'We're going to Disney World!'

The Seymour Tsunami 10U fast pitch softball team had a 5-0 lead over the Bloomington Lightning.

The Lightning had one last chance to score, but Alaysha Pollert of the Tsunami caught a fly ball to left field to end the game.
But this wasn't your ordinary softball game.

It was a United States Specialty Sports Association World Series of Fast Pitch qualifier. With the Tsunami winning the game on May 10, they get the opportunity to compete in the girls 10U World Series of Fast Pitch July 25-Aug. 1 at the Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

After Pollert made the big catch, her teammates expressed their excitement.

"We all ran and hugged her and we all screamed, and when we got our trophy, we got in a huddle and we were like, ‘We're going to the World Series,'" said second baseman Haylee Barker.

Catcher Taylor Reynolds, Pollert's cousin, said, "Everybody just dropped their mouths. (Pollert's) mom was the first to scream."

Pitcher Lorelei Schmidt threw a no-hitter in the game and allowed no runs.

"I was just really shocked Alaysha made the winning catch," Schmidt said. "I went over and screamed and hugged her."

It was a nice accomplishment for Pollert, as this is her first year on the team. She admitted she didn't hit as well as she wanted and she was shocked she made the catch, but she said, "We played as a team good, and Taylor started hitting the ball very hard and she bunted a great one."

Manager Jay Schmidt was just as excited when the Tsunami won the game, especially beating the No. 2 team in the state.

"We played six teams that weekend," Schmidt said. "Initially, our goal was to qualify to get the berth (for the World Series) and get permission to go. We hadn't planned to go to a World Series this year with the economy and all. The parents, after we qualified, they got behind it and put their heads together and decided we'd do some fund raising and we'd make a push for it and take them down there."

The Tsunami's season normally ends in late summer, but they continue practicing the rest of the year before taking six weeks off in the winter. In January, they work indoors, and they begin tournament play in April. They played in five tournaments that had anywhere from 10 to more than 20 teams per tourney.

The team's record is about 15-15, and Schmidt said they have been ranked in the top 10 in the state all year by the USSSA.

"We are sticking them in front of the best competition we can find," he said. "They had a similar record last year, but they were playing easier all-star tournaments. This year, we're playing the best in the state."

Even though they won the qualifier, play continues. The team will play in two weekend tournaments this month at Lincoln Park and Ceraland Park, both in Columbus.

At the World Series, there will be up to 50 teams, and Schmidt said two other Indiana teams have qualified, too.

"They will have pool games to start the week out and then they will seed us and we will play double elimination after that," he said. "It depends on how we do. We could play the entire week."

This marks the first time since its formation in 2007 that the Tsunami team has qualified for the World Series. What makes the team unique, Schmidt said, is that all of the girls on the team are from Seymour, and many of them have played together and go to the same school.

"It started as an all-star team from the Seymour Park and Rec league," Schmidt said of the Tsunami. "Most of the girls on the current team have played together for two or three years, and there's a couple that joined this year."

The homegrown feel has been good for the team.

"Anytime a team called Seymour plays teams called Hoosier this or Indiana that, they've got a big group of girls to pull from and they are super strong from top to bottom, and our girls have to step up and play with what we have," Schmidt said. "It's made them really gel and get some chemistry that maybe other teams don't have that are a little farther apart and not together as much."

The three-year players on the team are Haley Westfall, Haylee Barker, Taylor Reynolds, Baylee Robinson, Lorelei Schmidt and Faith Rebber, while Alaysha Pollert, Kenzi Jones and McKenna Curry are first-year members.

"I really like playing softball, and my sister got me into it and I just wanted to travel more often with softball," Westfall said. "I just love everything about it. With fielding, I like getting the people out, and it's just really competitive."

Barker, who is the team's only left-handed batter, said, "It's pretty fun to travel around and play softball. When you get a good play and get somebody out, it just feels really good."

Reynolds is the team's catcher, and she said, "My entire family are catchers. My dad really encourages us to do our best behind the plate."

Robinson has split her time between first and third base.

"My dad played softball and it looked like it was a bunch of fun, so I just started playing league," she said. "The league had an all-star team, and then we just stayed together."

Schmidt said she's been pitching since she was 7.

"I just thought it looked fun so I went for it," she said of pitching. "I saw other pitchers doing it and tried to do what they did. I just think it's fun because I get a lot of action."

Rebber serves as pitcher and shortstop, and she said she's learned how to be a better softball player.

"I have definitely improved on my pitching skills," Rebber said. "Coach Schmidt has helped me a lot with that. I have also improved a lot on my batting skills. I think that our whole team just keeps getting better with every practice and tournament that we have."

Jones and Pollert said they've played softball in the past, but this is the first time with the Tsunami. Jones mans center field.
Since joining the team, she said, "I'm a little better on hitting, and with fielding and throwing, I'm a lot better."

Overall, the coaches and team members are just ready to play in the World Series.

"It just feels really awesome that we're going to go down there," Westfall said. "I want to see faster pitchers because right now we're not seeing the fastest pitchers."

Reynolds said, "It's going to be a lot more competitive, which we're all looking forward to. We get to see lots of hits to the outfield, so our outfield's going to have to be alive."

Robinson said the team's dynamic will play a big role.

"Everybody cheers you up, because you know if you make a mistake that nobody's going to be mad at you," she said. "They'll say, ‘get your head up' or something like that."

Jay Schmidt said the experience will be valuable.

"There are a lot of life lessons in softball, working hard and that it pays off," he said, "and when we don't work hard, it shows also. I think they pick up on it pretty well, that if they want to reach a goal, they work hard at it.
"I told them the wins and losses aren't as important as just playing good ball. I'd like for them to learn a little bit and learn what the top competition does and really just have a good time and have a blast doing it, and to get them to want them to play for several more years hopefully. I've really enjoyed my time with the girls. It's a good group, and I think they've made friendships that will last forever."

To donate
Seymour Tsunami Inc. is a nonprofit organization seeking to raise funds to send the 10U Tsunami to the World Series. If you would like to make a donation, payable to Seymour Tsunami Inc., contact Rick Westfall at 522-1689.