “Newcomer of the year”. Two years later she became the “Catcher of the year”.

Nuveman was discovered for softball in 1995 when she became gold medalist at Junior Women’s World Championship. And let’s see what happened then with her career.

She has played softball for the UCLA Bruins for four seasons (1997-2002). Her position, as I said earlier, was catcher. In her last year, Stacey was named for National Softball Collegiate Player of The Year.

Nuveman made her Olympic debut in 2000 at the Summer Games in Sydney. She managed to help her team win the gold medals. She did the same excellent work in the next Olympics in 2004, but reached only the silver in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

However, Stacey Nuveman has also won The World Cup twice and Pan American Gold Medal twice. She has also made the second best Home runs record in the NCAA (90). Nuveman holds the NCAA record for international walks (81).

Off the field, Stacey is a broadcaster. She has done telecasts for FOX Sports, ESPN and CSTV. Nuveman also works with several organizations, such as Visalia Miracle League. In 2003 she married Mark Deniz and changed her name to Nuveman-Deniz. The couple has one son – Chase.

After graduating, Stacey Nuveman played professional softball for Arizona Heat in 2005, but she spent there only 1 year. At the end of the season she was named to the National Pro Fastpitch All-Stars.

Stacey started her coaching career in 2007, when she became an assistant head coach at Serquois College. Her most significant success as a coach came in 2011 when she was chosen for an assistant in the Team US. At this position she won The World Cup and The Pan American Games.

To conclude with, Stacey Nuveman’s moto is ‘Dream Big.’ It’s obvious she has kept up with it, in order to achieve such great things in her career.

Jennie Finch is a former softball. She was one of the best right-handed softball pitchers ever. The pitcher began her career in 1999. Finch has pitched for Arizona Wildcats, Chicago Bandits and the USA national softball team.

She was born in La Mirada, California. Finch started playing softball when she was 5 years old.

In 2001 when she was invited for the first time in the United States national softball team, she had a record of 32 victories of 32 matches for the University of Arizona. Jennie Finch was named in the 2002 NFCA First Team and the Pac-10 conference for Pitcher of the Year and Honda Player of the Year.

Finch stroke out 13 batters in eight innings and gave up only one hit, one walk and no runs in the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. She recorded a 2–0 (win – loss) record in the competition. Her great performance helped the American national team to win the gold medal in the most prestigious softball competition.

Jennie successfully combines her career with her personal life. On 15th January 2005 she married Major League Baseball pitcher Casey Daigle. They have two sons (Ace Shane and Diesel Dean) and one daughter (Paisley Faye).

One of the best pitchers ever, Finch, took part in another major tournament – the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing. The United States’ softball team had 3 consecutive golden medals at this stage, and Finch and her teammates were trying to win the fourth straight victory for their national team. Jennie Finch played at the same top level and pitched four no-hit innings in the 11-0 victory over Venezuela. Then, she pitched 5 shot-out innings in team’s second consecutive success against Chinese Taipei (7-0). The United States also beat the host nation China (7-0). But, eventually in the decisive match for the golden medals against Japan, Jennie Finch and her teammates lost 3-1 and went home with the silver. That was the last time softball was played in the Olympic games.

“I feel like we let USA softball down. Many women have worn this uniform, and accepted nothing but gold,” sad Jennie Finch said after the defeat.

It comes a moment, when every great sportsman has to put the end of his/her career. On 20th July 2010 Jennie Finch announced her retirement from softball, in order to focus on her family. In her honour, the jersey with number 27 was retired by the University of Arizona.

The softball star of Merced High School – Madilyn Nickles will play for the national softball team of the USA this summer. She was selected in the senior squad after a tryout in Irvine. Nickles is unique, because she was the only high school player to be invited to the tryouts (40 players were invited). Most of the called players were seniors in different colleges. There have also been graduated people among the players.

‘It means a lot to be able to play for Team USA again while I’m still in high school. The fact that they are still interested in me representing the country is pretty special. It also means that if softball is back in the 2020 Olympics, they are looking at me being eligible to play on that team. That’s always been a dream of mine,’ said Nickles, who was excited after the call-up.

She spent the last summer playing for the Junior National Team of the United States. Nickles travelled around the country and led her team to the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation Junior Women’s World Championship in Oklahoma City.

17-year-old Nickles’ biggest success so far is being named for Sun-Star Softball Player of the Year the past three seasons. She was the key for her teams’ successful matches and that’s why she is the youngest called softball player in the national team. The USA Junior team went unbeaten (10-0), scoring (119-6).

‘It’s unlike any other opportunity you can have. She gets to play with the best players in the country. You’re not going to get that experience anywhere else, and she’s the only high school kid on the team. That’s pretty good. Obviously, we’re excited for her. She’s worked hard, and she deserves it. She knows she’s pretty fortunate to be playing at this level,’ Merced softball coach Bart McAfee said.

Madilyn Nickles is quite happy with the atmosphere in the national team: ‘All the girls are super nice. It’s awesome being around some of the best softball players,’ added the youngest softball player in the team.

The young star was pretty nervous, as she said, in the very beginning, but now she is getting on with the situation: ‘I was able to keep up with everybody. I knew I had a lack of experience and confidence, but that was the same for a lot of the girls.’

In conclusion, UCLA has offered Nickles a softball scholarship before she played a high school game. She was named a first-team All American by flosoftball.

There are less than two months until the start of the new season and the Arizona softball team has already released the schedule for the new campaign. The Wildcats are going to take part in the 23rd Women’s College World Series and ninth national championship.

Arizona’s contests are very interesting to the audience, so 23 matches of the team are going to be televised. 20 of these games will be shown on the Pac-12 Networks. Moreover, ESPN2 is going to broadcast the first two matches of the Arizona’s home series – against UCLA on 23rd and 24th April 2016. Another match of the Arizona’s softball team will be shown on ESPN2. It will be The Wildcats visit to Oregon on 1st May 2016.

56 games are scheduled for the period between 11th February and 14th May 2016. The Wildcats start against Southern Utah (2 games). Then the Arizona’s softball players will have to meet North Texas, Nebraska-Omaha, Purdue, UC Santa Barbara and so on. The Wildcats will also go to Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2000 to take part in The Easton Bama Bash (26-28 February), where Arizona will play against the host Crimson Tide twice. The schedule is so busy, that The Wildcats will have to play two games in one day on 6 occasions in February.

The Arizona’s players continue with Friday – Sunday matches’ program in March. The Wildcats will play 10 games against the following opponents: Samford (11th and 13th March), Texas (12th March), Texas-Arlington (12th March), Arizona State (18th, 19th and 20th March) and Utah (24th, 25th and 26th March).

Then, the softball players of Arizona will have a week off. After that, The Wildcats will visit Seattle for a Saturday – Monday series with Washington (2-4 April). The Pac-12 Networks will broadcast these matches and you shouldn’t miss them. Then, the Arizona softball team will host New Mexico State (6th April) and after this match will play three times in a row vs. Houston at Hillebrand Stadium.

After these interesting matches, Arizona will have to visit Stanford for 3 matches in 3 days (15-17 April). All of these games will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks. But that’s not all. In the middle of April, The Cats will prepare for a tough six matches in just two weeks. Firstly, Arizona will play against UCLA (23-25 April). Two of these three matches can be watched on ESPN2. The third game (on Monday) will be broadcasted by the Pac-12 Networks.

In the last two weeks of the regular season The Arizona Wildcats will take on Oregon State (6-8 May) and then welcome California (12-14 May).

The softball player Fred Entilla, who is 69, was saved by his teammate after suffering a heart attack on the pitch in a game of a major softball tournament. The good news for was that his Kini Popo’s teammate Bobby Damaso was recourceful enough and decreed Entilla first aid help.

69-year-old man said that the only unusual thing that has happened to him was the fatigue he felt before the start of the game. Then, suddenly in the middle of the match he fell on the field. It finally turned out that he has suffered a heart attack.

‘Halfway through the first game, I felt a little tired but I thought nothing of it cause I figured, I haven’t been playing so I’m just trying to catch my breath. We went back on the field and the next thing I knew I was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital,’ the lucky man said after being saved.

Bobby Damaso, who is now 70 years old, plays like a pitcher for Kini Popo. He has more than 30 years of experience as a firefighter and the emergency situations are not unfamiliar to him. ‘Oh, it seemed like eternity. It was like 7-8 minutes, 12 minutes and finally as I was compressing – one time, I just popped his chest and he just gasped. He took a deep breath and I knew already that was a good sign,’ was Damaso’s point of view.

Kini Popo eventually won the tournament and Bobby Damaso became the Most Valuable player (absolutely deservedly), not only because his abilities on the pitch, but also because his responsibility for his teammates and his paramedical skills. The victory was dedicated to Fred Entilla. ‘We did everything for Freddy. When we went into the huddle we’d yell for Freddy, we did everything and we just did our best and we ended up going undefeated and won the tournament,’ the hero added.

To conclude, Fred Entilla was released from the hospital with no danger for his life. He is looking forward to return to the pitch and join his teammates for other major tournament matches. Entilla has thanked a thousand times his savior and feels even more connected to his teammates, who support him unreservedly. That is the main thing the team sports teach people – responsibility, selflessness and respect to the other people.

The first tournament, Conway (The Coastal Carolina University softball team) will take part in, will be in Jacksonville. It is called River City Leadoff tournament and there will be 3 teams in total. Conway will play there against NC State and Kansas. In the upcoming season 2016, The Chanticleers will host 35 matches, including 3 tournaments.

‘Our goal is to be the last team standing in the Big South Tournament. That will not be an easy task with the quality of teams in our conference, but we are here to win championships and we will work hard to prepare for that opportunity. Our strong non-conference schedule will help us prepare for our conference opponents and hopefully allow us to have a strong RPI by the end of the year,’ said the head coach of the team – Kelley Green.

The first home match of the season for Conway will be on 19th February against Appalachian State. Then The Chanticleers will play against Seton Hall. These two matches will be a part of the Kickin’ Chicken Classic. Conway’s schedule continues with a visit to Columbia on 21st Feb. At a later stage, for the first time in Coastal’s history, they will travel to Hawaii, in order to play three softball games with the host team. ‘This trip is really a once in a lifetime experience together,’ added Green.

The third tournament, Conway will participate in is called the Chanticleer Classic. The Conway’s opponents will be Memphis, Buffalo and Furman. The competition will start on 11th March and will last for 3 days.

The team will travel again for three consecutive conference series in April, taking on Winthrop, Radford and Campbell while hosting a double-header with Charleston Southern. Then the team will return home and play against Charleston Southern (26th April) with a single game and two series vs. Gardner-Webb and Longwood.

‘Our conference gets tougher every year and we always have a target on our backs, but our goals are to win the regular season and tournament championships. Anything less is a disappointment, as this is the Coastal way. With that said, we know we have a lot of work to do and need to be diligent in our preparation. We cannot get complacent. Our best players need to get 1% better each day and everyone else needs to get 3% better. If we can keep on focusing on the process throughout the winter months and continue this through the season, we should be right where we want to be in May,’ said Kelley Green.

Softball has recently become very popular among the bettors. This sport is even more interesting now than some of the old fashioned sports and that’s why the self-respecting bookmakers are offering a lot of softball games and markets per season. Of course, there aren’t as many betting markets as there are in football, for example, but the tendency is for enlarging the number of events and markets, offered on softball.

Bet365 is offering a lot of softball betting markets. Except for the single games, the bookmaker provides the punters with the chance to bet on softball ‘Outrights’. You can easily find the softball betting markets. After visiting the site, just click on the preferred sport on the left. When clicking on softball you will see a list of the current events and, as I said, a lot of long-term betting options. Bet365 broadcasts the biggest number of sports events per year, so you can watch here softball matches and bet in-play.

To continue with, among the leaders in the world of softball betting markets are William Hill. They are offering competitive odds and different promotions on this sport. Of course, the bookie is also offering betting on the following markets: ‘Who will win the tournament?’.

Another good choice for betting on softball is BWIN. Except for the most popular sports in Europe, the bookmaker is providing its clients with a big number of less famous sports markets. One of the highest odds can be found here! Don’t hesitate, get £30 risk free bet and start having fun with the softball betting markets of BWIN.

188bet are also good at softball betting. The bookie has included the main betting markets of this sport: Money Line (who will win the game), Run Line Handicap, Total Runs (Over/Under), Odd/Even. In addition, the punters can find at 188bet the most competitive odds on softball. The bookmaker is also offering a bonus of up to £50 in free bet tokens.

But, let me give you a piece of advice. If you are new to softball, just watch several matches before starting to bet. You can do this at these sites’ live streaming sections when you deposit in your account. You can also read some blog posts about the teams. Some of the bookies are providing the customers with analyses for the matches. Then you will see how easy it will be for you to predict which team is going to win when betting in-play. Of course, you should also try betting on pre-match final scores and see whether you are better at it than at the live betting.

For additional information you can visit bestbettingbonuses.com. If you don’t find at these bookies softball betting markets at the moment, don’t think I lied to you. Just at the moment there are no major softball competitions. Remember, if you don’t find a desired sports betting markets at these sites, you won’t find them anywhere! They are the best in the industry. So, don’t waste your time, register with the sites, get your bonuses and start betting on softball!

You know that every single sport has its own biggest forum. Softball makes no exception. The most precious trophy in the sport is The Men’s Softball World Championship. The tournament is held once in every four years. The best 16 national teams in the world are taking part in the World Championship. From 2013, the competition will be held on every two years. Even though the motherland of softball is the USA, the most entitled team is New Zealand. The Black Sox (their nickname) have won the trophy 6 times so far.

The first World Championship dates back to 1966, which host country was Mexico. Eleven nations took part in it and the winners were the United States. The host team left on the second place. New Zealand took the bronze medals. In the final match the USA won 6-0 against Mexico and finished the competition with 12 victories and 0 defeats. An interesting fact is that in 1976 there has been three winners. The United States, Canada and the hosts – New Zealand shared the golden medals.

The last champion is the Canadian team, which won the trophy for the 4th time a couple of months ago. In the final game Canada won 10-5 against The Black Sox. That was the 4th lost final for New Zealand. Great Britain also took part in the competition. That was their 4th participation. They won 4 matches, but lost five and were eliminated.

42 countries in total have ever taken part in at least one World Championship. As I said, the team with the highest number of titles is New Zealand (6). In the second place are the United States. Canada are with 4 trophies. Except for these three dominants, Australia managed to win the World Championship once. Australian Steelers beat 5-0 The Black Sox in 2009 and lifted the Cup for the first time in their history.

That was the main information about the most important men’s trophy in the softball world. If you want to find some additional information, you can visit the official website of the last World Championship. What is going to happen in 2017 – you can share your opinion with me!

In the next few rows I will explain you all the positions in the softball and their roles on the field. Each of them has its importance and it is very hard to be said which player has to take the full responsibility for winning a game. There are 7 main positions in softball.

It all starts with the pitcher. He is the person who throws the ball. He is located in the middle of the diamond. The pitcher must step in with both feet on the rubber at the moment of his throw. Of course, he must be very good at throwing. The catcher is the man who catches the ball and is usually in a squatted position, that’s why he must have muscles on his feet – he may stay squatted for a very long time (while the team is defending). The first baseman’s position is on the right side of the diamond when facing the field. His role is to receive the ball from other defensive players and to pass it to the next player as quickly as he can.

There is also a second baseman player, who is between the first baseman and second base, but he usually stays closer to the second base. If the ball goes to the left side of the pitch, the second baseman is trying to cover second base. The shortstop helps to cover second base and third base. He also throws the ball to the catcher to throw out the runners at home plate.

The third baseman player is standing on the left side of the diamond when you are looking at the field. This player must have very good reflexes and to be very fast. The third baseman is responsible for covering third base at all the time unless the ball is thrown to him. The last position is called outfielder. These players are located behind the infield (in the grass area of the pitch). Their role is to bring the ball back as quick as possible. During the match, the outfielders’ number is around 4.

Now, after you know the rules of softball and after learning the main position on the field, you can easily start playing it. This sport could be a very good drill for you, and it will surely bring you much joy. But if you want to be a good player, you will have to be fast and to be extremely concentrated. Otherwise, you are going to lose the match.