Lightning Bolts Move on to Championship with 4-3 win over Lil' Devils

CHANDLER, AZ (May 30, 2014) – The Zenimura.com Lightning Bolts clinched a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Uncle Bears Lil' Devils on Friday at Folley Park.

Alison's 18 strikeouts were enough to push the Lightning Bolts past the Lil' Devils. She allowed one earned run, three hits and one walk over six innings.

The Bolts jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. A single by Tristin, scoring Sage started the inning off. The Lightning Bolts then tacked on more runs when Tristin scored on an RBI single by Alison.

The game was tied 3 to 3 in the fifth inning when Shannon delivered the game winning hit. With two outs and Lily on third base, Shannon drove a 2-2 pitch down the right field line for a double, and driving home the game-winning run.

Alison returned to the mound with a 4-3 lead and shut down the side in the bottom of the fifth with three strikeouts to secure the victory and move on to the 10U league championship.



VIDEO LINK: Last inning, game winning hit.

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Dual-threat carries the Lightning Bolts past Orange Crush

CHANDLER, AZ (May 27, 2014) – Alison was strong at the plate and on the rubber in carrying the Zenimura.com Lightning Bolts to a 10-3 victory over All About Orange Crush on Tuesday at Folley Park.

Alison went a perfect 2-2 at the plate for the Lightning Bolts. She homered in the third inning and singled in the fifth inning.

The Lightning Bolts got the win thanks in large part to Alison's dominant, 11-strikeout performance. Alison allowed two earned runs, seven hits and one walk over five innings.

Six runs in the opening three innings allowed the Lightning Bolts to easily put away the Orange Crush. A two-run triple by Shannon and a groundout by Jaila in the second inning fueled the Bolts' offense early.

The Lightning Bolts hit three home runs in the win. Alison homered in the third inning, Lily homered in the fifth inning, and Bella homered in the fifth inning.

The Bolts added three more runs in the top of the fifth. Bella kicked things off with a two-run home run, scoring Alison. That was followed up by Lily's solo blast.

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Alison throws no-hitter as the Lightning Bolts defeat the Comets, 15-0

CHANDLER, AZ (May 17, 2014) Alison was great on Saturday, throwing a no-hitter in the Zenimura.com Lightning Bolts' 15-0 victory over the Comets.

No Comets batter was able to locate Alison's pitches during the game. She threw a no-hitter, striking out nine batters and walking one while recording her momentous feat. She got the last two Comets batters to strike out to end the game.

Thirteen runs in the first three innings helped the Lightning Bolts blow out Comets. A home run by Alison and an RBI double by Lily during the first inning and an RBI single by Sage, an RBI single by Tristin, and a home run by Krystyna in the second inning supplied the early offense for the Bolts.

Krystyna racked up four RBIs on two hits for the Lightning Bolts.

The Lightning Bolts pounded the Comets pitching, as seven hitters combined for 14 hits, 14 RBIs and 12 runs scored.

The Comets pitcher allowed 15 runs in 3 1/3 innings, walked five and struck out eight.

The Lightning Bolts brought home two runs in the third inning, and matched that run total in the fourth. In the third, the Lightning Bolts scored on a two-run triple by Bella, plating Leah and Tricia.

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Zenimura Field Anniverary Celebration Wins Phoenix Marketing Award

PHOENIX, AZ (May 14, 2014) The Nisei Baseball Research Project (NBRP; niseibaseball.com) was named a winner by the American Marketing Association, Phoenix Chapter (AMA Phoenix) Spectrum Awards.


In a reception held at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix on Wednesday night, the AMA Phoenix chapter named the NBRP the winner of the Top Multicultural, Integrated Marketing Campaign, for the 2013 event "Honoring the Legacy of Japanese American Baseball."

Campaign Overview
Thursday, March 7, 2013, marked the 70th Anniversary of the historic Zenimura Field, and thus the official start of organized baseball played behind barbed wire at the Gila River Japanese American Internment Camp in Arizona during WWII (March 7, 1943). Baseball in the camps gave the 13,000 internees at Gila River a sense of normalcy, hope and made life bearable during this dark chapter in U.S. history.

The NBRP was founded in 1996 to preserve the history of Japanese American baseball though education (events, curriculum development, media, etc.). The Arizona division of the NBRP proposed a partnership with the Oakland A’s during a 2013 Cactus League Sprint Training game to commemorate this once in a lifetime anniversary, honor the legacy of Japanese American baseball, and educate the public about this little-known chapter of our shared history.


The NBRP reached out to the A’s because the team is known as a league innovator, they had supported the Japanese American community in the Bay area in the past, have several players on their roster from Japan, plus their game date and location at Phoenix Municipal Stadium marked the closest MLB site to the historic internment camp ball field, located approximately 45 miles south of Phoenix.

The attendance at the ballgame itself was roughly 5,000 people. However, through the power of social media and earned media, the message from this one day celebration for Zenimura Field and Japanese American Baseball reached an estimated 1.5 million people around the globe.



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The Lightning Bolts escape the Lil’ Devils behind Alison's 14 strikeouts, 5-1

CHANDLER, AZ (May 10, 2014) Saturday was a great day for Alison, as she struck out 14 batters to carry the Zenimura.com Lightning Bolts to a 5-1 victory over the Lil’ Devils at Folley Park in six innings.

Kyndra racked up two RBIs on two hits for the Lightning Bolts. She homered in the fourth inning and singled in the sixth inning.

The Lil’ Devils starting pitcher lasted five innings, walked five, struck out 13, and allowed five runs.

The game's last lead went to the Lightning Bolts thanks to a fourth inning rally that saw two runs cross the plate on a two-run home run by Kyndra.

The Bolts increased their lead with two runs in the fifth. The inning looked promising, as Liberty singled, bringing home Tricia to kick things off. That was followed up by Jaila’s single, plating Bella.

The Lil’ Devils managed to score one run in the sixth inning on an RBI groundout.

It didn't take long for the Lightning Bolts to respond as they scored one run of their own in the sixth. The Bolts scored on an RBI single by Tristin.

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Dual-threat carries Lightning Bolts past the Red Dragons 13-0

CHANDLER, AZ (May 8, 2014) Alison came up big at the dish and on the rubber, leading the Zenimura.com Lightning Bolts to a 13-0 win over the Red Dragons on Thursday at Folley Park.

It was a good day at the plate for the Lightning Bolts' Alison. She went 2-2, drove in one and scored two runs. She singled in the second inning and tripled in the third inning.

She also struck out 11 hitters en route to the Lightning Bolts win. The Bolts' pitcher tossed four innings of shutout ball and allowed only one hit.

Seven runs in the first three innings helped the Lightning Bolts blow out the Red Dragons. An RBI single by Leah and an RBI single by Tricia in the second inning fueled the Lightning Bolts' offense early.

The Lightning Bolts easily handled the Dragons pitching as six hitters combined for eight hits, eight RBIs and nine runs scored. The Dragons starting pitcher allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings, walked one and struck out six.

The Lightning Bolts increased their lead with five runs in the third. A ground out scored Shannon to start the scoring in the inning. That was followed up by Kyndra’s single, scoring Jaila.

The Lightning Bolts added six more runs in the top of the fourth. Bella tripled, plating Leah to start the inning. That was followed up by Lily's two-run home run, scoring Bella.

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