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---------------------------RUFF NEKS FASTPITCH SOFTBALL CLUB: THE PRIDE OF TRADITION --------------------------------
The Ruff Neks Fastpitch Softball Club's original travel-team has graduated from 18U to bigger and better things such as college ball, college, work, etc. The younger group is first year 16 & under in this the Spring/Summer of 2008. The team is primarily from the local area, but also has players from the surrounding communities and from as far away as Gillett. The 18U team had players from far-off places, too, with some coming from Harrison and Pine Bluff, to as far away as Wichita Falls, TX and Montgomery, AL. The club is based in Cabot and has been a member of the Foothills Fastpitch Association. The younger team was formed in the Fall of 2002. Most of the little Ruff Neks, while very good players, had never played fastpitch before. So the early seasons were great learning experiences for them, and they have progressed nicely!! The original players, and those that have joined us since, have moved forward to learn new and more advanced skills. The focus of our fastpitch program has always been to assist young players to prepare for high school ball, and to help high school players who wish to advance to the collegiate level in the sport. We have been successful at this through hard work, advanced training, clinics and strong competition in tournament play. The group of players on this 16U team are all high school players and have developed experience, knowledge and skills that enhance their high school play and will contribute to their appeal to college recruiters!! Fastpitch in Arkansas has come on strong over the past several years and we are all working hard to be competitive at the regional and national levels. We feel we are truly helping our girls to accomplish their goals, as we had our first player sign with a college team in 2001. Shannon Rainbolt was part of the first small group of our players to reach college age. A much larger group was in the high school class of '02 and nine of them went on to play college ball, as well. Those players are; Bailey Baker with North Arkansas College, Balencia Young and Tammy Phillips with Mississippi Valley St., Nicole Henderson with U.A.-Monticello, Brendon Ward with Arkansas Tech, Jaila Kirtly with Central Baptist College, Megan Miller with Evangle College and Dana Marvin & Brooke Grice at the Univ. of the Ozarks. Balencia's younger sister, Courtney recently joined the ranks of our college signees as she goes off to Howard University in Washington D.C. Stay tuned for updates as our next group approaches college age. We can all be very proud of these, and all of our girls' accomplishments!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK and GO RUFF NEKS!!!!
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SAVE YOURSELF MONEY AND HELP OUT OUR PLAYERS
Friday, January 25
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Friday, July 11
RUFF NEKS THIRD IN JOPLIN, MO AFA 18U QUALIFIER
The Ruff Neks finished third over the July 4th weekend in Joplin, MO at the AFA 18U National Qualifier. Several people said our game with Southern Tag of Missouri should have been the finals because those were obviously the two best teams there. That's the way the draw happens sometimes, though.
Friday, July 11
RUFF NEKS THIRD IN USGF TOURNAMENT IN COVINGTON, TN 6-21/22
Friday, June 20
RUFF NEKS DO WELL IN MT. DEW CLASSIC IN JONESBORO
The Ruff Neks didn't win the tournament, but played well to take second against more solid competition in the Mt. Dew Classic over the June 13-15 weekend. Wins over Top Gun and Outlaws were followed by a loss to Breeze on Saturday. And we just got thumped by Breeze as they slammed two triples and two dingers in the first inning alone to set the tone for the 7-3 final score. Then came wins over the Collierville Dragons and Outlaws, 6-2 and 6-3. We then faced Breeze in the finals of the losers' bracket and returned the favor 6-1 to set up the championship game against Dynasty. Several back to back games had taken their toll and we dropped the game by the score of 3-2 to finish second place. Again, a solid performance against good competition !
Friday, June 20
TUNICA IS MUCH BETTER THIS TIME AROUND LOL !
The Ruff Neks marched through the June 7-8 tournament undefeated, allowing only 2 runs while scoring 39 in the six games they played. Really a good performance against solid competition. And, unlike our last experience in Tunica, the umpires were good and no one was ejected ! Fortunately, this tournament was run by an entirely different group than two years ago.
Friday, June 20
2008 16U RUFF NEKS TAKE 3RD IN 18U USFA TOURNEY IN BENTON
The Ruff Neks played all day long in the USFA 18U tournament held at Benton's Tyndall Park on Saturday, May 31. The largest winning margin in their six games was TWO RUNS ! ! ! Great games all day and the 'Neks came home tired, but carrying the third place trophy.
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Monday, April 23
THE WAIT IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE CAN FINALLY GET STARTED!!!
High school ball is finally done and the girls are rar'in to go!! We kick off the season with practice this week in preparation for our first tournament May 30. We've added a few new players, so far and we'll be ready to compete hard. Oh well, any time is a great time to be at the ball park!! We'll be back on top of our game in no time........
********SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS********
The Ruff Neks organization thanks all our supporters. This special THANK YOU goes to the people and businesses who have made donations to our program to help make all this possible!!!
2003 SEASON
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Community Bank of Cabot Brockinton Auto Sales of Cabot
Jensen Motors of Cabot Chuck Dory Auto Sales of NLR
Bill Calderon of Carlisle Randy's Auto Sales of Cabot
Lambhouse, Inc. of Cabot Walters Auto Sales of Cabot
Miller Cons't. Co. of Judsonia Carlisle Ins. Agency of Carlisle
2004 SEASON
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MDH Builders of Little Rock Grandma's Collectables of Cabot
CJ's Deli of Cabot A&B Foreign Car Repair of Cabot
Studio One Eleven of Cabot BrushMasters of Little Rock
T&M Automotive of Cabot Best Car Wash of Little Rock
Carlisle Insurance Agency Pinnacle Structures of Cabot
Campbell Wholesale of Beebe Brockinton Auto Sales of Cabot
Bill's Auto Sales of Morrilton Don Jensen Motors of Cabot
Walter's Auto Sales of Cabot N & N Family Restaurant of Cabot
Chuck Dory Auto Sales of Cabot Snowbunnies Shaved Ice of Cabot
Randy's Auto Sales of Cabot Community Bank of Cabot
Price Cutter of Cabot
Danny White's Automotive Refinishing of Cabot
State Farm Ins. Patrick Sinclair 0f Cabot
2005 SEASON
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Walters Auto Sales of Cabot Brockinton Auto Sales of Cabot
Don Jenson Motors of Cabot Andy Polston of Jacksonville
Cabot Tire & Off Road Carl & Sherry Stracener of Austin
(Tara's Grandparents)
Bill's Auto Sales of Morrilton Jimmy G. Smith of Austin
Miller Const'n. of Judsonia Mahoney's Auto Sales of Cabot
Randy's Auto Sales of Cabot Chuck Dory Auto Sales of NLR
2006 SEASON
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Walter's Auto Sales Don Jensen Motors
FOURTH YEAR SPONSOR FOURTH YEAR SPONSOR
P. O. Box 515 3494 Hwy. 367 South
Cabot, AR Cabot, AR
Chuck Dory Auto Sales Brockinton Auto Sales
FOURTH YEAR SPONSOR FOURTH YEAR SPONSOR
340 Smokey Lane 812 South Second St.
North Little Rock, AR Cabot, AR
Randy's Auto Sales Danny's Auto Sales
FOURTH YEAR SPONSOR SECOND YEAR SPONSOR
710 West Main St. 2295 Graham Road
Cabot, AR Cabot, AR
Pinnacle Structures
SECOND YEAR SPONSOR
PO Box 1268
Cabot, AR
2007 SEASON
_______________________________________
Walters' Auto Sales Don Jensen Motors, Inc.
FIFTH YEAR SPONSOR FIFTH YEAR SPONSOR
P.O. Box 515 3934 Hwy. 367 South
Cabot, AR Cabot, AR
Randy's Auto Sales Pinnacle Structures, Inc.
FIFTH YEAR SPONSOR THIRD YEAR SPONSOR
710 West Main St. P.O. Box 1268
Cabot, AR Cabot, AR
Brockinton Auto Sales Campbell Wholesale
FIFTH YEAR SPONSOR SECOND YEAR SPONSOR
812 South Second St. 207 Campbell Rd.
Cabot, AR BeeBe, AR
The Buffalo Agency
122 North First St
Cabot, AR
2008 SEASON
__________________________________________
Walters' Auto Sales Pinnacle Structures, Inc.
SIXTH YEAR SPONSOR FOURTH YEAR SPONSOR
PO Box 515 PO Box 1268
Cabot, AR Cabot, AR
Brockinton Auto Sales Don Jensen Motors, Inc.
SIXTH YEAR SPONSOR SIXTH YEAR SPONSOR
812 South Second St. 3934 Hwy 367 South
Cabot, AR Cabot, AR
Cabot Tire & Off Road The Buffalo Agency
285 Arena Road SECOND YEAR SPONSOR
Cabot, AR 122 North First St.
Cabot, AR
Norandal USA, Inc.
Newport Plant
Hwy. 67 North
Newport, AR
Thanks to these companies and to all who have given with large contributions of their time and effort!!! Without your help, these young ladies would not have the opportunity to compete at such a high level in this wonderfully healthy activity.
Thursday, June 7
RUFF NEKS BREAK OUT TO TAKE PARAGOULD TOURNEY CHAMPIONSHIP
After two weekends of hum-drum play, the Ruff Neks finally gave us a peak at their capability at the Paragould Tournament of Champions over the June 1-2 weekend. Saturday began with a run-rule win over a local team, the All State Angels. After being spotted a five run lead in the first inning, Erin pitched well and never allowed any threats. The 'Neks cruised from there to a 15-0 win. Then came the Collierville, TN Dragons which Kendall and the crew dispatched 8-0 in five innings. Next up were the Sluggers of Poplar Bluff, MO who, despite a decent lefty on the mound, went down 7-0 behind Erin's solid performance. The Sluggers came out of the losers' bracket only to be greeted by Kendall and our defense putting a perfect game on them!! Not a single Sluggers player reached base in the 'Neks 13-0 championship win!! The girls showed a glimpse of what they are capable of. What a dramatic turnaround from the past two weekends with EVERYONE contributing to the team's success. We'll be in Springdale this weekend to try to keep the "train moving and improving".
Monday, July 23
COACH BILL RETURNS AND SO DOES THE MAGIC ! ! ! !
Coach Bill (Kendall's Dad) returned to the team for the July 14-15 Southern Heat Classic in Marion and so did the competitive fire the Ruff Neks have been known for over the years. He had been in the hospital in St. Louis with scary health issues since the Paragould tourney (the majority of the season, really) and the girls had just not been themselves during that time. The Southern Heat Classic, except for the Ruff Neks, could have been called the "Tennesse West" Classic, since the 'Neks were the only team NOT from our neighbors to the east. Our girls proved to be up to the task and marched through undefeated to take first place in the two-day affair. After working through some difficulty finding the ball park due to several sets of bogus directions, the 'Neks disposed of the Arlington Cats 6-1 at 10:30 AM and the Bolton Wildcats 12-1 at 2:30 PM in pool play. In the first bracket game, the 'Neks again set down the Bolton team, this time by the score of 2-0 to set up a game with the Germantown Red Devils, a team the 'Neks have some history with. The Red Devils were no match for our girls who played well and took the semi-final 8-1. In the winners' bracket final at 2:15 Sunday afternoon, the Collierville Dragons played well, but succomed to our girls by a 4-0 score that the 'Neks really dominated more than the score would indicate. The championship game was again against the Dragons and our team was not to be denied! The 8-0 final score could have been worse as the 'Neks scored when they wanted to and stymied every Dragon offensive opportunity. Coach Tim had set the "word for the day" as "DOMINATE" and the girls rose to the call!! This will be our final outing of the 2007 Summer season. We'll take our usual time off and then resume play for the Fall with our first step into the 16-U division. It's a major step, but the Ruff Neks bunch is up to the challenge, no doubt!!!!!
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Wednesday, October 18
RUFF NEKS COME THRU LOSERS' BRACKET TO WIN CABOTFEST TOURNAMENT
The Ruff Neks dropped an early game to the Wildcats and then worked their way back to win the annual CabotFest tournament held Saturday, Oct 14. In their first game of the day, the 'Neks met an overmatched Madness team and came away with a 3-inning 14-0 win. Next up was old foe Wildcats who caught our girls napping in the 4th inning and, with the benefit of SIX errors, put up six unearned runs to take a 6-3 lead which became the final score. The Razorbabes were lying in wait and pushed the 'Neks to the last inning as time expired before succumbing to our girls 3-2. Back against the Wildcats in the finals, the 'Neks took the first game convincingly 5-1. The "IF" game was a little more exciting, as the 'Neks took a 3-0 lead into the last inning with the clock running low. The Wildcats lead-off batter stroked a triple to right, followed by a strike-out and a run-scoring infield groundout to put the score at 3-1 with 50 seconds left. The 'Cats were home team and, as any good coach would do, theirs attempted to extend the game into another inning to give them one last chance at the victory. He instructed the batter to step on the plate and hit the ball. Hannah, I think recognized what was happening and threw the pitch high out of the strike zone so contact couldn't be made. We called time and changed pitchers to kill the rest of the clock. Then Kendall got the last batter to fly out to center, giving the 'Neks the win and first place in the tournament. We were a little rusty and the 40 degree temperatures in the last two games didn't help but, all in all, it was a good outing.
Wednesday, October 18
14U RUFF NEKS GO PLAY HIGH SCHOOL BALL IN PINE BLUFF
The Ruff Neks went down to Pine Bluff to play the high school girls over the Sept 23rd weekend and came away with a win and a tie due to the "drop dead" time limit in place in the fall. In the first game against White Hall HS, Kendall and the girls completely shut down the opponents to win by a 5-0 score in a game that was really more one-sided than the score would indicate. In the second game of the doubleheader, we struggled with a "Bad News Bears" inning in which we allowed 4 un-earned runs to trail 4-2. Then, just before the time limit "dropped dead", the 'Neks pushed two runs across to tie the game at 4 apiece. And there it ended, with neither team getting an opportunity to settle the issue. The Drop-Dead time does keep the games moving, but I have never liked tie ball games!
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Tuesday, August 1
------------------------RUFF NEKS SHINE IN 2006 SEAA CLASS "A" WORLD SERIES------------------------------
The Ruff Neks truly stepped up to the challenge in the SEAA World Series held in Sevierville and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee July 24 through 30. Unlike the world series that teams from Arkansas typically go to, this was a Class A world series with the top teams assembled from eight states from the east and southeastern part of the country. There simply were no weak teams in the mix. In the 100 or so games in pool and bracket play, there were no more than six where the run-rule came into effect. The state champions were present from Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, Virginia and South Carolina. In pool play, the 'Neks went to the international tie breaker to ease past the Chattanooga Blast 1-0 and, after a "Bad News Bears" inning, dropped a 7-1 decision to Fear Factor (ask Coach Kenny about "the team in pink"). Bracket play began with a run-rule win over Knoxville Xtreme, 8-0 and continued with victories over the state champions from Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina along the way. In the semi-finals of the winners' bracket, the Ruff Neks dropped a close one to the Alabama state champs and eventual tournament winner, North AL Rockets by the score of 2-1. Next up came the Diamond Devils, a Nashville, TN all-star team the 'Neks sent home by the same 2-1 score. The Ruff Neks then dropped their final game 1-0 in the battle for third place to the Knoxville Blaze. We were all disappointed with the loss, but no one could feel anything but pleased with the way our girls competed against the class A field. The girls faced very difficult times early in the season, fought through it and peaked at the right time to represent themselves and the state of Arkansas well. Another reason to be a proud Ruff Nek!!
Monday, July 3
------------RUFF NEKS TAKE FIFTH IN 21-TEAM USSSA STATE TOURNAMENT -------------
Monday, June 26
--------FASTPITCH SOFTBALL IN TUNICA: WHAT AN EXPERIENCE THAT WAS!!!!!---------
We coaches often talk about the quality of the umpiring, and not always in the most endearing of terms! But, in this case, it is difficult to give a picture of just how poor the officiating truly was. Inconsistency on balls & strikes, misinterpretation of the rules, the inability to see out vs safe, "rabbit-ears" and just down-right carrying a grudge.....we saw it all right there in Tunica, MS!!! We started Saturday morning with an error-filled first inning against the Germantown, TN Red Devils that immediately took us out of the game that we eventually dropped 10-4. The girls came back to put away the Southaven Xplosion 9-3 to get back on track and finish up pool play. Oddly, our first bracket game was again against Xplosion and the girls disposed of the Southaven group by the score of 10-0. Next up were the Diamond Girls from close by Tunica. The 'Neks jumped on them early and advanced to the winners' bracket final with a 7-2 victory. The Mississippi Delta Diamonds were next, and they are a salty bunch, indeed! The strike zone had shrunk to the size of a pie plate and the Diamonds are a good group of hitters. The result was a hard-fought 6-0 loss and the losers' bracket. There we met the Red Devils again, only this time we played THEM well...we just couldn't beat the umps, too. Multiple bad calls and five ejections later, we decided the abuse had gone on long enough and removed our girls from the field with the Red Devils leading 3-1. The opposing coach apologized, the tournament director apologized, the tournament UIC apologized...but, if everyone felt so bad about the behavior of the umps, why didn't those in charge simply address the problem? All did not end badly though, as the girls faced adversity that day and pulled together as a team. We are headed in the right direction and picking up steam!
Monday, June 26
---------------------RUFF NEKS WIN DISTRICT IN RAIN-SHORTENED AFFAIR------------------
The Ruff Neks took the ASA District 3 Championship at rain-soaked Sherwood Sports Complex over the June 16th weekend. It started with an 8-0 run-rule win over Rosebud Friday night at 7 PM. Things continued Saturday morning with a 13-3, 4 inning win against the Maumelle Diamonds and their big lefty pitcher. Storm made our girls work some to secure what would prove to be their final game of the rain-shortened tournament by the score of 5-1. As the 'Neks waited for the others to determine the opponent in the finals, the rains just got heavier and heavier until the TD called the affair. Perhaps not the strongest of fields, and certainly not the way we'd like to win a tournament, but we didn't lose and everyone else did. So we earned what we got.....the District Championship for the second year in a row and the treasured "booty patch"!
Wednesday, May 17
****************RUFF NEKS TAKE BRYANT BLOWOUT CHAMPIONSHIP****************
The Ruff Neks took home the championship in the BRYANT BLOWOUT tournament over the May 12 weekend. The girls met little resistance Friday night in a 14-1 win over the Shockers to kick things off. At 11:00 Saturday morning, the going was much tougher against Thunder, but the game went in the "W" column with a 4-3 final score. Next came the Razorbabes, a pretty solid team from the local area. The result was a 6-3 win to send the 'Neks into the tournament finals. As expected, the Razorbabes returned to meet our girls in the 9:45PM championship matchup. The game was well-played until the last inning when the 'Neks got a little sloppy with their 3-0 lead and allowed 3 unearned runs to tie the score. In their half of the inning, the Razorbabes returned the favor with 2 "gimme's" of their own to set the final at 5-3 in the Ruff Neks' favor. The tournament was good for our team, as they seemed to come together some from the first game to the last. Keep up the progress girls, just one step at a time!!
* * * * * * * * * * * RUFF NEKS FINISH UNDEFEATED IN FALL 2005 * * * * * * * * * * *
In their first official move into the 14U age division, the Ruff Neks finished the 2005 Fall season undefeated with a record of 11-0-1. Working to develop a new skill, the players won all six games in the Bryant Fall league while learning to slap and drag-bunt from the left side of the plate. The team went to Pine Bluff and, against the Star City and Stuttgart high school teams, continued to work on the same lefthanded skills and managed to beat Stuttgart 8-3 and tie Star City 0-0 (Star City has a solid pitcher). In their only effort utilizing the whole offense, the Ruff Neks went 4-0 to win the Katching Katrina benefit tournament held at Benton's Tyndall Park on Saturday (and into the wee hours of Sunday morning), October 8th. Interestingly, it was the newly acquired slapping/dragging skills that allowed them to score two runs in the last inning to win the championship game 2-1. Kudos to the Orange and Yellow on a fantastic 2005!
Wednesday, May 17
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******** THE RUFF NEKS ARE THE 2005 12U CLASS A IBSA WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS ********
The Ruff Neks beat Southern Tag 8-2 in the championship game to complete their undefeated, 8-0 sweep to the World Series title on Saturday July 23. Our girls beat the Fireballs 18-0, the Lady Mixers 3-2, the Outlaws 9-3 and Lady Mixers again 3-0 to finish pool play undefeated. After getting a bye in the first round of bracket play, the 'Neks drew the Lady Mixers again and really put a thumping on them this time to the tune of 17-0. Next came the Burners who went down 8-1 and then the Outlaws, who the 'Neks dispatched nonchalantly 9-2 to set up the final against long-time rival Southern Tag. The two teams had locked horns often during the season, with 'Tag coming out on top the majority of the time. The Ruff Neks girls would have no part of that this time, though. The 'Neks played classic fastpitch strategy to score a run in each of the first two innings while shutting out the 'Tag offense. The Ruff Neks erupted for four runs in the bottom of the third to push their lead to a formidable 6-0. 'Tag tried to stage a come-back as they picked up a run in the top of the 4th and another in the 5th to make the score 6-2. The 'Neks slammed the door on that, as they answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to go ahead 8-2. 'Tag went down from there with little fanfare in either of the last two innings. And the celebration was on!! WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS.....sounds good!! Feels good, too!!
RUFF NEKS ARE THE 2005 12U ASA STATE CHAMPIONS ! ! ! !
The Ruff Neks took the 2005 12U ASA State Championship in dramatic fashion over the July 8-10 weekend after being taken to the "IF" game by Purple Magic. After dropping the first game of the finals to Purple Magic by a 5-2 score, the tension was thick and the pressure heavy. But the 'Neks responded with a convincing 4-0 win to secure the State title. Our girls opened the tourney with a 16-0 thumping of the Lightning Byrds and followed that with a thrashing of the Heroes by the same 16-0 score. Next up in the winners' bracket was Purple Magic of Hot Springs, who the 'Neks set down 3-1. While Purple Magic went about working their way through the losers' bracket, the Ruff Neks proceeded to finish off the winners' bracket with an 8-1 victory over the Hot Shots from Fordyce. In the first game of the finals, the 'Neks were a little complacent and not at their best while the 'Magic were on their game and played well. Helped by some sloppy defensive play, 'Magic jumped to an early lead and held on for the 5-2 win. Somewhere between the final games, the 'Neks got their groove back and controlled the championship game from the outset. And, at about 5:30PM, the celebration was on.... Way to go girls!!! Now on to the IBSA and NFSA World Series affairs !!!
RUFF NEKS BATTLE ALL DAY TO 2ND PLACE IN 2005 USSSA STATE TOURNAMENT
The Ruff Neks started playing Sunday at 9:30AM and finally left the ball park at 6:45PM after playing five games back-to-back to work their way through the losers' bracket to a second place finish in the USSSA State Tournament held over the July 1-3 weekend in Russellville. It started Saturday morning with a 15-0 win over the Lightning Byrds at 8:00AM (that start time is getting to be a little too common for the 'Neks lately). Next came the NWA Crush, who took advantage of four errors to score 6 runs and then held on to win 6-4 and send the 'Neks to the losers' bracket. Late Saturday night, the Sugar Bears showed up and went down 7-1 to set the Ruff Neks up for their Sunday run at the championship. First up Sunday was Thunderbolts who went home after the 5-0 loss. Next came Blast '93, and their whining didn't help as they went home after a 10-0 loss. The Jammers beat the Crush in order to be the next Ruff Nek opponent, only to meet a similar demise by a 6-5 margin. The Wildcats lost to Southern Tag in the winners' bracket final and dropped down to face the 'Neks in the losers' bracket final. The 'Neks sent them packing with a 5-1 loss to set up the championship games with Southern Tag. To that point in the tournament, 'Tag had played a total of three games and our girls had played a total of seven, four already that day! So, fatigue should have been a factor, but you wouldn't have thought it was by the way the girls battled. The 'Neks went up 1-0 in the first inning. 'Tag tied it in the third and went ahead 2-1 in the fourth. The 'Neks tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth inning, only to have 'Tag win it on a pretty squeeze bunt after time had expired in the bottom of the sixth. A heartbreaker to lose, but an exciting and very well-played game by both teams. This was truly a classic example of quality fastpitch softball!! Too bad one team had to lose...... But, the Ruff Neks proved their mettle and are a better team for their gutsy performance in a difficult situation.
RUFF NEKS ARE 2005 DISTRICT 3 CHAMPIONS
The Ruff Neks won the ASA District 3 Championship held at Cabot over the June 17-19 weekend. It went to the "IF" game and took 4 1/2 hours for TWO games on Sunday, but they got it done. The 'Neks started at 8:30 AM Saturday with a 10-0 win over the Lady Mustangs and beat the 12 yr old Blast 10-1 at 4:15 PM. Next came the 11yr old Blast, who went down by the same 10-1 margin at 9:15 Saturday night. The two games Sunday were also against the 11 yr old Blast and were painfully slow due to the delay tactics and incessant whining. The Blast took the lead in the first with four runs in the first inning on 4 hits, while the 'Neks kicked in two errors defensively. They shut Blast down the remainder of regulation while chipping away at the lead with 1 run in the second inning, another in the third and two in the fourth. Neither team managed to score in the first inning of international tie-breaker play. The 'Neks couldn't get anything going in the top of the last either and Blast scored the winner on a wild pitch to bring on the "if" game. Blast jumped ahead again in the first inning of the final, scoring two runs on a hit, two walks, a hit batter and an error. The Ruff Neks answered with two of their own on three hits and an infield out to tie the game. The score remained tied at two through seemingly endless delays and whining until the 5th inning when the 'Neks pushed across the winner on two singles wrapped around a stolen base, only seconds before time expired. Probably the least enjoyable afternoon spent playing softball in memory, but a District Championship is GREAT!!
RUFF NEKS TAKE 4TH IN 16U TOURNEY AT CABOT
The Ruff Neks little 12 year olds strutted their stuff with the 16 year olds in the USSSA Cabot Invitational Tournament held over the June 6th weekend. When the 12U and the 14U divisions didn't make, there was little option but to play with the 16U division. Having been playing 14U in league probably helped with the intimidation factor, but in any case, the 'Neks simply "played the game" as they would otherwise and represented themselves well. The Dixie Dynamite was the first opponent Friday night and the 'Neks disposed of them 7-3. The first game Saturday morning was against the Shockers who were dropped 5-1. In the third game, the 'Neks led the Vipers 6-0 in the 4th when the "bad news bears inning" jumped up and slapped the 12 year olds down. Before the inning was over, the Vipers led 9-6 and the game ended with that score. The Outlaws went down 10-2 before Firestone, a pretty good 16U team, dropped the 'Neks from the losers' bracket by a 5-1 score. The dreaded "bad news bears" inning was disappointing but, other than that, the 'Neks stood tall against the older competition with the 4th place finish.
RUFF NEKS 3RD AT NFSA TOURNEY IN BARTLETT, TN
The Ruff Neks finished 3rd in the 18-team NFSA qualifier tournament at Bartlett, Tennessee over the Memorial Day weekend. In pool play, after wins over the Germantown Red Devils 5-0, Lady Wild Cats of Mississippi 10-0 and Xtreme of Mississippi 17-2, the Southhaven Illusion came from 2 runs down to knock off our Ruff Neks 5-4 in the bottom of the last inning. No one felt good about the loss, but our girls played fairly well and Illusion deserves some credit for coming through in a very difficult situation. As the 2nd seed from their pool, the 'Neks faced another Arkansas team, Delta Breeze, in the first round of single-elimination bracket competition. After cruising to a comfortable 9-2 lead, the girls relaxed in the last inning and Delta Breeze got on a tear! Before we knew it, the score was 9-7 with only one out and the winning run was at bat. Bailey picked the runner off third and threw out a runner attempting to steal third to end the threat and the game. The next game against Stars and Strikes Sunday at 1:00 pm was an unexpected blowout, as the 'Neks scored 4 in the first inning and 11 in the second to end the game on the mercy rule. Advancing to the semi-final, the 'Neks came up against Spirit from Jackson, TN. Unfortunately, the softball gods chose to smile broadly on Spirit and ignore the Ruff Neks. Spirit had 7 hits, none of which reached the outfielders and there was just nothing we could do about it. The Spirit pitcher was good, in fact the best we've seen this year, and the 'Neks (other than Makenzi tearing the 3rd baseman's leg off in the first inning) were able to do very little with her. Spirit scored 7 runs in the fourth and that was the final score. So the Ruff Neks took third place losing only to Class A teams Illusion and Spirit. We now know we can run with the big dogs!
RUFF NEKS 2nd in FIRST LEG of TRIPLE DIAMOND SERIES
The Ruff Neks finished 2nd, but a little disappointed in the first leg of the USSSA Triple Diamond series at Cabot over the May 13-14 weekend. The Ruff Neks opened against the Wildcats Saturday morning at 9:00 and walked away with a 7-5 victory. Then at 12:30, they jumped on the White County Terminators 15-5 to advance to the winners' bracket final at 3:30 against Southern Tag. In one of their better efforts thus far, the 'Neks took it to 'Tag 7-1 and then waited for 8:00 and the winner of the losers' bracket. Not surprisingly, it was a re-match with 'Tag. While pitching in the second inning with the game tied at 1, Emily went down with what many feared was a re-injury of her surgically repaired knee. Their concentration broken, the 'Neks dropped the game 4-1, bringing on the "if game" at 9:30. Some baserunning mistakes and defensive errors contributed to a 6-3 loss and the second place finish. 'Tag played better and deserved to win, but there was an "up side" for the 'Neks too, as they continue to improve their skills and develop into single cohesive unit.
RUFF NEKS A STRONG SECOND AT JACKSONVILLE EARLY BIRD TOURNEY
The Ruff Neks showed a glimpse of their capability at Jacksonville's Early Bird tournament over the April 29-May 1 weekend. They won easily over the Knockouts 16-0 Friday night. In the first game Saturday morning, they faced a somewhat arrogant Kaos team and dropped the group from Wynne, 9-2. This was the team whose coaches were standing by the bracket and counting the games necessary to get to Southern Tag. They passed right over the Ruff Neks and paid dearly for their oversight! After waiting all day until 7:30 that night, the 'Neks finally got to play their next game against 'Tag. Although they played a better game than at previous times, the result was a 4-1 loss. The first losers' bracket game wasn't until 10 AM Sunday, again against Kaos. Kaos was ready this time and it was a thriller. The 'Neks had to come from behind, and then win in the first extra-inning, 2-1. Then came Purple Magic which the 'Neks handled with little difficulty, 7-1. A solid Delta Breeze team followed, and the 'Neks again came from behind after spotting them a 4-0 lead due to several errors. The final was 7-6 in a back and forth affair. Then the Finals against 'Tag. The 'Neks were ready and shut them out 4-0 in maybe their best game thus far this season, to force the "If Game". At that point, after four back-to-back games and six hours on the field, the tank was empty, and with nothing left 'Tag eventually had their way, 8-0. A great weekend, an exciting performance and a glimpse of greater things to come. Stay tuned....
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THE RUFF NEKS ARE THE 2002 REGIONAL CHAMPS ! ! ! ! !
Our Ruff Neks won the ASA Southwestern Six Regional Championship held at the Sherwood Athletic Complex over the weekend. It went to the "If" game before being decided, but the Ruff Neks prevailed 4-1 over long-time rival, the Screamers. College coaches were in attendance to see teams from Oklahoma and Mississippi along with those from Arkansas compete for the title. Up next is the USSSA World Series next week in Shawnee, Kansas. This will be the final challenge of 2002 for these "girls of summer".
RUFF NEKS TAKE 5TH AT 2002 USSSA WORLD SERIES
The Ruff Neks finished with a record of 7-2 and took 5th place in the 34-team USSSA 18U World Series held in the heat (102 to 104 degrees every day) at Shawnee (Kansas City), Kansas, July 29 through August 4. Many at the national championship tournament didn't expect much from a team from Arkansas, but the Ruff Neks played well and beat the state champions from Kansas and Nebraska along the way. Fifth isn't first, but there were 29 other teams that would be glad to be in the Ruff Neks' shoes. A solid finish to a very good season!!
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Monkey SEE*Monkey DO *
We have new pictures added to the Album for 2001. updated 6/29/01
You Ruff Nek monkeys check it out.
2000 ASA 16U Southwest Regional Champions ! !
The Ruff Neks came out of the losers' bracket to Win the Whole Thing!!!!!!
Front: Julie Coats, Mary Smith, Dana Marvin, Chelsey Warmack, Mary Webb(behind Megan), Megan Miller. Standing: Stephanie Bradley, Jodi Sanson, Bailey Baker, Anna Kate Milburn, Lindsey Vance, Shannon Rainbolt. Coaches: Tim Marvin, Ed Baker, Dan Payne.
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