THE 8-UNDER OUTLAWS took first place at last weekend’s Piece of the Rock Tournament in Rocklin. The 8-under Outlaws are (back row from left) coaches Steve Walling, Ed Rojas and Chris Thomsen; (middle row) Cierra Ray, Alyson Walling, Ava Rojas, Alana Robinson, Emily Shedoudy; (front row) Christina Thomsen, Emma French, Olivia Kundysek, Kylie Ladner and Vanessa Smith.

The Benicia Outlaws 8-under fastpitch softball team took first place at last weekend’s Piece of the Rock Tournament in Rocklin.

Benicia’s pitching and defense didn’t allow a run in six games and only allowed one runner to reach third base en route to their second consecutive championship while improving to 11-0 this season.

Benicia began the tournament by defeating the Folsom All Stars, 1-0. Alana Robinson and Emma French combined to pitch a one-hit shutout and struck out nine batters. French hit a triple in the first inning and Olivia Kundysek drove her in with a RBI single. The one run stood up behind great pitching and defense by the Outlaws.

Benicia got another dominant pitching performance in their second pool play game, beating the Cordova Furry 8-0. Robinson, Alyson Walling and Vanessa Smith combined for a two-hit shutout and struck out eight. Benicia scored four runs in the first inning and adding four more in the second. Walling, Smith, French, Kundysek and Cierra Ray each had two hits.

Benicia wrapped up pool play with a 14-0 victory over the Pleasant Hill Panthers. Robinson and French combined for a perfect game while striking out nine batters. Emma Gibson and Ava Rojas got Benicia started with RBIs as Benicia jumped out to an early 8-0 lead. Ray crushed RBI triples in consecutive innings to put the game out of reach. The hitting stars for Benicia were Ray, Walling, Smith, French, Robinson and Kundysek with three hits each.

Taking the No. 1 seed into Sunday’s single-elimination rounds, Benicia won blanked the Wildcats in the first game, 7-0. Robinson, Smith and Alyson Walling combined for a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts while Benicia pounded out 15 hits.

The Outlaws faced the Lincoln All Stars – who went 2-1 on Saturday – in their second game of bracket play. Benicia jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning with RBI singles from French, Kundysek, Ray and Robinson. Benicia added a run in the third inning on a RBI single from Ray and added two more in the fifth inning on RBIs from Kylie Ladner and Ray. Benicia got another stellar pitching performance from Robinson and French, who combined to pitch their second perfect game with 13 strikeouts.

The win sent Benicia to the championship game to face the host Rocklin Super Stars. Walling led off the game with a single and Rojas smashed a ball in the gap that looked like a sure double, but was thrown out at second on a close play. Smith drove in Walling on the next pitch with a RBI single up the middle to give Benicia a 1-0 lead. Benicia added a second run in the third inning when Walling singled and later scored on a RBI double by French. The game remained 2-0 until the fourth when Benicia’s offense exploded. Kylie Ladner, Emily Shedoudy and Christina Thomsen started the rally with singles and were driven home by RBI singles from Walling, Rojas and Smith to give Benicia a commanding 6-0 lead. Benicia added two more insurance runs in the fifth with singles by Robinson and Ladner. Robinson pitched four innings and allowed only two hits with nine strikeouts. French pitched the fifth inning to close out the game.

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