San Diego Renegades Mourn Tragic Loss

18

Jul
2011
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The Renegades Family has lost one of its shining stars. On July 18th, Renegades 18-Gold pitcher Briana Williams and her mother Mrs. Donna Williams had their lives cut short in a tragic family incident. Bree was a gifted athlete, with a zest for life and fashion. She represented our organization with sportsmanship, integrity and tremendous talent. Mrs. Donna Williams was a constant supporter of her daughter and the Renegades. Bree and her mother will be deeply missed and remembered fondly by her coaches, teammates, friends and the community of Rancho Penasquitos.

 

Bree Williams

 

In Loving Memory of Bree and Donna WilliamsThe memorial service will be at 10 a.m. on July 28 at Maranatha Chapel, 10752 Coastwood Road, San Diego, CA 92127.

Donations to the family can be sent to the Detective Donna Williams Family Trust, care of San Diego Police Officers Association, 8388 Vickers Street, San Diego, CA, 92111.

Donna and Bree Williams

Bree’s team, the San Diego Renegades 18U Gold (Fox/Portugal), will be playing in 18U Gold Nationals in San Diego next week. We certainly appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers and support during this difficult time.

Helmet MemorialSan Diego Renegades players will be wearing a decal on their helmets in memory of Briana Williams and Mariee Mena, our beloved Renegade who died in a motorcycle accident last year (2009).

 

"Hands in" for Bree
Fox’s team brings their hands in for Bree.

Renegades at 18U Nationals
Renegades Teams of all ages, past and present,
assembled together to honor Bree Williams’ memory
at the 18U Gold National championships on July 28.

 

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Organ Recipient Throws Out First Pitch

10

Mar
2010
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NORMAN, Oklahoma — Curtis Kingfisher is living for the moment but it’s a moment he almost didn’t live to see. “One day Curtis is just a die hard OU fan, the next day he is a Sooner for a day and the next thing you know he is connected to the OU family through his kidney donor,” Curtis’ dad Floyd Kingfisher said. Curtis was able to throw out the first pitch at the Sooners’ game against Missouri because of Mariee Mena, the former OU softball player who passed away last fall after a motor cycle accident.

Click here to read the complete article.
Click here to read “7-SECOND HUGS” which was published in the North County Times (11/25/10).

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San Diego Renegades Mourn the Loss of an Original Renegade

06

Oct
2009
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“If there was ever a definition of a San Diego Renegade softball player, Mariee’s picture would be there.” “She was a blue collar athlete and one of the fiercest competitors to ever play in a Sooner uniform.”
Daniel Aguirre
President, San Diego Renegades
Patty Gasso
Head Coach, Oklahoma

Mariee MenaMariee Mena, 26, a member of one of the original San Diego Renegades teams, passed away Tuesday October 6 as a result of a fatal motorcycle accident in Oklahoma City.

Mariee Mena was one of the original San Diego Renegades. During her tenure as a Renegade, Mariee compiled a lifetime .375 BA and started at four different positions. Mariee attended a total of six ASA nationals during her career including one as a pick up player for the 16U California Cruisers that won Nationals in 1998. Mariee obtained 13 Varsity letters in her HS career lettering in Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball, and Softball. Mariee also overcame two knee operations including a full ACL in 1999. Her loyalty and dedication to her team, teammates and the organization is beyond reproach. Mariee will be greatly missed but the memory of her achievements as a San Diego Renegade will never be lost.

A fund has been set up to assist the Mena family with the cost of medical expenses and funeral arrangements. Donations can be mailed to University of Oklahoma Athletics Development at 180 West Brooks, Suite 3575, Norman, OK 73019. Please make checks payable to the OU Foundation and reference Mariee Mena.

Memorial Sticker
Renegades players will wear this symbol on their helmets as a tribute to Mariee.

Mariee is survived by her parents: Adam and Isela Mena, her brothers: Steven and Anthony, and her sister: Mariesa.

There will be a viewing at 4:00 pm and a rosary service at 7:00 pm for Mena on Oct. 13 at Alhiser-Comer Mortuary, 225 S. Broadway, in Escondido.

A funeral service is scheduled for 10 am Wednesday, Oct. 14 at Church of the Resurrection, 1445 Conway Drive in Escondido. Burial at Oak Hill Cemetery will follow the service.

Mariee Mena
August 22, 1983 to October 6, 2009

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Softball Back in the Olympics

11

Feb
2009
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Bring Back Softball in 2016

Originally published on spysoftball.com
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 12:38 

Subject: Softball Back in the Olympics

Hey team!
As many of you know, there is a vote this October in Denmark to get softball back into the Olympic games for 2016. As of now, they are planning to possibly add at least two sports and it is between us, baseball, rugby, golf, motorcross and karate. We definitely have a chance. However, we need to do all that it takes to help. I am serving as an Ambassador for Back Softball which will be the group in Denmark pleading the case to the IOC. As for American support, this list is specifically how they need our help: http://www.internationalsoftball.com/backsoftball/Flyer.pdf. This is a digitial link and I am hoping that we, as the US softball Olympians can influence and spread the word in these next critical months by having as many people as possible do as much as they can from this list. As you will see, it can be as simple as going onto their site on Facebook or watching their You Tube video to spreading the word or donating money to the campaign. We need to go into that meeting with NUMBERS, showing how many clicks You Tube and Facebook got (this is the day we live in now), showing the amount of people supporting this sport.

For those of you that have websites, feature this link on your home page (I just put “Want to get softball back in the Olympics?” and they click to get this link), so every softball fan that comes through has a way to help. Print up this list and hand it out at your clinics, email it to your teams, fans, friends and family. Coming from us will resonate a lot — plus, I think every softball fan is searching for a way to get it back, we just need to direct them to the same place.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I am also selling Back Softball merchandise at clinics to raise money and awareness for the campaign as well, if any of you are interested in that, let me know.

Thank you for your time and help with this! Hopefully we will get this back for future girls and women to experience what we have been so blessed to do!


Jessica Mendoza
www.jmendoza.com

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Former San Diego Renegades Players Make an Impact in College

26

May
2008
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NCAA.comAccomplishments from the 2008 Season

Kristie Fox—The 2007 season was Kristie’s last year of college softball ending her career at the University of Arizona as a two-time All-American, three-time First Team All Pac-10, three Pac-10 league titles, and two times World Series National Champions. In 2008 Kristie has teamed up with Rip-It Sporting Goods and will have a bat and apparel coming out in her name soon. Kristie will be playing in the National Pro Fastpitch this summer for the Chicago Bandits. In addition to all of these accomplishments, Kristie will graduate this year with a degree in psychology with a business minor.

Vanessa Soto—Vanessa played for LSU in 2005-06 and is now, as a senior, is playing forUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) in the Sun Belt conference.  ULL has advanced to the Super Regional’s by beating LSU twice. Vanessa went 7 for 15 with 5 RBI’s leading the Ragin Cajuns to the Super Regional’s to face Houston. On the season, Vanessa is hitting .333 with 62 RBIs and 22 doubles.  

Nikki Ketteringham—Nikki had a memorable season at Humboldt State where she played on the 2008 Division II national championship team. As a freshman, she won “Freshman of the Year” honors for the league, was named an All-American, and made the All-League team.

Cassi Gibson—Cassi followed another former Renegade player, Katie Ralf, to Eastern Kentucky. As a freshman, Cassi started 46 of the 49 games ending her season with a .305 batting average. 

Brenna Sandberg—Brenna pitched for Cal State San Marcos and ended her freshman campaign with a 9-7 record. She pitched 102 innings with a 2.18 ERA and holding her opponents to a .240 batting average.

Melissa Tillett—Mel started her freshman career in 2008 at Northern Iowa discovering that she required back surgery. Mel red shirted this year and is now preparing for her red shirt freshman year in 2009. Mel finished her freshman year with a 3.58 GPA. 

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Washington Bellevue Blast Gold bands together to help San Diego Fire Victims

05

Nov
2007
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Players from the WA Bellevue Blast Gold were driving back to the Burbank Airport from the Lancaster Oktoberfest and were now thinking ahead to next week’s America’s Finest City Showcase in San Diego. The local radio station was reporting wild fires spreading through Malibu in LA County. As the plane departed Burbank, the huge fire line and plumes of smoke were visible below.

By the time the team landed back in Seattle, all national news media were reporting wildfires had spread across Orange and San Diego Counties, with one of the largest and most destructive fires hitting Rancho Bernardo. Thousands of people had already been evacuated from the path of the fire. Blast families contacted relatives in Southern California and quickly learned that the tournament’s main fields were right in the path of that fire. Within 48 hours, Tournament Director Andy Anderson notified all teams that the tournament was to be postponed.


Blast players immediately cancelled plane and hotel reservations, but couldn’t stop there. “We need to help them … and quickly,” said 18 Gold Head Coach, Bree Lewis, “our host teams need our support.”

Bellevue Blast rallied its 10 team organization and took up collections from each of its teams. Parents posted donation requests on the ASA message boards. Over the next few days, parents set up collection points and gathered bags of clothing, boxes of emergencies supplies, toiletries, food, blankets, and hundreds of dollars of cash donations. All these donations were immediately shipped down to the American Red Cross and American Medial Response in San Diego in the names of the San Diego Renegades and the Cruisers. “Blast players also designed hand made t-shirts for the host team, San Diego Renegade Gold players as a small token of our support,” said Coach Lewis.

Since the showcase tournament was postponed, Andy Anderson and his committee have tentatively planned to reschedule the tournament for mid-January 2008. “We plan to be there. We hope the San Diego softball teams are all safe,” said Blast shortstop Alix VanZandt.

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04

Nov
2007
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November 5, 2007
Thank you for all of your support during the San Diego wild fires. Many of our players were evacuated from their homes for several days. There were several close calls reported where the fire burned to the doorstep of 2 players homes. Fortunately, no one in the organization lost their home. If you wish to help those who were less forunate, please visit the San Diego Red Cross.


October 23, 2007
The Sixth Annual America’s Finest City Showcase was postponed until January 18-20, 2008 because of the wildfires that swept through San Diego. For more information, please visit the tournament website: www.afcshowcase.com

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