We're Based In
Thousand Oaks, CA
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Practices are at Check out the following links: www.whssoftball.com
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The Diamonds Gold will be holding a practice workout and tryouts for new players on Saturday, August 23rd from 9 am to 12 noon. This practice will be held at Wildfilower Playfields field #1 (map) and NOT be at Thousand Oaks Community Center as we have in the past.
Diamonds Gold Players Perform Well In High School
Diamonds Gold Introduce New Coach
Two Additional College Exposures
NFCA Camp Applications Now Available Please note that for many Diamonds Gold players the NFCA camp falls on a school day. Please take that into account when signing up and paying the $70 fee.
Three ASA Tournaments
Slated The first tournament is the 21st 18U Junior Olympic Classic to be held in Las Vegas June 14-15. This is one of the premier summer events and starts with a one day recruiting camp on Friday June 13th. As of this writing, there are 133 colleges coaches registered to attend. The next event will be the 18U ASA State Championships to be held June 20-22 in Artesia, CA. Also, the Diamonds Gold will participate in an 18U ASA National Qualifier to be held in Clovis July 3-6. For more info check here.
Crystl Bustos To Run Practice The next Diamonds practice will be run by Olympic shortstop and power hitter, Crystl Bustos. Crystl will work on fundamentals of fielding and hitting. The practice, on March 2nd, will run from 10am to 2pm at Triunfo park in Westlake Village. Note: This is a practice for current Diamonds Gold team members and is not a tryout. While other softball players are welcome to visit, only Diamonds Gold current roster members may participate in the practice. Diamonds Gold Show FOURtitude! Win Fourth Consecutive Tournament! Mission Viejo, CA – 2/03/2003 – The Diamonds Gold have made it a habit to becoming champions, winning their fourth fastpitch softball tournament in a row. This time they went undefeated in seven games in the Quick Silver Triple Crown Qualifier held in Mission Viejo over the weekend. The Diamonds Gold, playing their strongest defense of the year, acquired bumps, bruises and rattled bodies, something that comes with aggressive and focused defense. Making diving plays, blocking bases and sliding hard is a trademark of this team. The championship game was truly one of championship caliber where, at the end of regulation, the Diamonds and the San Diego Rowdies were tied 0-0. In championship fashion, late in the game, it was the defense that came through, not once but twice. In the first play, a long fly ball was hit far down the left field line over Kori Down’s head. Kori tracked down the ball and made a long hard throw to third base on a fly to the waiting Katie Wise who expertly blocked the base and tagging the runner out. That was the only threat by the Rowdies in regulation. In the first inning of international tie breaker, the visiting Rowdies were at bat with a runner on third. A fly ball was hit to Jenna Driscoll in center field. As the runner tagged up from third, Jenna made a pinpoint one hop throw to Karina Slauenwhite and Karina, was able to tag the runner to end the inning and preseve the shutout. “Thanks for the perfect one-hopper,” Karina was later heard to say to Jenna. In the bottom of that same inning with the Diamonds Gold at bat, Lindsay Gordon laid down a perfect bunt to move Ashley Zimmerman over to third base. The next batter, Karina Slauenwhite, with two strikes hit a slow grownder to second base. Ashley turned on the speed and slid under the throw to home to seal the victory. “This was an exciting victory,” claimed Scott Kelly, the Diamonds Gold manager, “these girls are banged up, limping and yet had the fortitude to pull it out. We saw that we can be less than 100% and still come out on top.” The Diamonds Gold have players representing 8 different high schools scattered from Ventura to Santa Clarita. “There should be eight happy coaches,” commented one parent referring to the championship attitude instilled in these girls.
Diamonds Gold Mourn Loss On Tuesday, January 28th, 2003 Mike Spehar, father of Megan Spehar a former Diamonds pitcher, lost his battle with cancer. The Spehar family was a part of the first year of this team which formed in 2000. Mike and Megan were an integral part of the team in their first national tournament, the Triple Crown held in Steamboat, Colorado, in the summer of 2000. Megan, in her last pitching performance for the Diamonds before she had to move up to another age level in December 2000 won the consolation bracket in the Toys for Tots AFA qualifier in Moreno Valley. This legacy spurred the Diamonds into the national tournament scene. The confidence from that win pushed the Diamonds Gold to ever increasing heights. "Mike Spehar was one of the finest men I've known," said Chuck Ackerman a parent from that first Diamonds year, "he was strong, caring, gentle and terrific role model for his kids and the rest of us parents. The entire family is a fine example for all of us." "This is tough," said Kathy Ayala former NCAA softball All American and national champion pitcher from California State University, Northridge, "I am very close personally to the Spehar family and the loss of Mike had me reevaluating my own direction." Kathy, the coach of the Simi Valley based Ballistic 14u softball team went on to say, "I was very distraught and had doubts about continuing on in my role as a coach. But, after much reflection, I realize it's about the girls and I didn't want to let them down." Joe Smith, Coach of the Diamonds when Megan Spehar was their pitcher said, "This is a great loss. We'll all miss Mike. He was a wonderful man." Mike is survived by his wife, Amy, and his three daughters Mandy, Megan and Erin. The funeral services were held on February 1, 2003. We loved you, Mike, you will be missed!
Diamonds Gold "Threepeat"! Artesia, CA - 1/5/2003 - The Diamonds Gold have done it again. On an unseasonably hot January day where the mercury reached 87 degrees, the Diamonds Gold continued their sizzling hot ways by winning their third consecutive tournament. They finished off the rain delayed Punisher's Turkey Shoot by beating the host Punisher's 1-0 in a flawlessly played championship game. The only scoring came when Megan Ackerman singled in the third inning, was sacrificed to to second by Amber Kelley and scored on a single to the right side by Lindsay Gordon. That turned out to be enough as Ashley Kirk's pitching overpowered the Punishers allowing them only one hit. Great defensive plays by the entire team kept the Punisher's in check. Having a three week layoff with only two practices since their last tournament, the Diamonds Gold did not look rusty. "This team is playing to their potential," stated manager Scott Kelley, "I work them hard in practice and ask for discipline but there's a reason for everything we do. They're showing the results of their hard preparation." The Diamonds Gold defeated the Mid-Valley Magic 3-2 in another nail biter in the semi-final game to move them into the championship. Lindsay Gordon's precision pitching was able to shut down the normally potent offense of the Magic.
CHAMPS! Riverside, CA – 12/15/2002 – The Diamonds Gold girls softball team won the 14th annual Dynasty Toys for Tots tournament to finish out the 2002 fall season with a bang. The tournament featured the biggest names in softball played in the hotbed of softball Mecca and found the Diamonds Gold beating the Phoenix, AZ Explosion 6-0 in the championship game. Ironically, the Diamonds Gold started the tournament on a down note losing to the Arizona Lil Saints 4-0 after having gone more than a week without practice and a long drive of over 110 miles to arrive at 7:00am. After that game they went on a 7 game run that has trademarked this team and culminated in the championship. “I’m so proud of this team,” expressed Scott Kelley, manager of the Diamonds Gold, “Our goal at the beginning of fall ball was to qualify for one 2003 national and win one tournament. But we’ve now qualified for 3 nationals, won two tournaments and finished 3rd in three others. This team has so much heart and has shown that they are an excellent team.” The Diamonds Gold won this tournament on superb defense and clutch hitting with everyone on the roster contributing. It was an all around team effort that created opportunities for victories. This championship qualifies the Diamonds Gold for the Triple Crown World Series which will be held in Park City, Utah July 14-19, 2003. The Diamonds Gold team has also qualified for the NSA and AFA National Championships being held in summer of 2003. The Diamonds Gold are scheduled to play 4 more tournaments in January and February of 2003 before the high school season starts. “Having qualified for 3 national tournaments next summer gives us a lot of freedom once the high school season is over,” stated Kelley, “we will be able to play in more college exposure tournaments and some 18u tournaments to tune up for nationals.”
Artesia, CA - 12/01/2002 - The Diamonds Gold team participated in the Artesia Punishers annual Turkey Shoot tournament here this weekend. In the rain shortened tournament that was ended on Sunday due to rain soaked fields, the Diamonds Gold went 4-0 and finished first in pool play. The Diamonds Gold had great success trying out new players playing stellar defense cruising to 2 shutouts and and a 1 run game in three of the four games. The Diamonds Gold beat Impact 8-5 in the first game on Friday and followed up with a 4-1 win over the host Punishers team who was known as "the team to beat" in the tournament. The nightcap saw the Diamonds Gold finish off the Covina Diamonds 4-0. On Saturday the MB Lightning fell to the Diamonds Gold 4-0 and the tournament ended due to rain. "This is a great defensive performance," stated coach Scott Kelley, "we are moving from a good team to a great team with the defense we're playing."
CHAMPS! Encino, CA - 10/27/2002 - The Diamonds Gold fastpitch softball team won the Mid-Valley Halloween Tournament with untouchable defense, winning with 3 consecutive shutouts in bracket play to qualify for the NSA Championships in Colorado in the summer of 2003. "I am very proud of this team today. They are playing hard and getting better and better with each passing week," said Scott Kelley manager of the Diamonds Gold, "they continually accept the challenges we throw their way and they were rewarded today." As it turned out, only the champion of the tournament qualified for the NSA Nationals and the Diamonds Gold did exactly that. The championship game against the tough Antelope Valley Sirocco was an error free game with both teams playing stellar defense. A single by center fielder Jenna Driscoll to knock in Megan Ackerman, who had got on with a two out triple, provided the winning RBI and created the only scoring in a nail biting 1-0 victory. Defense was the watch word for this weekend as the Diamonds Gold outscored their opponents by a 22-4 for the weekend. Everyone on the team contributed to this effort where the Diamonds Gold played their best "team" effort in 2002. Impressive play by catcher Karina Slauenwhite framing pitches, stopping everything in her path and hustling to backup first base on every ground ball; over the fence home run by Katie Wise to set the tone for bracket play; strong hitting and outstanding first base play by Ashley Zimmerman; full game shutout pitching by both Ashley Kirk and Lindsay Gordon; tough fielding and hard line drives by Amber Kelley; "seeing eye" singles by Trisha Remund; great catches in the outfield by Shauna Erickson; and stealing home twice in one game by Kori Down! This team effort placed the team in position to win the tournament and become champs. The girls are to be congratulated for their focus and fine efforts. The Diamonds Gold are now qualified for two national championships, AFA and NSA.
Diamonds Gold Finish Third In Palm Springs Cathedral City, CA - 10/13/2002 - In a successful weekend at the beautiful Big League Dreams field in Cathedral City, CA the Diamonds Gold finished third in this AFA qualifier. The Diamonds Gold went up against the Arizona Hot Shots, Arizona state champions, in a thrilling extra inning game where the Hot Shots pulled a come from behind victory. This game was played on "Yankee Stadium" an exact replica of the real thing in New York. "I'm pleased with our overall performance," said Scott Kelley Diamonds Gold coach, "we are improving incrementally with every tournament. We have the basis of a sound team that will take us a long way." The Diamonds Gold team will play in 7 more tournaments before the beginning of the high school softball season begins.
Diamonds Gold Qualify For 2003 Nationals! Fontana, CA - 9/29/2002 - The Southern California Diamonds Gold qualified for the summer 2003 Nationals almost 10 months in advance. Playing their best ball of in the entire 2002 year they went into the qualifying game at the Riverside Rookies Winter Warmup in Fontana undefeated in the 5 previous weekend games. They faced the West Covina Desire team who was also undefeated coming into the game. The Diamonds, playing superb defense behind the strong pitching of Lindsay Gordon, defeated the Desire 5-1 to clinch a berth in next summer's AFA National Championships. The Diamonds Gold are coming together as a team showing their best defensive outing having stabilized it's key skilled positions. The bats came alive this weekend with the team batting better than ever hitting many long balls including a home run and three triples by leadoff batter shortstop Megan Ackerman who batted over .500 for the weekend. While qualifying for the AFA championship is a terrific accomplishment, the Diamonds Gold will not stop now. Future tournaments include two ASA qualifiers and an NSA qualifier. In past years the Diamonds Gold have qualified for as many as 3 nationals for a single summer.
Diamonds Gold Finish 3rd In Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV - 9/22/2002 - Returning to Las Vegas to participate in the Las Vegas Fall Classic the Southern California Diamonds Gold finished 3rd in a field of 11 teams over the weekend. Playing in fine form the semi-final game capped a successful weekend where the outcome of the game went down to the final swing of the bat. The Diamonds Gold lost to the La Puente Girls In Black 1-0 in an error free tense performance by the Diamonds Gold. Starting pitcher Sara Gardner pitched a superb 1-hitter. Ashley Kirk came in as a closer in the 7th inning to shut down the GIB team. The Diamonds Gold were threatening to take the lead in the bottom of the 7th with runners in scoring position when a superb play by the GIB shortstop ended the game.
You broke the record with hit number This page was last updated on 08/27/03.
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