FeedsSoftballers take Pride to ‘under 12’ World Series
A group of area athletes hope to represent the community with pride in two weeks.
That’s when the Plymouth-Canton Pride, a collection of under-12 softballers, will go to the USSSA World Series in Orlando, Florida. They’ll compete against softball teams from across the United States to see which two teams will ultimately compete for the title of World Series champions.
The World Series is familiar territory for The Pride, since they qualified for it last year as well, but hadn’t won any major tournaments along the way. The Pride finished 17th out of 48 teams in the World Series.
The Pride has three returning players from last year’s team and have worked their way into contention again, said Coach Mike Gerou.
“We were not a very good team when we started last fall, but the girls have all worked hard since last August to become an excellent team,” he said.
This is Gerou’s second year as coach of The Pride, as well. Hehas led them to an overall record of 40 wins and 24 losses. Gerou has coached baseball for the last 10 years and fast-pitch softball for the last two.
“This year I coached three teams – baseball and softball at All Saints plus Pride softball, which is a year round commitment,” said Gerou.
The Pride has been on a winning streak lately. They have won 13 out of their last 15 games, including 10 straight wins with four shutouts.
“We are a tournament-only team that seeks to play the best competition that we can find,” said Gerou. “We have supplemented our tournament schedule with scrimmages against 14U teams and the best 12U teams who will play us. The goal was to qualify for and be ready to play our best ball at the World Series.”
By finishing first or second in any USSSA World Series qualifying tournament, the team can receive a berth, as long as the team plays in the state tournament, too. The Pride has finished first or second six times, including at the state tournament.
The Pride has played several big games this year and has come out on top – or close to it – at many of them. The team was runner-up in the Belleville tournament, the Liberty Park Spring Fest, Interlakes, and the State tournament. In the last three weeks the Pride has won the Livonia Storm tournament and the Riverview Tournament. A few of their big wins have been beating Ohio’s Lady Irish, the Ann Arbor Gold Team, and the Motor City Madness.
Making it to the World Series this year was a team effort, according to Gerou.
“We have had valuable offensive and defensive contributions from all 11 girls on our squad this year,” said Gerou.
Leading the team in batting average, on base percentage, and extra base hits is Jessica Webster. The top three hitters of the season are Webster, Elaine Gerou, and Casey Bias.
According to Gerou, the team usually has sound defense. The Pride has shut out their opponents 10 times, and has held them to one run nine times and two runs 13 times.
The top pitchers are Gerou, who’s right-handed, and Lauren Hayes, who is left-handed. Between the two, they have thrown no hitters, combined on no hitters, and Elaine has thrown a perfect game. Bias is the team’s catcher.
Fundraisers are something that the Pride, like many other teams, put on in order to cut down the expense of being on the team. Some types of fundraisers the team include bottle drives, hosting tournaments, and hosting bowl-a-thons. There are also business sponsors to help cut costs. Some of the team’s largest expenses are indoor rental facilities in the off-season, tournament fees, uniforms, and equipment.
Many parents and families want to go down to Florida to see the team play. The families must pay this expense. The fundraisers and players fees cover the team’s expense of the trip to Florida—including the tournament fees and uniforms—and decrease the cost of the player’s room expense. According to Gerou, travel and food costs are each family’s obligation.
The Pride is ready to take the World Series by storm and will be joined by familiar faces. The PC 14U team, coached by Jim Gietl will also be going to the World Series. An Olympic-style opening ceremony will start the competition off on July 27 in the minor league ballpark at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
The World Series ends on August 2.
