Scrap Yard Dawgs vs. USSSA Pride: 2017 Championship Series Preview

Photo by Lou Roesch, Copyright 2017, All Rights Reserved

By Lou Roesch
Special Correspondent for TexSport PublicationS

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA (August 19, 2017) Saturday night’s National Pro Fastpitch championship series begins as it should be with the two best teams all season long battling it out for the Cowles Cup. The Pride with just nine losses all season dispatched of the Chicago Bandits in a series sweep on Friday evening. The Bandits had won the two previous Cups. The Scrap Yard Dawgs finished second in the regular season and took the series sweep over the Akron Racers to advance to Saturday night’s game one. So how do these two teams match-up?

Hitting
Both these teams can stroke the ball. Both these teams can hit for power. Both these teams can produce the timely at bat. The Scrap Yard Dawgs in their series winning game against Akron only had three hits but two of those three hits drove home runs and a bases loaded walk produced the other. Three of the Pride’s eight hits in their series win came with runners in scoring position and resulted in two RBI.

Pitching
Pitching was stellar on both sides in their series wins. The Dawgs allowed Akron just one hit with two outs and one hit with runners on base and none with runners in scoring position. The Pride were just as prodigious allowing Chicago no hits with two outs in seven at bats and just one hit with a runner on base. The Dawgs have Monica Abbott and that’s about all that needs to be said. This season the southpaw has appeared against the Pride three times with two starts. With a record of 1-1, Abbott has allowed 11 hits over 19 innings with 38 strikeouts against 10 walks. Overall, the Dawgs have a 2017 record of 2-8 losing six in a row with five runs scored against the Pride.

Overall
Experience has to count for something. The Pride are seeking their fourth Cowles Cup and their first since 2014 when current Dawgs head coach Gerry Glasco was the USSSA head coach. The Scrap Yard team despite this being only their second season in the NPF have built a team for the championship. With a mix of veterans including players like Brittany Cervantes and the right amount of youth like Ali Aguilar combined with mainstays like Megan May Whitley, the team is poised to make history in Baton Rouge.

Scrap Yard Dawgs: Three Reasons To Raise “The Cup” In 2017

By Lou Roesch
Special Correspondent for TexSport Publications

CONROE, TEXAS (August 16, 2017) Last season, the Scrap Yard Dawgs surprised the National Pro FastPitch world by making it to the championship tournament along with perennial powers USSSA Pride and the Chicago Bnadits. The Dawgs pushed the Bandits to the limit before bowing out one game short of the tile series. This season there are no surprises as the Scrap Yard Dawgs begin their championship playoff run on Thursday night against a familiar foe, the Akron Racers.

In their inaugural season (2016), the Dawgs had an outstanding season by any measure but in the end, they did not hoist the Cowles Cup. For Dawgs owner/general manager Connie May, it’s all about winning the title so like any great organization, the Dawgs went out and added pieces to make this year, THE YEAR. One might even go so far as to say they rebuilt the team after one season. Now with the Dawgs just four games from wresting the Cup from the defending champion Bandits, here are three reasons that that should be a reality in 2017.

1) Last season, the Dawgs couldn’t hit worth a lick especially when it came to consistent, timely hitting. As a team in 2016, the SYD hit a paltry .254. After the conclusion of the season general manager Connie May set out to fix that problem. Fast forward to now and you have a club that was more than respectable during the regular season. It’s now a lineup filled with dangerous bats up and down the order and on the bench that that raised the average up nearly 30 points (.283). Those bats produced 113 more at bats resulting in 70 more hits and 34 more runs. It’s production like that that wins ballgames at the most opportune times.

2) Monica Abbott is the franchise and for two seasons she has put the team on her shoulders figuring in 39 of the team’s 60 wins over the last two years. Along the way, the million dollar southpaw has been worth every penny racking up 380 strikeouts in 240.2 innings of work with an earned run average below one. This season the coaching staff has worked hard to ensure that Abbott is fresh and ready for this playoff run.

3) No team wins without a championship mentality and the Srap Yard Dawgs have it. In the offseason, May made the most critical move necessary to create a culture that was focused on winning titles and winning as a team. She hired Texas A&M assistant coach Gerry Glasco. Softball fans will remember that Glasco was the head coach of the USSSA Pride that won the 2014 NPF regular season and championship title. His team Southern Force Gold won the 2008 18U National Championship. One need to look no further than his time with the Aggies to understand the impact he has on a club. In 2014, his first season in College Station, the team powered 67 home runs and 287 RBI in 60 games. Just a season ago, the Aggies rewrote their offensive record books breaking five single season records and seven school records in SEC play. Add two assistant coaches Jimmy Kolaitis and Joe Guthrie with resumes as prolific as Glasco’s and the foundation for a championship has been set.
May didn’t stop there. She hired Mike Steuerwald as the assistant general manager. All the Los Angeles, California native has to his resume are back-to-back Cowles Cup championships as head coach of the Bandits and another as an assistant.
Then came the players by trade, by draft and by and by free agency. Brittany Cervantes, Hannah Flippen, Anisa Urtez, Morgan Zerkle, Ali Aguilar, Katiyana Mauga, Allexis Bennett, Amanda Kamekona, Kasey Cooper and maybe the most biggest one of all left-hander Cheridan Hawkins.

Yes, the Pride, the Bandits and Racers are all legitimate contenders for hoisting the Cowls Cup on Sunday August 20, 2017 but if the Dawgs are the ones sipping champagne the season will be incomplete.

Scrap Yard Dawgs fall 3-1 to Texas Charge to kickoff 2017 home schedule

Photo by Robert H Kelly

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2017 TexSport Publications

CONROE, TEXAS (June 10, 2017) After playing their first game of the 2017 on the road, the Scrap Yard Dawgs kicked off opening day at home by dropping a 3-1 decision to the Texas Charge at Scrap Yard Sports Complex in Conroe, Texas on Saturday, June 10, 2017. With the loss, the Dawgs post a 1-1 record for the season. The Charge also have the same record after both teams met in San Marcos on June 10, where the Dawgs won by the score of 9-4.

After three scoreless innings, the Charge jumped out to 

a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning and added an insurance run on the fifth. The Dawgs final got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Taylor Edwards singled up the middle, sending Hannah Flippen home from second base. The University of Utah product reached base by singling down the third base line, on a 3-2 pitch. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Nerissa Myner. Flippen went 1-of-3 with one hit and one run while Kayla Winkfield was 2-of-3.

Charge starter Ally Carda received the win, throwing 5.1 innings while giving up a single earned run on five hits. Sara Plourde received the loss after coming into the game after two outs in the first inning. She allowed two runs on one hit and walked three in 2.1 innings of work.

The Dawgs complete the current home stand against the Charge with a double header on Sunday, June 11.