Cardinals

Tori Jasuta pitched a no hitter for the MLL Softball All Stars in the Championship game of the Division III 9 & 10 All Star Softball Tournament as they defeated the San Marino All Stars 5-0 Tuesday night to win the 2006 Southern California State Title. Tori struck out 14 batters as she completely dominated the game, allowing only four hitters to place the ball in play with none leaving the infield. Her catcher, Rachel Humphrey, had another great performance behind the plate allowing Tori to over power the opposition with her unhittable fastball. It was a truly impressive pitching performance as Tori completely shut down the strong hitting San Marino Stars who averaged more than 8 runs a game against every other team they played in the tournament. The MLL Stars exploded for 5 runs in the top of the first, which was more than enough for the Stars to cruise to victory. Lead off hitter Jasuta gave the Stars a jump start with a lead off single, followed by Jenna Lambert's perfectly placed bunt single and an RBI from Rachel Humphrey. Clean up hitter Sarah Lucenti followed with a solid base hit to drive in two runs and Brooke Winterhalder, who went two for three on the night, completed the big inning with a towering two RBI double as the MLL Stars never looked back. Madison Miketa and Lauren Winterhalder also contributed to the offensive effort with solid hits. The undefeated 9 & 10 All Stars were clearly the superior team in this tournament, relying upon the perfect combination of over powering pitching from pitchers Tori and Sarah Lucenti, stellar team defense and timely hitting to bring the State Title home to Manhattan Beach. During the course of the Sectional Tournament and Division/State Tournament, the MLL Stars allowed an average of 1.5 runs per game, while scoring an average of 6 runs a game. Both Jasuta and Lucenti completed all star play with perfect 4-0 records, while posting a combined average of 10 strike outs per game. Congratulation to manager Larry Humphrey and coaches Jeff Lambert, Len Jasuta and Rob Lucenti for a tremendous job in preparing these talented girls for these challenging tournaments, and for securing MLL's third State Softball Title in the past 7 years. The many softball fans in attendance at these games appreciated the high level of play displayed by these players whose talent combined with hard work, determination and great sportsmanship along the way has made Manhattan Little League very proud. We salute each and every one of these Champions: Rachel Humphrey Montana Hunter Jenna Lambert Sarah Lucenti Tori Jasuta Madison Miketa Carly Muller Meagan Rafferty Carly Wagenbach Brooke Winterhalder Lauren Winterhalder You are all deserving Champions! Thanks for the show! Bill von Behren MLL Vice President Softball Division