By Garland Cooper

Huntington Beach, Calif. – After every game that the Sheldon (Sacremento, Calif.) High School team wins, head coach Mary Jo Truesdale gives each girl a marble.

"We are playing for all the marbles,” stated Truesdale after the team's semifinal win over Camarillo (Calif.). Sheldon, ranked No. 1 in the ESPN RISE FAB 50, defeated host Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) 2-0 in the final.

It is a tradition that I started a long time ago, and I try and find marbles that match the colors of the school we are playing,” Truesdale said.

The girls certainly earned their marbles at the Faster to 1st National Fastpich Tournament.

	Scott Kurtz for ESPN RISE
	Sheldon High School takes the title at the Faster to 1st Tournament hosted by Canyon High School.

With teams from all over the country including Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois and New Mexico, the tournament was full of close games. In the end, almost half of the games played were determined by one run.

The championship game was not a one-run game, but it was a close one, with just one breakthrough inning for Sheldon.

After losing in the finals of the tournament last year, Sheldon had worked hard to get back to that championship game and finish what they started last year.

Cheyanne Tarango for Canyon and Jolene Henderson for Sheldon both worked to keep batters at bay, but Canyon's defense crumbled in the fourth inning and the Huskies took advantage.

It started with a lead-off double by Henderson. Dejanee Moore laid down a textbook sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third. With one out, Meme Moore hit a ground ball to the second baseman who misplayed the grounder, giving the runner at third time to score and leaving Meme Moore safe at first.

With one run on the board, Alexis Cooper stepped up to the plate for the Huskies and hit a ground ball to the shortstop who bobbled the ball and then overthrew first, allowing Meme Moore to advance to third. A passed ball in the next at-bat allowed Moore safely home.

Henderson, who did not give up a run the entire tournament, never faltered on the mound and the Sheldon defense was rock solid behind her.

"This is just great,” sTruesdale said. "These girls have elevated their play every game and have really improved. Jolene and Lindsey led the charge and playing against the best teams just made us get better and everything came together.”

With all the hype surrounding Sheldon, its No.1 ranking, a 10-0 record, and now a Faster to 1st Championship, one would think that the Huskies would be feeling quite a bit of pressure going into league. However, Truesdale says this is not the case.

"There is no pressure,” she stated. "Now we will just take a deep breath, go back and play league games and that will be our focus. All we can control is how we prepare everyday to play these games.”

Truesdale and her squad will head back to Sacarmento, but things won't get much easier for them. They will face Pleasant Grove and Rodriguez, other Faster to 1st tournament teams, later in their schedule.

With a young team, led by Tournament MVP Henderson and Lindsey Ziegenhirt, Truesdale recognized that the team needed some experience in order to ensure that they could get the crucial wins at the end of the season.

"We wanted to play the best competition this season because we knew that the younger players would get better faster. It is crucial for those players to learn and improve quickly in order for us to continue to play at a high level,” said Truesdale.

With five players on the all-tournament Team, including one freshman, Sheldon is a team with an impressive combination of pitching, defense, and offense.

Coach Truesdale, did the girls earn their marbles?

"Yes, they did!”