Steal Breeze Tens take Rebel Classic tourney title

The Petaluma Steal Breeze under-10 girls fast pitch softball team won the Rohnert Park Rebel Classic Tournament championship last weekend. The Steal Breeze played outstanding team softball, getting timely hitting, strong defense and consistent pitching.

Steal Breeze finished 1-2 in Friday and Saturday pool play, and entered the championship round Sunday as the No. 5 seed.

During pool play, the team got solid performances from Brooke Baxman, Hannah Edwards, Christina Bogart and Alyssa Goebel. Madelynn Fannin was outstanding as catcher, carrying the load behind home plate almost the entire weekend. Kaden Brody and Casey Sullivan continued to have hot bats, getting timely hits. Brittany Casper pitched a solid game against the Novato Heat on Saturday as the Steal Breeze earned the victory.

In its first test on Sunday, the team played a strong game, beating Santa Rosa Red Barons-Habrick. The highlight of the game was a line-drive home run over the left-field fence by Hailey Goebel. The victory set up a semifinal game against the host and No.1 seed Rohnert Park Black, who defeated Steal Breeze 3-1 on Friday night.

The game against Rohnert Park Black was a classic. In the first inning, Goebel did it again, hitting a two-run home run over the left-field fence to give Steal Breeze an early lead. Brody and Sullivan shared the mound for the 2-hour, 10-minute game that was decided by an international tie-breaker. Cara Broadhead made a game-saving catch at first base while Brody re-entered the game during the extra innings, saving the game.

That set Steal Breeze up for the championship game against Santa Rosa Red Barons Millea, who beat Steal Breeze in pool play.

Steal Breeze took the early lead and never looked back, earning the 5-4 championship victory in the seven-inning game. Isabella Badagalia made several key outs at second base on balls that appeared to be going into right field, while Lauren Reposa made a diving catch in foul territory for a big out late in the game. Brody pitched an outstanding complete game to help put her team in position for the victory that was achieved by a total-team effort.

Steal Breeze is managed by Lee Reposa with assistance from coaches Heather Christensen, Norm Bogart and Billy Brody.