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HOME | HISTORY | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | ROSTER | STATISTICS | PHOTOS | ARCHIVES
HOME | HISTORY | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | ROSTER | STATISTICS | PHOTOS | ARCHIVES |
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EN FUEGO SOFTBALL CLUB TIMELINE 1995 In the fall of 1995 En Fuego
Softball Club was started by then Manager Jason Teague made up of former Soda
Pops, Young Guns, and Rampage players. The first ever game was
a 21-8 blowout over the Ditto Heads on September 12th. The expansion club was
fast out of the gate appearing in the championship game in just their first
season. Although they came up short of a title, losing in the championship game
to the Penetrators, the team’s first season together was promising. Teague
had assembled a youthful team with attitude. 1996 In 1996 En Fuego participated in
four leagues, reaching the post season each time. The team also entered into
their first ever tournament and won their first tournament game 22-21 over the
Lumber Jacks. En Fuego reached the
championship game in the fall of the 1996 Wednesday night league at Chapparosa
Park losing 16-17 to powerhouse Stac Pac. During the same season, En Fuego once
again reached the title game, facing off with Stac Pac once again, in the
Tuesday night league at Oso Viejo Field. This time, a determined En Fuego team
surprised Stac Pac en route to an impressive 15-8 victory, giving them their
first ever championship and creating an intense rivalry. 1997 “The Red Wave”, the team's
50th win, a 22-7 mercy over the Kool Cats and En Fuego’s tournament
showings of ’97 were the highlights. Un-expectantly
Manager Jason Teague left the team in the spring. Teague passed the torch to the
combination of Jason England and Craig Watkins. In their debut on March 5th,
they led the team to a 17-10 win over El Cortez at Chapparosa Park. Once again
En Fuego appeared in four leagues making the playoffs each time. Perhaps the
greatest season in the clubs history was in the summer of this year. The team
donned brand new all-red jerseys and it worked. “The Red Wave” team went
10-1-1 and pummeled Da Horra, 23-6 in the final game to win their second
championship. In two tournaments, En Fuego won 8 out of 10 games. At the SCMAF
qualifier in Newport Beach on October 18th, En Fuego went 4-0 while winning
their first tournament title. In November, En Fuego appeared in their first
“Tournament of Champions”, in Palm Springs. They finished an impressive 4th
out of a field of 24 teams. The SCMAF standings that year listed En Fuego 6th
in the final Southern California rankings. The team’s expectation level had
reached new heights. 1998 With the exception of their 100th win against the Bottom Dwellers (26-15) on April 20th, the year was a huge disappointment. Hoping to continue their tournament series success, En Fuego faltered in almost every tournament finishing the tournament season five months early in June at the Spring Divisional in Santa Maria. The team hit rock bottom after poor regular season marks and embarrassing playoff losses at the end of the year. Uncertain of the team’s direction a frustrated Watkins decided for the team, they would take the next season off. 1999 Craig Watkins took complete control of the on-field managerial and player personnel duties. A sixteen game winning streak to start the summer, after taking the spring season off helped heal En Fuego’s disappointing recent past. During the streak the team won two tournaments and slowly started to gain some lost confidence back. A solid 8-2 league season and a return trip to the title game was overshadowed by a disappointing loss to another old rival Spring Training, formerly Da Horra. Another strong showing during league in the fall ended in disappointment again as the team struggled in the big games. Returning to the “Tournament of Champions” in November was good for En Fuego, but once again they fell short of their lofty expectations. All in all, the year was good. The team ended up 28-11 overall, a .718 winning percentage. The team was headed in the right direction with the core players still intact. 2000
The team didn’t need to rebuild it only reloaded. The 150th
win in the club’s history was a victory over the Slumpbusters 29-6. Two more
impressive tournament wins, one in March over Team Connexion and in July over
Top Shelf, both formidable opponents. The dream season at Chapparosa Park in the
summer was most memorable not only because En Fuego defeated Big Wally’s in a
nine inning battle in the title game, 20-19, but it was En Fuego’s first
undefeated season (13-0) and their third Championship, and first since 1997.
Meanwhile the same season on Thursday night En Fuego avenged an earlier defeat
in a title game by knocking off Spring Training 15-8 at THHS for their fourth
title. Then came the team’s 200th win on December 7th, a 17-8
playoff victory over the Sofa Kings. In the very next game that night, En
Fuego’s 300th game, the team dismantled Team Twisted 17-2 to give
them three consecutive league championships. En Fuego had their swagger back. 2001 Since En Fuego took a season off after 1998, their record from 1999 through November 1st 2001 was 148-42 with a .779 winning percentage. Since the summer of 2000 the team has played in seven leagues, appearing in the championship game all seven times while winning five titles. At one point during the summer this year, overall the team recorded 19 consecutive victories, a club record and on Thursday nights the team won 22 in a row. In the spring season at Ladera Ranch, En Fuego faced Stac Pac in a final for the first time since 1996 and came away with a 25-23 victory. The summer Thursday night league at Ladera Ranch was a record breaking one for En Fuego as they dominated opponents going 14-1 and winning another championship, 25-8 over Behind the Stein. Overall since the inception of En Fuego in 1995, the team’s core has held together and become even stronger with some new core additions. En Fuego softball in 382 games is 266-109-7, a .705 winning percentage. Along the way En Fuego has had its ups and downs. Remarkable, En Fuego has made the playoffs each of their 23 seasons. The down times are microscopic now, as En Fuego has grown and matured into a powerful and experienced team. Dare I say…En Fuego. 2002
After having three straight seasons with over a .700 winning percentage
En Fuego struggled a little in league play finishing with an overall record of
18-13-2 for a .576 winning percentage, but still managed to capture its eighth
league championship. A 19-8 win
over HOS in the championship game of the summer Thursday night league at Laguna
Hills was the highlight of league play. The
two ties were the first ties for En Fuego since the 1998 campaign.
En Fuego’s streak of 26 straight playoff appearances was snapped in the
fall Thursday Laguna Hills league when the team failed to make the playoffs for
the first time in club history. Although
En Fuego struggled in league play they had a stellar tournament winning
percentage of .778 with a 7-2 record in the 2 tournaments played.
En Fuego won its first ever tournament in Palm Springs capturing the
spring PSTS tournament with a 4-0 record and two impressive wins over Team
Swoosh, 29-16 and 19-6. In the Palm
Springs fall SCMAF “Tournament of Champions” the team finished as runner-up
for the first time in club history. Even
though league play was not as successful as past years finishing in the top 2 in
both Palm Springs tournaments was a major accomplishment for En Fuego. 2003 Once again En Fuego struggled in league play with an overall record of 18-15 for a .545 winning percentage. However, the team was able to battle its way into the playoffs in the spring Thursday night Laguna Hills league and win the championship with a 35-12 win over Sofa Kings in the 450th game in En Fuego history. Although the spring regular season was mediocre the team was able to win the championship as well as record the team’s 300th win March 20th with a 19-4 win over long time rival Spring Training. During the spring the team also was runner-up in the Palm Springs PSTS tournament playing in the championship for the second straight year, but falling short this time losing to Team Swoosh twice, 17-18 and 9-18. In the summer Thursday night Laguna Hills season En Fuego finished with only its second sub .500 season and didn’t make the playoffs for only the second time in club history. Trying to find some way to right the ship and get the team back to its winning ways Manager Craig Watkins entered his squad in the fall Palm Springs SCMAF “Tournament of Champions” for the fifth straight time and sixth overall. After finishing runner-up last year this was En Fuego’s year to win the championship with a 13-3 win over a familiar opponent the Penetrators from Saddleback Valley. En Fuego CHAMPIONS of the 2003 Palm Springs SCMAF “Tournament of Champions” was just the momentum the team needed heading into 2004. 2004
After only playing one night a week per season in the past two years
Manager Craig Watkins felt it was time to step up the team’s level of play by
playing more games. He entered the
team in an extra league night in both the spring and summer in order to remain
competitive and overcome some of the struggles in league play the past two years.
The team started strong in the spring with an undefeated 7-0 season to
win the championship at Tustin Sports Park for their 10th league
championship. En Fuego was also
runner-up in the Palm Springs PSTS tournament for the second straight year
losing twice to first time opponent Senators.
In the summer season En Fuego finished runner-up in the Tuesday Ladera
Ranch League to an old foe, Stac Pac, who the team hadn’t played since the
fall of 2001. On July 27th
En Fuego won its 350th game in a blowout, 19-5 against Blur.
Once again En Fuego entered the fall Palm Springs SCMAF “Tournament of
Champions” and started out well going 2-0 on first day of the two day
tournament before rain cancelled the second day with a makeup scheduled for
sometime in 2005. 2005 En Fuego started off its 10-year anniversary campaign (September 12th) in a spectacular way with a trip to Simi Valley. The makeup for the second day of the SCMAF “Tournament of Champions” was set for January 22nd in Simi Valley of all places, but En Fuego didn’t let the long drive hold them back. After losing their opening game to Gashouse they were able to battle their way through the losers bracket to face Gashouse in the championship and defeated them twice, 17-5 and 18-17 to win BACK-TO-BACK SCMAF T.O.C. CHAMPIONSHIPS!! After starting the spring Laguna Hills league slowly with a 2-3 record in the first half of the season, En Fuego won their next seven games in a row to win the league championship with a 21-19 win over Dead End. It was the team’s first league championship at Laguna Hills since the spring of 2003 and its 11th league championship overall. En Fuego had a successful summer in the Laguna Hills Thursday night league donning all-red jerseys for yet another great run in a summer league. The team was unbeaten heading into the championship game, but lost to HOS to finish runner-up with a 10-1-1 record. En Fuego continued its successful summer by finishing runner-up in the NSA So. Cal. State tournament at the San Clemente Sports Complex in August. On September 27th En Fuego won its 400th game in a 22-10 rout of Beer Thirty. En Fuego rolls on in the fall as they dominate the Ladera Ranch Tuesday night league going 11-1 to win their 12th league title beating long time rival Stac Pac 26-11 in the championship game. The team finished the year in great fashion beating rival Spring Training in the championship game of the Laguna Hills Thursday night league by a score of 16-13 to win their third league title of 2005 and 13th title in team history. En Fuego finished 2005 with a 60-20-1 record for a .747 winning percentage. 2006 En Fuego got off to a slow start in 2006 after dominating league play in 2005. In both the Laguna Hills and Ladera Ranch spring leagues the team struggled and although they made the playoffs in both leagues they were eliminated in the first round. However, they did have success in only their second tournament of the year when they traveled to Ayala Park in Chino for a CSA Tourney. They dominated the field of play by winning all five games and mercing their opponent in four of those games to win their 9th tournament championship in team history. On July 18th En Fuego won its 450th game 17-10 over Dirtbags. After finishing the regular season of the Thursday summer league at Laguna Hills with a 5-5 record the team entered the playoffs as the fourth seed, but in two spectacular finishes they were able to rally to beat Bull Dawgs 18-16 in the first round and Dead End 17-15 in the championship to win their 14th league title in franchise history. The cardiac kids do it again! After an easy victory in the first round of the playoffs En Fuego took on Free Agents for the championship of the Tuesday night summer league at Ladera Ranch Fields. En Fuego had to rally back several times to win 23-22 in nine innings for their 15th league championship. En Fuego beats Dirtbags 30-15 to win the Tuesday night fall league at Ladera Ranch Fields. The win gives En Fuego back-to-back titles in the Ladera Ranch league after taking the summer league and also gives the franchise its 16th league title overall. In the fall Thursday night league at Laguna Hills, En Fuego finished the regular season in first place and the number one seed in the playoffs, but lost a close first round game 12-13 to the Bull Dawgs. 2007 En Fuego started the year off well by winning the Palm Springs PSTS tournament. Good pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting helped En Fuego go undefeated on the day to win their 10th tournament championship in franchise history. After getting off to a good start in the Thursday night Laguna Hills league En Fuego faltered down the stretch falling to third place at the end of the regular season and a first round playoff match up with rival Spring Training. They were able to beat Spring Training in a close low scoring game (7-3) to advance to the championship game against first place finisher the Bull Dawgs. In a game in which En Fuego never trailed the team was able to hold off the Bull Dawgs for a 31-28 victory to win their 17th championship in franchise history. En Fuego continued its strong start to the year with its 18th championship winning the Tuesday night league at Ladera Ranch Fields. The team had an impressive run through the Tuesday night league to finish 11-1. They easily handled Running Men in the first round of the playoffs by a score of 21-5 then beat rival Stac Pac 15-11 to win the championship. On May 22nd En Fuego reached a historic milestone by beating long time rival Stac Pac 11-8 in the first game of the Summer league at Ladera Ranch Fields to record their 500th win in franchise history. En Fuego continued their strong play in the Thursday night league at Laguna Hills finishing the regular season in first place. They were able to battle their way to wins over the Bull Dawgs and Blood, Sweat, & Beers in the playoffs to win their 19th championship in franchise history. That gives the team back-to-back titles in the Laguna Hills league for the first time and they have now won championships in five out of the last eight leagues on Thursday night. Two days after winning the Thursday night league En Fuego played in an AM COM tournament at Worthy Park in Huntington Beach and continued its hot play by going 4-0 to win their 11th tournament title in team history. En Fuego once again dominated the Tuesday night league at Ladera Ranch finishing the fall season with an 11-1 record en route to their 20th championship in franchise history. It was the team's third title appearance on the year at Ladera Ranch playing rival Stac Pac in all three championships winning two of them. 2008 En Fuego won the PSTS Spring Classic tournament on March 8th making them back-to-back champions for the first time in the Palm Springs tournament. Once again it was an all around team effort with good pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting that enabled En Fuego to go undefeated on the day and win their 12th tournament in team history. On March 13th En Fuego beat league foe Sofa Kings to record their 550th win in franchise history. En Fuego continued their strong tournament play in 2008 going 4-0 to win their 13th tournament title on May 31st in the SCMAF "Spring Divisional" at San Clemente. En Fuego missed a perfect season by one game losing in the final regular season game of the Wednesday night league at Laguna Hills, but rebounded a week later to win both playoff games en route to their 21st title in franchise history. The 22-11 win over MVP Sports Center in the championship gave the team a 12-1 record on the season. During the summer En Fuego also reached another milestone by winning 22 straight games over the course of one tournament and the two summer leagues breaking their old mark of 19 wins in a row. After having a successful summer En Fuego struggled some in the fall, but eventually reached the championship game in both the Tuesday and Thursday night leagues. In a hard fought game they came up a few runs short in their 17-14 loss to JK Inc. in the Thursday night Laguna Hills league. However, En Fuego not only rallied from a 3-4 midseason record to make the playoffs in the Tuesday night Ladera Ranch league, but they won their final five games to win their 22nd championship. In the first round of the playoffs En Fuego set a new single game scoring record beating Phat Cobras 50-25 and then in the championship they beat long time rival Stac Pac 18-10. The win was the sixth championship win over Stac Pac versus only three defeats in the long history of the rivalry. 2009 On January 15th En Fuego started the year off in historic fashion by beating Sofa Kings 22-7 in the first game of the Thursday night Laguna Hills league to win their 600th game in franchise history. En Fuego played in an AM COM tournament on March 7th which was their first tournament of the year and first ever at Huntington Beach Sports Complex. The team was dominant against some strong competition going 6-0 on the day to win their 14th tournament title in franchise history. En Fuego finished the regular season of the Thursday night Laguna Hills league in third place so they faced an uphill battle to a championship. However, they played a good offensive and defensive game to knock off Nunya 17-7 in the first round of the playoffs. In the championship En Fuego would face JK Inc. for the second straight season and after losing to them by three runs the previous season they were determined to beat them this season. En Fuego jumped out to a 25-1 lead in the first three innings and held off a fierce JK Inc. rally which narrowed the lead to 25-21 by mercing them 38-21 in six innings for their 23rd championship in team history. En Fuego had another successful season in the Tuesday night Ladera Ranch league going 10-2 on the season and winning the league title. The championship game against long time rival Stac Pac was the 900th game in franchise history and En Fuego had a perfect way of celebrating the milestone by mercing Stac Pac 34-9 in four and half innings to win their 24th championship overall. En Fuego won back-to-back SCMAF "Spring Divisionals" at San Clemente on May 30th going 4-0 on the day to win their 15th tournament title in franchise history. En Fuego wins the SCMAF T.O.C. for the third time this decade beating Howarth Construction 14-8 on November 15th wrapping up a 4-0 record for the two day tournament and their 16th tournament title. En Fuego had another strong season in the Tuesday night league at Ladera Ranch beating TBS 18-3 in the championship game to finish 11-1 on the season with their 25th league title. 2010 En Fuego started off the year with a successful season in the Thursday night Laguna Hills league going 11-1 on the season and winning their 26th championship in franchise history. They beat Sofa Kings 22-8 in the first round of the playoffs then faced Stac Pac for the 11th time in a championship game mercing them 21-6 to win the championship. On November 11th En Fuego beat new comer to the Thursday night league Double D's 30-26 in a hard fought game to win their 700th game in team history. En Fuego finishes off another great season in the Thursday night league at Laguna Hills going 10-2 and winning their 27th league championship. In the first round of the playoffs they defeated long time rival Stac Pac 25-18 to finish 3-1 versus them on the season. In the championship game they mercied Nunya 22-7 to beat them in the title game for the first time after two previous losses.
2011 En Fuego continues to have success in the Thursday night league at Laguna Hills. Once again they finished the regular season in first place entering the playoffs as the number one seed. After getting rained out in their first round match up with 3 Inch Killers they found out shortly before game time on the make up date that they had advanced to the championship game due to a forfeit. This set up a rematch with Nunya who they had mercied to win the 2010 fall league. Although the game went back and forth early En Fuego got hot with 11 runs in the bottom of the fourth and followed that up with 14 runs in the bottom of the fifth for a walk off mercy win 31-16. It was the thirteen straight championship game appearance for En Fuego, winning three out of the last four, and this was their 28th championship in franchise history. After finishing second in the first ever United Athletics softball tourney at the San Clemente sports complex in February, En Fuego was determined to win their next tourney in May. En Fuego started off slow finishing 1-1 in pool play, but rallied off three straight wins to win their 17th tournament title. They mercied Kick Start 17-2, who had defeated them to win the February tournment, in the semifinals then mercied long time tournament foe Scar Tissue 25-13 in the championship game. En Fuego continued to have a successful tournament season by winning its second tournament in a row at the San Clemente sports complex beating Shady Project 26-25 in the championship game. It was their 18th tournament title overall and the third time they have won the SCMAF "Spring Divisionals" at San Clemente since the tournament began in 2008.
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