Newspaper Articles
This is a collection of articles published in area newspapers.
Hudson Heat Takes Lowell 14U Open Tournament.
The Hudson Heat 14U blue won Lowell's ASA Memorial Day open tournament. The weather finally cleared enough for 18 of the best Junior Olympic teams from Maine, NH, Mass, Connecticut, and New York to compete for this prestigious trophy. The Heat defeated the Chelmsford Cyclones and Tewksbury Redmen in a Friday double header and lost one Saturday in pool play to earn a 7 seed in this highly competitive tournament. In the single elimination final round Sunday the Heat, in a truly great team effort, swept the Mass Raiders 2-0, Charlton Wildfire 1-0, Mass Renegades 5-2, and the Mystics 8-2 in the all NH final. The stingy Heat defense limited some of the strongest offenses in the Northeast to just 4 runs Sunday while the Heat scored 16.
Coming into the Heat's second game Sunday, number one seed Charlton had scored 28 runs and hit 4 home runs during the tournament and thought they could bring it on to the Heat. They tried but the Heat shut them out, holding the Wildfire hitless through 5 innings and striking out their hitting star three times. The Heat scored one run in the first on smart base running and it was a nail biting defensive struggle from then on. A couple fielding plays for the highlight reel every inning. Heat Catcher Michele Fenn threw out one of the fastest runners in NE twice on stolen base attempts while southpaw Lindsay Lozeau kept the Charlton batters off balance.
Kelly O'Brien hit two doubles and drove in three runs to help the Heat defeat the Mass Renegades (Worcester area) in the Heat's third game, another defensive gem. Kathryn Copp had her second fine pitching performances for the day, shutting out the Raiders (Stoughton area) in the first game of the day and then holding the strong regional Renegade team to 2 runs. She went 3-0 for the tournament allowing only two earned runs.
In the tournament championship game, Lozeau continued to confound Mystic (Manchester NH area) hitters. After going down 1-0 early, the Heat brought the short game to the Mystics to blow them away. Heather Gallant reached second on a perfect bunt and O'Brien's double broke the Mystic's back. Fenn continued to throw runners out attempting to steal, frustrating the Mystic offense. The Mystics loaded the bases with one out in the final frame but a come backer to the mound and a strike out finished it. Great pitching, timely hitting, great base running, and smart fielding characterized the Heat's nearly flawless weekend performance.
The team roster includes Robin Pappal (Hudson), Briana Brown (Westford), Heather Gallant (Chelmsford), Michele Fenn (Chelmsford), Lindsay Lozeau (Millford), Kathryn Copp (Freemont), Courtney Savoie (Stratham), Julie Petty (Manchester), Hillary Erb (Nashua), Lauren Greenwood (Hudson), Sam Hill (Hudson), Kelly O'Brien (Nashua), Amanda Gould (Kingston), and Candis Holm (Hudson).
Lozeau and Copp receive game balls, Fenn was also recognized for a great performance.
Hudson Blue Heat Makes it two championships in a row.
The Hudson Heat 14U JO softball team brought home the Patriot tournament championship trophy June 5th making it two championships in a row. The Blue Heat started the season with a second place finish, and then a first place, and this time not only winning the championship, they were undefeated. The Heat defeated the Mass Lightning (Woburn Mass) twice, Ct Cobras (Hanford CT), Beverly Mass, and then the Concord Raiders in the 4-0 final in the Concord Mass tournament. The Heat did not allow a run to score all day Sunday. Michelle Fenn hit her first home run of the season Saturday, a line drive shot over the left fielder's head, and then her first triple in her next at bat. Most of the heat scoring was by the short game, however. Amanda Gould, Sam Hill, Robin Pappal, Branna Brown all laid down some good bunts. Lauren Greenwood struck out 11 in her Sunday shut out, striking out the side on 9 pitches in the third. She only allowed two base runners all day, one walk and one harmless hit late in the game. Kathryn Copp threw a two hit shutout in the championship, facing only 25 batters. Courtney Savoie returned to the team this weekend after completing her varsity softball season and drove in the winning run on a perfectly placed bases loaded bunt.
The team roster includes Robin Pappal (Hudson), Briana Brown (Westford), Heather Gallant (Chelmsford), Michele Fenn (Chelmsford), Lindsay Lozeau (Millford), Kathryn Copp (Freemont), Courtney Savoie (Stratham), Julie Petty (Manchester), Hillary Erb (Nashua), Lauren Greenwood (Hudson), Sam Hill (Hudson), Kelly O'Brien (Nashua), Amanda Gould (Kingston), Candis Holm (Hudson), and Crystal Norman (Somersworth).
Number One Again.
The Hudson Blue Heat 14U JO softball team got back into the metal rounds during the fourth of July weekend and won Woburn's Panther Classic tournament. Injuries to four starters have plagued the team as they finished third and fourth in their last two tournaments. The Blue Heat have now won three championships as they tune up for the Nationals in Charlotte NC later in July.
The defense struggled in Saturday pool play but the bats were alive. After misplacing her batting gloves, Courtney Savoie hit back to back home runs and a triple. Briana Brown also hit two triples in Saturday games. Kathryn Copp, Lindsay Lozeau, and Crystal Norman had fine pitching performances. Norman adapted well to an unusual strike zone which was the difference in the late game.
On Sunday the defense was back in championship contender form. Savoie threw a two hit 12 strike out shut out in the semifinal game vs a strong Mass Renegade team. Briana Brown knocked in the only two runs the Heat would need with her fifth inning single. Robin Pappal, Crystal Norman and Kelly O'Brien also hit safely in the semifinal. Norman stole two bases and Pappal stole one prior to being stranded.
The Heat got revenge for their only pool loss by defeating the Mass Hurricanes 3-2 in the final. Backed by a good defense, Lindsay Lozeau held the strong Hurricanes team to two runs while Kathryn Copp threw one inning of scoreless ball before Savoie closed out the team effort with a 1-2-3 seventh. The Heat completed three double plays during the semi and final games against the South Shore powerhouses. Savoie continued to be a terror on the plate, with four hits and a walk in 8 plate appearances Sunday. In the final, Norman augmented Savoie's hot bat with a single, double and two RBIs helping the Heat rally from a 2-1 deficit in the 6th. Amanda Gould went three for three with one double and two singles. Hillary Erb hit a single and stole a base.
The Heat are taking a weekend off prior to heading to Portland Maine for their next tournament. The Heat is in the midst of fund raising for the National trip and appreciate your support for this adventure.
Fourth place in Manchester's July 1-2 weekend ASA fast pitch softball tournament
The Hudson Blue Heat 16U team went 5-2 on their way to a fourth place finish in Manchester's July 1-2 weekend ASA fast pitch softball tournament. The girls battled through five games Saturday and two Sunday losing two of them by just one run. The Hudson bats were alive as the team scored 35 runs. Robin Pappal hit .571 Sunday and ,456 overall, Sam Hill batted .450 including one triple while Lauren Greenwood batted .350 with a triple. Lauren also pitched eight scoreless innings. The Heat defence played well, holding the opposition scoreless in 31 of the 37 innings played. The highlight reel includes Robin Pappal running down a gap shot deep in left center and then drilling the cutoff who relayed the ball to home in time to tag the runner attempting to stretch a triple to a go ahead run. The Royals loaded the bases in the bottom of the 7th with no outs, but the Heat defence cut down runners at the plate twice before a soft grounder up the middle scored the winning run. The team is now 11-5 and is looking forward to Montreal's international tournament.
Bow Turn 2
The Hudson Blue Heat showcased their talent before several local college coaches last weekend in the Bow Turn 2 Tournament. The first year 16U Blue Heat were at the top of the recruiter's list of teams to watch and they didn't disappoint the fans. After dominating the Royals in a Friday evening game 11-4 , they held the powerful Connecticut Shoreline Devils team to just one run, a team that averages over 10 runs a game. Lefty Lindsay Lozeau struck out 11 of 26 befuddled Devil batters in her complete game performance while the Heat defense continued to play well backing her up. Unfortunately the Heat was unable to put enough hits together to score, stranding runners at third in the second and sixth innings. Heat batters drove several balls to the outfield where the Devils defenders made the plays. This well played game was discussed under the umpire and recruiting tent late into the evening. The team earned a second seed into Sunday's elimination round where they drew the NH Lighting. The Heat has become accustomed to being the team to beat on Sunday but the Lightning played the game of their season. The Heat went out to a quick 3-0 lead but the Lightning came back with three runs in the 4th. The Heat defense cut down two Lightning runners at the plate to keep it close. The Lightning brought in a relief pitcher in the fourth who pitched the best game of her season, dominating the Heat bats and allowing only three hits. Hudson's Robin Pappal had one of them, a sharp single up the middle. The game stayed tied 3-3 going into extra innings where the Heat threatened to blow the game open by using bunts and excellent base running to put two runners in scoring position. The Lightning held, however, and put two runners of their own on base in the top of the ninth. A base clearing shot to right center was held to a double but two runs scored. The Heat was unable to come back in the bottom of the inning. Lauren Greenwood pitched another solid game, keeping the Heat in it for 9 innings.
