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West Sacramento News-Ledger

Gridley Giants softball team's amazing run falls short in Tournament of Champions

Jun 28, 2022 12:00AM ● By By Shaun Holkko, sports editor

The 2022 Gridley Giants Softball team pictured left to right; Front row: Chevie Crislip, Maddison De La Fuentes, Coach Tiffany Andes, Addison Andes, Keira Holcomb (on the ground), Millicent Dent, Coach Bunnie Terry, and Melina Jurardo. Back row: Coach Lance Andes, Charlee Laviolette, Molly Nichols, Gaveena Kalkat, and Isabella Guiterrez. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Andes

Gridley Giants softball team's amazing run falls short in Tournament of Champions [2 Images] Click Any Image To Expand

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – The Giants from the Gridley Little League concluded their season with a 13-3 overall record and a trip to the 2022 Softball Tournament of Champions in Durham, CA.

The Giants defeated the Gridley Pirates to advance into the tournament. In their first game of the TOC on June 4, the Giants defeat Durham 14-11. The next day, Gridley was victorious over Palermo 13-6. The Giants then moved on to the championship game on June 7 against Chico. Unfortunately for Gridley, Chico won 9-2.

The TOC officials hand out “player of the game” awards to one player from each team after every matchup. Melina Jurardo earned the award for her performance against Durham, following an amazing game pitching on the mound with some clutch hits at the plate.

Keira Holcomb was given the recognition for her play against Palermo where she made a stellar catch, had timely hits and an impressive steal of home plate. Charlee Laviolette received the achievement for her production against Chico as she recorded a home run and plated the Giants’ other run in the loss while holding it down behind home plate as the catcher.

After advancing to the TOC, Giants head coach Tiffany Andes led the all-star softball team which began play on June 18.

The following is the roster from the 13-3 Gridley Giants that advanced to the championship game of the 2022 Tournament of Champions: Addison Andes, Chevie Crislip, Maddison De La Fuente, Millicent Dent, Isabella Gutierrez, Keira Holcomb, Melina Jurardo, Gaveena Kalkat, Charlee Laviolette, Molly Nichols, head coach Tiffany Andes, assistant coach Lance Andes and assistant coach Bunnie Terry.