The Cloquet VFW/Southgate Bowl Silver Bullets girls U-14 fastpitch softball team will attempt to deliver a "three-peat" performance at the ASA/Minnesota State Class B Softball Tournament this weekend in Owatonna, Minn. The Silver Bullets won the ASA U-12 championship in Cloquet two years ago and then last year won the U-14 Class D State Championship in Hutchinson, Minn. This year the Silver Bullets will move up into Class B, which means they enter the ranks of all-star caliber teams.
"When you get into the A and B divisions you are playing teams that are mainly from the Twin Cities and comprised of the best of the best in the state," said coach Scott Rodd. "Because there is no Class A state tournament this year, all the best teams in the state will be in Class B."
To ready themselves for the state tournament, the VFW has played up in the U-16 Lake Superior Fastpitch League this season, where they have only one loss. They have a 12-1 record in league play and an overall record of 18-1.
"We didn't know what to expect when we moved up into that age group since we have only 13- and 14-year-olds on our team," mentioned Rodd. "The girls have more than held their own and our only loss was to Barnum with Katrina Newman pitching. She is a very good pitcher and she throws hard. We were able to learn a lot about our team in that loss."
"This group is incredibly dedicated," Rodd said. "We have dedicated coaches, players and parents. So far we've already had 17 practices this year, to go along with 19 games. Most teams do not spend nearly as much time on the practice field as we do. We carry a 14-player roster and we've never had less than 12 girls at a practice, so that says a lot."
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The Silver Bullets received their state seeding assignment this week from the Minnesota Sports Federation and they were seeded as the No. 1 team in the north, which means they will get a bye in the first round.
"Basically it is a free pass to play in the second round after half the teams have already lost one game," commented Rodd. "It will be very interesting to see whether our girls can play at that level."
Defensively, the Silver Bullets are extremely strong and players normally have to earn their way on base.
"Other than the one game this year, our defense and pitching have been extremely strong," commented Rodd. "We pride ourselves in our defense and in making sure that we don't give up extra outs. At the level we are now playing it will become even more important to play solid defense and to pitch well."
