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The Quad City Firebirds USA 03 closed out their season today with a 3rd Place finish at USSSA Nationals in Des Moines, IA. Play started on Thursday with a pool-play a matchup against the SWAT-Select. The Firebirds jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after 3 innings, and ended up winning by a 10-4 margin. The second game pitted the Firebirds against the Blackjax 13U. The Firebirds’ bats stayed hot, finishing off an 11-1 win. Pool-play continued Friday with a come-from-behind 4-3 win over a solid Nebraska Elite 03 and a 13-2 routing of the Sioux Falls Cyclones.
The Firebirds finished pool play with a 4-0 record, having allowed 9 runs over the four games. The tournament field was flighted into three divisions, and the Firebirds’ record and average runs allowed put them in the upper division as the #3 seed overall.
Bracket play kicked off early Saturday morning with a game against The Originals 03 – McKinney. The Firebirds stayed hot at the plate and on defense, winning by a 6-1 margin. The second-round game brought Team Performance to the field. Once again, the Firebirds offense was too much for them. Five-run innings in the 4th and 5th innings capped a run-rule victory for the Firebirds with a 14-6 win. The nightcap matched up the Firebirds and the Nebraska Quakes – Voisin. The Quakes came to hit, and they put up 7 runs in the top of the 1st. The Firebirds never recovered, and entered the loser’s bracket with an 11-2 loss.
Sunday morning saw the Firebirds in a win-or-go-home situation in the double-elimination tournament. The first game brought the Firebirds and the pool-mate KC Threat together for a chance to keep playing. The Firebirds jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning, but the KC Threat answered with 5 runs in the top of the 2nd. The Firebirds would not be denied, plating 1 run each in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings, advancing with an 8-5 win. The second game bought the Fort Dodge Pride to the diamond. The Firebirds plated 5 runners in the top of the 2nd, but the Pride answered with 4 of their own in the bottom of the frame. The Firebirds extended the lead to 6-4 in the 3rd inning. As time expired in the bottom of the 6th inning, the Pride plated one run with the tying run on 3rd base with 1 out. The winning run stood on 1st base. A strike-out and a runner caught trying to steal 2nd base made sure the Firebirds held on for the 6-5 win. The final game for the Firebirds was a matchup against the Nebraska Quakes – Voisin, the team that put them in the loser’s bracket. The Firebirds started strong, posting a run in the top of the 1st. But that was the only Firebird runner to cross the plate in the 9-1 loss.
The Firebirds finished the tournament with an 8-2 record, with the only losses coming from the eventual champions. The Firebirds offense racked up 75 runs on 98 hits. The Firebirds batters hit 18 doubles, one triple, and 5 homeruns. A solid .402 batting average and .452 OBP put the Firebirds in position to win. The pitching was also tremendous this week. The Firebirds pitchers allowed 47 runs on 55 hits. They walked 32 and struck out 47. The combined ERA of the pitching staff was 4.773 for the week.
The Firebirds finished the season with an impressive 63-21-1 record. They played in 17 tournaments, finishing in the top 5 in all but one. The Firebirds took home four 1st-place trophies, four 2nd-place trophies, and five 3rd-place finishes this season. As a team, they batted .381 with an OBP of .446, scored 567 runs on 709 hits, and had 144 extra-base hits. The pitching staff combined for 396 strike-outs and an ERA of 3.462, allowing only 296 runs.
