Birmingham Mustangs

Have a very HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

2009-02-13T12:04:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COACH RIN!!

2009-02-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

We all wish you a wonderful Birthday!

Thanks for coaching us and watching out for us over the last couple of years!!

You've brought us a LONG way!

(The Girls of the '96 Mustangs)

GO MUSTANGS!

Now at 100%

2009-01-13T05:13:00.001-08:00

Shelby and Delaney, our two Hueytown girls were the last to find out the results of Middle School Tryouts. They follow their team mates in making the Birmingham Mustangs 1oo% (of the girls eligible) making their respective Middle School Softball teams!

Lets congratulate the team for their accomplishments!

Bailee "Bam Bam"
Grace "Amazing"
Kristen "GoGo Girl"
Montana "Mojo"
Neil "Covergirl"
Rebecca "Taz"
Sam "Sammy"
Shelby M "Hollywood"
Josilyn "Jo Jo"
Shelby "Charlie"
Delaney "Money"

Teammates trying out next year - Alex "TNT" and Caroline "Hammer"

Tons of Toys...

2008-12-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

The Mustangs teamed up with Children's Hospital and at our Christmas Party we gathered toys and TODAY was delivery Day!

The Children's Hospital has on any one day 100-150 children staying at the facility. The Hospital gives gifts to these children all year, not just at Christmas. But Christmas is a special time and not a time that most kids want to be in the hospital. Can you imagine the stress that the parents must feel with a sick child and at Christmas?

Children's had the hospital decorated up for Santa's big day and the children we saw looked happy, of course they were on their way home!

A representative of the Hospital met Rin when he pulled in to thank him and the Birmingham Mustangs for the donation.

She looked at how many toys we had and asked if we could deliver them to their warehouse!

Which we did, and then we unloaded the trailer posed for a couple of pics

And left grateful for the thinks that God has given us !

Remember how fortunate we are to have healthy children, remember all that we spend playing this sport we love, and then remember those who are not as fortunate or are sick at this time of the year... then give.

A Mustang Christmas...

2008-12-14T22:06:00.000-08:00

A Festive time was had by one and all at the Birmingham Mustangs Holiday Party and many more will have a wonderful Christmas because of the gifts that were collected to be donated to the Children's Hospital!

There was ice skating and food and great times had by all...

We unveiled our Uniforms for 2009

And recognized all the teams

10U

12U

14U

14U & 16U

So from our family

To yours...

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Beauties in the Lineup...

2008-11-17T06:12:00.001-08:00

Delaney W and Shelby B participated in their Middle School Padget this last Thursday (11/13).

Shelby finished in the top 10 and received the Teacher's Choice Award. Congratulations to both girls!

Remember... all parents are encouraged to send in any accomplishments to garykwray@gmail.com so we can show off our girls!

Voting Day

2008-11-05T15:08:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday when we were all voting to decide a new President, HMS was voting for a new Student Body President as well... and on Wednesday the results are in! Delaney Wray, The 2nd Baseman and Left Fielder for the Birmingham Mustangs, was elected as President of the HMS Student Body by more than 200 votes! Congratulations Delaney!

Miustangs 96 take 2nd in 14U Tournament

2008-11-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

The Birmingham Mustangs 96 Played in the 14U age bracket in Fultondale this last weekend and managed to take 2nd Place to the 14U Silver Bullets. The Mustangs went undefeated until the final game where they lost to the Bullets.

It was a fun day of softball until that last game but once again the Mustangs showed that they could play with the older girls!

All that great softball would not have been possible without our favorite cheerleader who cheered us on to victory...

Mustangs making their School Team!

2008-10-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

We had several Mustangs that tried out for their school team this fall.

Bailee "Bam Bam"
Grace "Amazing"
Kristen "GoGo Girl"
Montana "Mojo"
Neil "Covergirl"
Rebecca "Taz"
Sam "Sammy"
Shelby M "Hollywood"

Way to Go!!!

All the rest of the girls will have to wait until their respective tryouts, but we wish them GOOD LUCK!

Thanks to Cathy Boone for sending me the email...

Mustangs win Jemmison Fall Fest!

2008-10-20T06:38:00.000-07:00

The '96 Mustangs do it again going undefeated in 5 games in Jemison on Saturday!

The Mustangs were almost perfect in offense and defense and had strong pitching to carry them through a pretty cold day!

Mojo pitched a great game in the championship, carrying the Mustangs to the championship over the Sweat Heat in a 3 - 2 game.

Mustangs win Again.

2008-09-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Birmingham Mustangs playing with a starter on the bench hurt, won the Franklin Fall Friendly.

Big Opening Weekend for The Mustang Organization!

2008-09-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

While the 96 Mustangs had the weekend off, the 97 Mustangs along with the 98 10U Mustangs and the 8U Mustangs played in the Kickoff Classic at Hoover Central!

The 8U Mustangs in their first tournament went undefeated for the day! Bringing home the Championship Trophy was a big deal for these newcomers to Travel Ball!

The team had a lot of fun and is looking forward to more tournaments!

The 10U 98 Mustangs did well making it to the semi-finals and lost to the eventual winners of the tournament, the Bay City Bombers by the score of 2-1. It was a tough loss after leading the whole game but the team made a GREAT showing in their first tournament!

The 12U 97 Mustangs Played great the whole day! In the Championship game against the Cruisers they fell behind 3-0 only to make a 5 run ralley and go ahead 5-3 but the Cruisers were not through yet... with only 1 out between the Mustangs and victory, the Cruisers scored to win the Championship. The Mustangs should be proud of their 2nd place finish on their first tournament ever!

Congratulations to all the Mustang teams! It looked great seeing all the red and blue at Hoover Central this weekend!

Mustang against Mustangs

2008-09-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, The Birmingham Mustangs are part of different teams. Especially at school where they play a variety of different sports... such as Volleyball.

On Wednesday, September 3rd Hueytown played North Jefferson in volleyball. It happens that Shelby B and Delaney W are on the Hueytown Teams and Shelby M is on the North Jefferson Team. While on the court it was all business, they found time to hug and spend some time together like teammates.

After all... it always GO Mustangs in the end...

World Series Lake Party

2008-08-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

In honor of our 2008 USSSA World Series Championship, We had a party at the McDonald's Lake house!

There was LOTS of food like only our grillmasters can provide!

Everyone got full on Ribs and BBQ then enjoyed the day watching the girls play in the lake.

Of course there was lots of Water fun to be had by everyone and we had a GREAT Time! Thanks Bill and Argie!

Of course all of this was about congratulating the 2008 Mustangs 96

The 2008 USSSA 11U World Series Champs!

After the Game...

2008-07-31T12:46:00.001-07:00

Birmingham News Article

2008-07-30T12:51:00.001-07:00

Click it to read it full size

Don't forget to "re-visit" yesterday's post to see the video of some of the pictures from the 2008 USSSA World Series!

World Series Champs!

2008-07-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

The Birmingham Mustangs finished their season in style with it's 51st win being the "if" game in the USSSA World Series!!!

They went 7 games undefeated their first loss coming to the Delaware Diamonds in the first of two 7 inning championship games (we had to be beat twice to lose) by the score of 2-1. Coming back from that loss, the Mustangs could do no wrong and won over the Delaware 14-2 in the 4th inning by run rule.

The Mustangs outscored their opponents 77-10 during the tournament and had an average differential of 8.375 over the other teams.

Gotta Love It!!! :)

Mustangs Win!

2008-07-26T14:38:00.001-07:00

14-2 in the 4th inning

The 2008 USSSA World Champs!

First Loss

2008-07-26T12:01:00.001-07:00

Came in the first Championship game.

Mustangs lost 1-2 and now go to the "if" game.

In the Championship!

2008-07-26T07:51:00.001-07:00

The Birmingham Mustangs made it to the Championship Game with a win over
the undefeated Delaware Diamonds be the score of 6-1.

The Championship game will be played around 1pm eastern against the winner
of the VA Titans and the Delaware Diamonds.

Results World Series

2008-07-25T13:26:00.001-07:00

Yesterday in the first game of bracket play the Mustangs won 11-0 over the
Indy Voltage.

Today we stay in the winners bracket with a win over Michigan Compuware
8-1.

Mustangs go into the final day of play undefeated.

1st Day

2008-07-22T10:14:00.001-07:00

Mustangs win 7-1 over Xtreme Fury and beat the Midshore Express 16-3.

Currently stuck in Rain Delay.

Opening ceremonies

2008-07-21T11:30:00.001-07:00

Tonight it starts with a parade and beads and trading pins and lots of fun
and food!

Then, we play ball!!!

Next Stop, Maryland!

2008-07-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, next weekend we will be in Salisbury, Maryland! I can't believe it's here already!

14 tournaments, 6 - 1st place victories, 4 - 2nd place victories. This includes 2nd in USSSA State and 2nd in NSA State.

I think we are ready.

I may not be able to update the blog online, but I'll at least put each days scores online via blackberry! Come here and I'll try to keep you updated...

NSA State Clip...

2008-07-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Two of the best moments of the State tournament were when we finally got the winning run against the Vipers (see the picture of Bailee below) and the first inning of the first Championship game against the Tusc Tide. We batted for 20 Minutes.

In the clip below, I think I missed the first two batters, we start with Alex hitting a line drive and the inning ends with Alex so I think we see everyone who was in the lineup.... Hope you enjoy...

The next clip is of a cheer demonstration that was given to me for all the world to see....
It's great!

Just a few moments from the NSA State Tournament....

Mustangs take 2nd at NSA State

2008-07-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

The first year 12U Mustangs took 2nd place to the Tusc Tide after pushing the undefeated Tide to the IF game in the NSA B State Championship. The 2nd Championship game was just too much for the Mustangs after playing 4 other games that day and they fell to the Tide.

Bailee scores the winning run against the Viper's 96

Alex seems to give a curtsy after crossing the plate against the Tusc Tide!

Another great play by Bailee this weekend!

The Mustangs defeated several really good teams along the way. The Vipers 96, the RS Raptors and even the 1st place team, the Tuscaloosa Tide. The girls should be really proud and start getting ready for the USSSA World Series in Maryland!!!

USSSA State ... 2nd place

2008-07-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

For Shelby B...

The 2008 Birmingham Mustangs

2008-06-30T08:18:00.001-07:00

"Daddy's Girl" Smokey Mountain Challenge

2008-06-16T01:33:00.000-07:00

Yes a GREAT TIME was had in the Great Smokey Mtns this weekend! Dollywood, eating, Laser Tag, Swimming, oh yeah, and plenty of GREAT Softball!!

The Mustangs took on teams from Tennessee and Ohio to go UNDEFEATED in the "Daddy's Girl"Smokey Mountain Challenge this Father's Day weekend. All 13 girls got to play this weekend and everyone contributed to a great Tournament Win!

Sammy or "STRETCH" as she is now known, ruled first base and made a LOT of game winning grabs to keep us going when times were tough..... Neil had a game winning steal sliding in under the tag at home to beat the White Lightning and send us to the championship game.... and Ashley's hit in the last inning of the championship game took a one run lead and stretched it to a 4 run lead that The White Lightning could not overcome. On the Pitching side, Shelby B had two great games this weekend including the Championship game shutting out the opponents in both games and a "No Hitter" in the first game! All of our girls played great games and in any game you can find a Championship play made by a different girl!

Even the Fans got into the games and took over the park! The Mustangs Fans should have gotten an award for cheering and doing the wave in their Fan Participation!

Lot of great plays were made and I'm sure Rin will cover them on our website so watch out there for his post and I'll try to post some pictures of Dollywood and the games soon!!!

ADD ON:
The Birmingham Mustangs traveled to Pigeon Forge TN to play in the
Daddy's Girl Smokey Mtn Challenge.
Competing with teams from 4 states The Birmingham Mustangs
came away Undefeated and Tournament Champions!

More Player Accomplishments!!!

2008-05-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

#22 "Sammy" has just been picked for the Winfield Junior Varsity Volleyball Team!!! Sam Plays 1st base and Pitcher for the Mustangs and has been our leading "Long Ball" hitter with 3 Homeruns for the season! Congratulations Sam!!

A Photo Essay from Madison...by Cheryl Wray

2008-05-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

"What are the girls doing out here in the pool? You know we have a game in two hours!! I cannot believe you guys!"

"Honest, Coach. We really don't know what you're talking about..."

"Besides, look how cute they all are. And I'm sure that they'll play perfectly today, even if they are dehydrated and worn out..."

"They'll probably even win another tournament for us..."

"Of course," (Rin says), "If they hadn't been in the pool all morning, we wouldn't have had to play until midnight."

GO MUSTANGS!

Spring Thunder Rumble Champions!!

2008-05-19T08:36:00.001-07:00

Tournament Summary
Today was another great day to be a Mustang. We went 3-1 on the day with our only loss coming at the hands of Total Chaos. We started off slow but after getting it handed to us by the Chaos we woke up proceeded to win another championship leaving no doubt. Today we were lead offensivley Rebecca who had a L/H slap Homerun as well as Sam, Shelby B, Shelby M and our Amazing Grace with her big hit. Defense was good enough while the pitching led the way all day long. Montana and Grace combined for the win in the Championship game while Sam threw strong in her outing this weekend. Great Job Ladies we took another step closer towards our end of season goals. -Coach Rin

The Mustangs have a lot to be proud of with a group of'96 girls and 1 '97 they have manage to win 4 Tournaments along with 2 runner up trophies, and 1 semi-final finish in 8 Tournaments.

GO MUSTANGS!

Mother's Day OFF

2008-05-11T23:11:00.001-07:00

Tournament Summary
This weekend we started off short handed but ended Saturday's play with just enough to overcome a tremendous effort on the part of the NA Cats, in the Championship Game, who scored 5 runs in their last at bat. With no time remaining we came to bat in the bottom half of the inning needing 1 run to tie and 2 to win........and 2 is what we got! Neil our "Covergirl" led the inning off with a walk and eventually scored the tying run. Then Ashley known to us as "Forrest"......"Run Forrest Run".....thats just what Ashley did she ran home with the winning run. Once again our defense had GREAT moments, our pitching got the job done and our offense was timely. We overcame some mistakes on our way to going undefeated in 5 games which is something as coaches we are glad to see our teams do. Once again USSSA put on a nicely ran event and each team from their fans, coaches and players showed a lot of class..............GO MUSTANGS!!!!!

More Player Accomplishments

2008-05-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

Delaney and Shelby B showed how they can be number one in the classroom as well as on the field. Both racked up on awards at the Hueytown Middle School Academic Awards Day on Friday, May 9th, just before heading to Huntsville to win the Mother's Day Off tournament!

Delaney and the HMS Choir took 2nd place in the Music Awards in Atlanta, Ga. Choirs from 6 states participated. HMS took 2nd place and earned an "Excelent" rating on their performance.

Track and Volleyball !!

2008-04-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

Delaney and Shelby B made the Hueytown Middle School's Volleyball team. After Two Days of tryouts, the results were posted and they are now part of the team! In addition Delaney is running the Mile and doing the Softball throw for the HMS track team.

Congratulations Delaney and Shelby!

Madison Mystics Spring Magic

2008-04-28T09:54:00.001-07:00

Well, the Spring Magic was not with the Mustangs on this tournament. The lack of hitting was a strong contributer to this weekends poor performance. The Mustangs went 1-2 for the weekend.

The upbeat side was once again this group never gave up. Down 7-2 in the last at bat, they scored another 3 and had the winning run at the plate when we finally got that last out that sent us home.

The Mustangs are NEVER a team to give up and they keep fighting even when things aren't going our way. Remember, there will always be bad days, but never quit fighting!!

Go Mustangs!

Central Alabama Spring Invitational

2008-04-21T05:23:00.001-07:00

Once again, after a full day of softball, the Birmingham Mustangs 11U team find thereselves in the championship game.

The Mustangs went undefeated till the championship game, when a grand slam put the Freedom Fastpitch team up early. The Mustangs were never able to come back.

The Mustangs were able to take a win earlier in the day over Freedom, but Freedom got there win when it counted, in the Championship Game. The Mustangs were on a 7 game winning streak at the time.

Congratulations Mustangs on your 4th Finals Finish in 5 tournaments!!

Go Mustangs!

Spring Rampage

2008-04-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

The Mustangs go Undefeated in Cullman, AL.

On the road to the championship, the Mustangs overcame The NA Sharks, The Madison Mystics, The Sidewinders, and finally High Intensity of Niceville, Florida.

There were many bright spots during the day. Back to back homeruns enabled the Mustangs to even get to the final game, our 4 pitchers all pitched GREAT games, great hitting by the whole team and some great plays by the defense, including our catchers who refused to let anyone steal on them today.

Come back here soon to see pictures of the day!

First half Spring Rampage pictures

Spring Rampage Part 2

Spain Park's Fastpitch Fanatics cont...

2008-04-01T10:31:00.001-07:00

The rain was over on Sunday but it was still a WET field we found when we came to play Gillespie's "No Name 96" team made up of Vipers and Middle School Players.

A hard fought, defensive game went a full 7 innings and still had about 5 or 6 minutes left when the game was over and the "No Names" had won 1-0. Close but there one tripple with no outs left them with 3 chances to get the run in and they accomplished this with the first sacrifice. The Mustangs had girls on 3rd 3 or 4 times and at the end of the game Sam hit another triple with Shelby B ready to knock her in. Shelby's hit a shot to right field and they played it perfectly for the 3rd out.

The girls played great and there were some highlights to the weekend. Ashley D hit an "in the park" homerun that followed Sam's "out of the park" home run that went over 200 ft left centerfield fence! Both homers brought in 3 runs each. Montana pitched a great game starting against Gillespie's team. Taz led the team in hitting. Delaney led the team with the most bruises in one game! :)

It was a fun weekend of ball, and the girls never quit. What a great team!

Spain Park

2008-03-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

After a slow start losing both our pool play games, the Mustang's bats came alive. 2 home runs later, one over left center with 2 on base, and one "in the park" to left center scoring 3 runs and we were ahead by 5. But The Bama Babes were not done yet... they scored 6 and went ahead by 1. But the Mustangs came right back putting 3 more runs on the board then shut them down. The Birmingham Mustangs won by two 10-8 and advance to the Semi-Finals.

The girls were just hitting the field when lightning and rain ran us from the park. We continue the tournament tomorrow, playing the "No Name" team coach by Jeff Gellespie.

Go Mustangs!!

Tournament Continued

A Basketball Championship...

2008-03-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Many times we've shown how our girls are champions at more than softball! This time one of our girls was on the Mountain Brook Basketball team that won the state ARPA tournament on March 12th-16th. The Birmingham News recognized Caroline B as the leading scorer for her team and the leading overall tournament scorer.

Neely F, from our 2007 team, was also on the team and was quoted as being one of the teams "Play makers".

Congratulation Caroline for your outstanding performance in this tournament! Caroline plays Catcher for the Mustangs and spends some time in Left Field.

Birmingham News Article

Hueytown Purple and Gold Classic

2008-03-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

It was a nasty, wet and snowy weekend in Hueytown. That's right, I said snowy! After 5 years of running this tournament, I had my first "Snow Out"! Friday we played 2 games winning the first on big and losing a close one to the Red Storm 96 in the rain. Saturday we woke up to this...

Yes, that's snow for those of you who have never been up North.

After 3 months of planning I watched the tournament go down with the falling snow. Rin and I stayed on the phone all morning (starting at 5:30 am) getting the schedule worked out to salvage something and in the end were able to get half the teams to come back on Sunday.

The weather on Sunday was a 180 degree turnaround from Saturday. Temps in the 70's and sunny! I went home with a sunburn on Sunday!

The Results were as follows:

8U - 1st Place Springville Shock, 2nd Place Red Storm

10U - 1st Place BL Lady Bombers, 2nd Place Birmingham Mustangs

12U - 1st Place Birmingham Bandits, 2nd Place Birmingham Mustangs

Sorry no pics, but I spent the day in Hueytown while the team was in Gardendale. Argi furnished me with a championship picture....

2nd Place - Birmingham Mustangs

Kickoff Classic - Clanton

2008-03-03T06:26:00.000-08:00

Tournament Summary
WOW, what a way to start off the season. This winters hard work and dedication paid off nicely
Saturday. We went undefeated in 4 games and along the way outscored our opponents 31-6. The day was filled with some wonderful moments: In the 1^st^st at bat, Sam had a blast shot of about 200 feet dead center field for a HOMERUN; Grace in her 1^st game of the season pitched a 1 hitter; game at her 1 In Shelby’s 1^st game pitched she threw a 2 hitter; In the Championship Game Grace pitched a “No Hitter” and was one walk away from a perfect game. The girls behind the pitchers played almost perfect defense and the team showed great poise at the plate. What made this day special was not the combination of pitching, defense and hitting but rather the seeing a “team” playing softball together as one. Way to go girls we are so proud of you!
-Coach Rin

Highlight - Sam's First Home Run!

Practice in Pics....

2008-02-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

Just a few pictures of our practice at Total Softball!

And Plenty of situps to go around

and when practice was over, everyone was ready to go to bed!

Hueytown Purple and Gold Classic

2008-02-08T07:11:00.001-08:00

Our second tournament this year will be one that we Host!

I need your help.

GATE VOLUNTEERS

F 5:00-6:00
F 7:00 - 8:30

S 8:00AM - 10:00AM - Mike Putnam _____________
S10:00AM - 12:00AM - Russ Blitz, Jan Blitz
S 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
S 2:00PM - 4:00 PM
S 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

I'll start assigning times to people after February.

Please Volunteer!!! The money goes to help pay you back for this season. Hmmmm, I'm not getting anything out of this, am I???? LOL

Be thinking about what you will bring for the hospitality suite. Send me an email or post it in the comment section.

See ya at Practice!

Purple and Gold Classic Website

A Night in the Spotlight...

2007-11-16T06:33:00.001-08:00

Delaney and Shelby in the Hueytown Middle School Pageant

Shelby place 3rd Alternate

A call for Player Accomplishments....

2007-11-15T06:41:00.000-08:00

If your daughter has done something you are proud of, then take a picture... write it down.... send it to garykwray@gmail.com . We want to publish on the blog all we can about our players!!! They are a special group of kids who deserve to be recognized on and off the field!

Go Mustangs!!Publish Post

A few pics from this last weekend...

2007-10-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't get everyone... I just took a few...

Delaney W and Shelby B All County Newcomb Champs

2007-10-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

Hueytown Middle school won the All County Championship in Newcomb Friday night (10/26/2007) with a come from behind victory over Bottenfield. Behind 14-5, HMS came back to tie the game and eventually win. Shelby B and Delaney W both starters with the Mustangs 12U team were on this team and had to play one of their teammates. Shelby M also a starter with the Mustangs played for the North Jefferson Middle School. Congratulations to all these girls for their fine performance on and off the field!

HMS with Shelby B and Delaney W

Teammates:
Shelby B (left) Delaney W & Shelby M doing "High 5"

All A's and a Newcomb Win!!!

2007-10-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Delaney W and Shelby B both of Hueytown had an exciting week... Both girls were honored at HMS with All A's on their first grading period. Pretty good for their first report cards of Middle school!

And Delaney and Shelby are both on the HMS Newcomb team. Their first game was rained out last Thursday and rescheduled for last night (Monday 10/22/07). In a best of three tournament, HMS won the first two games sweeping the tournament!

Mustangs are champions on and off the field!
Remember, anything you'd like to have posted send to garykwray@gmail.com

Other Sponsors

2007-10-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

I'd like to thank Gary McAnally a State Farm agent in Gardendale for sponsoring Delaney W and the Mustangs with his $150 donation.

Also I would like to thank David Bryant of Bryant's Seafood for his sponsorship of Delaney W and the Mustangs with his $100 donation.

Thanks for all you do for our organization!!

A Few More Pics of the 10U Mustangs!

2007-10-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

Mustangs 10U Win Championship

2007-10-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

The 10U Mustang took the Wallace Hanceville Fall Festival Championship Today becoming the first Mustangs team to win a true tournament championship. They went undefeated throughout the tournament and brought home the first place trophy! Congratulations to the 10U Mustangs!!

Shelby Brown in Hueytown Middle School Homecoming Court...

2007-10-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Shelby Brown for being in the Homecoming Court at Hueytown Middle School on Thursday, October 5th.

Morris Blue Devil Bash

2007-10-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful weekend in Morris. The weather was great and there was just a nip of fall in the air. But who would have thought we'd spend 15 hours at the park that day!??

The Mustangs did a great job for their first "real" tournament! Taking 2nd place to a great Rock Solid team wasn't bad! And the victory over Lynn Red Storm was sweet!

Here's a few pics to remember the weekend!

Shelby B

Caroline

Rebecca

Reisa

Cassie

Grace

Neil

Delaney

Hannah

Alyson

Shelby M

Alex

What a DAY for SPORTS!!

2007-09-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a beautiful day for Sports in the great state of Alabama!!

Starting the day off, the Mustangs 12U took the field for the first time and had a GREAT day! Against the Cobras, we jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and finished the game with a 5-3 win!

The Titans was a different game and took the lead, but in the last "at bat" the Mustangs started to swing and we scored 5 runs to win 8-4.

Congratulations to the 12U Mustangs!

Also in sports News, Alabama makes it to #16 after beating the Hogs 41-38. Auburn stumbles again to Mississippi State who lost their starting QB in the first Quarter (good thing, no telling how bad the game would have been) and Tennessee got CHOMPED by the Gators in the Swamp (oops, sorry Rin).

Here's some Pics from Saturday's Game:

Alex

Delaney

Neil

Reisa

Alyson

Grace

Cassie

Shelby
Caroline

Rebecca

Shelby

Hannah

Our Coach, Rin Smithson

Tournament Champs!!

1st Tournament

2007-09-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

The 12U Birmingham Mustangs will play in their first tournament of the Fall Season on Saturday, September 15. This will be a small Round Robin Tournament but will be a chance for the Mustangs to see what they've got in a real game environment.

The Mustangs won 4 tournaments, took 2nd in 3 tournaments, and took 5th in the ASA "B"Nationals as a 10U Bolts team. Cheer us on as we make the jump to 12U ball!!

GO MUSTANGS!!

Mustangs Do Well in First Scrimmage

2007-09-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

The 12U Birmingham Mustangs held their first scrimmage game against the Phantoms 12U team. This is a team of mostly 95 girls against our 96 & 97 girls.

It was a great learning time. Shelby Brown got a lot of pitching time along with Grace.... and all of our girls got to face 12U pitching for the first time.

The results were pretty good. With the exception of one hit to deep center by Taylor for the Phantoms, we controlled the Phantoms offense pretty well.

For the Mustangs offense, well, we need more work. But we got a few hits and ran the bases pretty well, scoring enough points to do the job...

All in all, the scrimmage game was a success!

Thanks to the Phantoms 12U team for coming out to Gardendale!

Changes...

2007-09-04T09:52:00.001-07:00

Total Softball has gone through some upgrades... The walls are painted, one wall is missing, the brush on the outside has been hacked down and hauled off.

Coming up this weekend is the cables, the batting cages, and hopefully soon, the carpet.

We will have a great place to practice.

Speaking of practice, is everyone ready for the Practice Game against the Phantoms on Thursday at 5:30??

Music...

2007-08-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

I have set up FineTune to run on our blog and I can select almost any music. What I'm asking from you guys is what Softball Music should be part of the tune list?

Leave comments on this post telling me what to set up. If they have it at FineTune I'll put it on the list.

Go Mustangs!!

Mustangs get a New Home...

2007-08-20T05:42:00.000-07:00

The Mustangs organization laid claim to a new home on Sunday. We will beOur new sponsor will be Total Softball in conjunction with Total Baseball. The 10,000 square foot Total Softball complex became the home of The Birmingham Mustangs officially on Sunday. This gives us batting cages, pitching lanes, an oversized indoor infield, access to a workout facility all within the airconditioned confines of the Total Softball and Baseball building in Oxmoor.

Total Softball wants to be the location for all softball needs. That includes, practice facilities, uniforms, insurance, photography, equipment, website needs, and anything else you can think of that a softball team would need.

The Birmingham Mustangs give a big thanks to Total Softball for sponsoring us....

You Make the Call...

2007-08-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

The manager comes out to talk with the pitcher and is charged for a conference. Later in the same inning, the manager requests time and before crossing the foul line informs the umpire that he is changing pitchers.

Is the pitcher eligible to pitch later in the game?

(NSA Rules)

Well, noone is commenting on this... so here's the answer:
Ruling: This is NOT a charged conference. The pitcher may return to pitch later in
the game.

Changes to the Mustangs 12U Blog...

2007-08-13T09:45:00.001-07:00

We have decided to give every parent access to post on our blog. This will enable you to post thoughts about the team or Current Softball News if you come across something you would like to share...

Your blog will be signed by your last name and the word family as in "Wray Family".

If the blog is abused I'm sure that our coach will ask me to delete access so let's have fun with this!!

Rin will be sending out your ID and password soon. Everyone also has a gmail account (to have access to blogger) it's up to you if you use it or not. I had to set it up to give you a user ID...

Enjoy!

5th in ASA Nationals

2007-08-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Birmingham Thunderbolts Purple (who will now be known as the Birmingham Mustangs) came in 5th Place in the ASA "B" Nationals in Gadsden Alabama.

The Bolts Purple finished with 4-1st place victories and 3-Runner ups and the 5th place in Nationals...

For more information about our 2007 Success go to www.bhambolts.blogspot.com

There you will find pictures records of our last season and photos of all the girls at Nationals.

Why The New Name???

2007-08-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

Here is Coach Rin's Explanation...

Well to be perfectly honest it was brought to my attention that the term “crusader” had a meaning which was not representative of our organizational goals and lent to a characterization which is not what we wanted to be associated with, thus the name change to Birmingham Mustangs! So instead of joining our “Crusade” we ask you to “Saddle it Up” or be prepared to get kicked if you get in our way! GO MUSTANGS!!!!!

Birmingham Vipers 95 to Represent AL in Sacramento, CA

2007-07-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Birmingham Vipers 95 will be the sole Alabama team in the 12U Age group out of 64 teams playing in the ASA Nationals in Sacramento, California.

Teams from 15 states will be at the event which will crown the best 12U team in the Nation.

Good luck Vipers and represnt the state of Alabama well!

Metal Cleats Aproved for High School Softball

2007-07-30T08:41:00.001-07:00

Article taken from NFCA.org website...

NFHS Approves Metal Cleats Among Rules Revisions
07/09/07 - Special Release High school softball players will be permitted to wear metal cleats and metal toe plates beginning with the 2008 season.

This change in Rule 3-2-11 is one of three rules revisions approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Softball Rules Committee at its annual meeting June 10-12 in Indianapolis. The rules changes subsequently were approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

“Metal cleats provide better traction for athletes on nearly all surfaces, including hard, wet or under-maintained fields,” said Cindy Simmons, chair of the NFHS Softball Rules Committee and assistant executive director of the Oregon School Activities Association. “They also help prevent slippage on the bases, especially home plate.”

Current rules prohibit runners from illegal tactics when sliding, and if sliding is executed correctly, the risk of defensive players being “spiked” will decrease.

In another change, Rule 7-3-1 states that a batter shall take her position in the batter’s box within 10 seconds after the ball is returned to the pitcher in the circle. Previously, the batter was permitted 20 seconds to enter the box, and the pitcher was also allotted 20 seconds to deliver the pitch.

“Before this change, we had two sets of rules in conflict with one another,” Simmons said. “By allowing the batter 10 seconds to enter the box, the pitcher now has the other 10 seconds to step on the pitcher’s plate and deliver the pitch. This change clarifies previous confusion and keeps the game flowing.”

The final rules revision, Rule 3-6-7, restricts the head coach to the dugout when a second, unreported substitution occurs. Head coaches are held responsible for reporting all substitutions, and if a second infraction occurs, he or she is held accountable along with the player.

The committee also approved major editorial changes in addition to the rules changes. Rule 1-5-4 clarifies what constitutes a legal bat, stating that bats must meet the 2004 ASA Bat Performance Standard, bear either the 2000 or 2004 certification mark and not be on the ASA non-approved list.

Rule 2-5-3, new Rule 8-2-13 and Rule 8-6-15 all specify when an on-deck batter is subject to interference and clarifies the penalty associated with the infraction.

Rule 3-6-6 adds that bat and ball shaggers are permitted out of the dugout. In addition, bench personnel are permitted out of the dugout between innings for warm-up purposes.

“There have been misconceptions about where individuals need to be during specific points of the game,” said Mary Struckhoff, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Softball Rules Committee. “We want state associations to be aware that it is legal for the bench to engage in throwing and running activities during the one minute designated for the pitcher to warm up at the beginning of each half inning.”

The committee also identified three points of emphasis for the 2008 season. These include pitching, equipment and the use of proper softball signals by umpires.

Softball is the fourth-most popular sport among girls at the high school level with 369,094 participants during the 2005-06 season, according to the High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS. It also ranks third in school sponsorship for girls across the nation with 14,710 schools.

E aluations have Started...

2007-07-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

Private evaluations have started. We're seeing some good talent and are already looking forward to a good fall season!

Go Crusaders!

Player Evaluation on August 11, 2006

2007-07-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

This will be a short evaluation looking for players for the Fall/Spring 2008 season. We are currently looking for a starting Pitcher and Infielder and and outfielder.

Evaluations will be at Gardandale Girls Softball Park at 11am.

If you need directions email us at birminghamcrusaders@charter.net

We hope you will consider being a part of our Crusade this season!

A New Crusade...

2007-07-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

A brief history of how our organization came into existence.

The 1st team of the organization derived from a softball team in the Gardendale Girls Park. The memebers of this team won the Alabama 8u All-Star State Championships and then ventured out into the world of travel ball where we combine with a few others to form a team sponsored Ready Mix USA. This team went on to win the 8u World Series. The next year we once again came together, however this time under the name of Birmingham Thunderbolts which was sponsored by MorrisShea Inc., and won the 8u World Series again (2 consecutive years). The past few seasons this group has played under the banner of the Birmingham Thunderbolts 97 and Purple 96. They went on to participate in USFA World Series, ASA Regional’s, NSA and USSSA State Championships and in 2007 earned a berth to the ASA Nationals by winning the Hartselle ASA Regional Qualifier. Then the time came once again to venture out and form what is now called the Birmingham Crusaders 12u Softball Team.

In our most recent season as the Thunderbolts Purple we won a total of 4 tournaments and runner-up in 3 more making a total of 7 out of 14 tournaments in which to Bolts at least placed.

Come and be a part of our Crusade!

Mustangs Chat...

2005-06-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

You can use this chat but if anything gets out of hand, we'll delete the room.

Thanks for your cooperation!

KIDS - Remember you can NEVER trust that you know the person on the other side of this or any chat room. Make sure never to give your Last Name, Your phone number, address, or any personal info over the chat room. Even if the person you are talking to is fine, the chat room is not secure and others could be watching. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY!

Use your FIRST NAME AND LAST INITIAL as your user name!
Gary Wray would be "GaryW"... Have fun! Kids can use their softball nickname!


































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