Just a week has passed since the high school softball season officially ended with the crowning of the state champions at Walnut Creek in Raleigh, but softball is far from over.  The travel teams have hit the road and this weekend there are no fewer than 60 teams gathered in Rock Hill to take part in the 2011 Carolina Cardinals Early Bird Invitational.

We took a road trip on Saturday to check out the action and see two of our local teams compete.  Both teams are called the Carolina Attitude, with one being coached by Ronnie Plemmons and the other being coached by Lamar Powell.

Haley Pace covers second for Plemmons' Attitude

We did get a few photos from Coach Plemmons’ Attitude game against the Denver Dazzle, but we were not able to get any stats on that game.

We were actually able to take in two of Coach Powell’s games on a very hot and humid day in Rock Hill.  The first game on Saturday morning had Powell’s Attitude team going against the NC Rockers.  In a low scoring affair, the Attitude squeaked out a 3-1 win.  In the circle for the Attitude was Eliza Davis for the first two innings before being relieved by Courtney Groce.  The duo held the Rockers to just two hits while recording five strikeouts.

Paige Wall and Lauren Grooms led the offense with two hits each and Wall scored twice with Grooms scoring the Attitude’s third run.

Next up for Powell’s Attitude bunch was the Palmetto Force.  This game saw the Attitude bats come alive.  They pushed across six runs on eight hits on their way to a 6-1 victory over the Force.

Attitude catcher Lauren Grooms tags a Force runner out at home

Again it was Wall and Grooms leading the way on offense.  Wall was 2-3, with two singles and two runs scored. Grooms was also 2-3, with two doubles and one run scored.

Tori Hedrick and Eliza Davis shared the pitching duties in this game with Hedrick going three innings.   The Force only managed one run as the Attitude pitchers scattered seven hits while sitting down eight Force hitters on strikeouts.

One of the benefits of playing in this Invitational is that there are quite a few college coaches in the stands looking at the talent that is available.  College coaches come to Rock Hill looking for players to join their program.  Some even come with specific needs and discuss those needs with the travel team coaches.

It was a great opportunity for our local players to display their talent and maybe catch the eye of one of the colleges in attendance.

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