Buckeye HEAT
 Worthington Heat founder and President Joe Abraham announced that the organization will be changing its name for the 2005 season and beyond to the Buckeye Heat. While the Worthington Heat name has served the organization well and reflected the roots of its fine traditions, the organization has grown from one team to nine and now encompasses girls from all over the state of Ohio.

Monday, August 23 2004  16U (Pierce) at the 2004 PONY Nationals
RALEIGH, NC - A few pictures from our roving photographers:

The team at Opening Ceremonies...do we have an extra player in there?

The team with Michelle Smith

A conference at the mound

Thursday, July 8 2004 More Photos
YOUNGSTOWN, OH and WHEELING, WV - Thanks to our roving photographer (thanks Bob!) we have more pictures of our 14U team from Youngstown, OH, and Wheeling, WV. Enjoy!

Joe Explains the Right Way!

Wednesday, June 16 2004   14U wins PONY NQ YOUNGSTOWN - The HEAT 14U went 5-1 this past weekend to win the Raging Thunder PONY National Qualifier. The team's only loss was to Canfield 1-0 in ITB on Saturday, but on Sunday the HEAT found their bats and beat Canfield in the championship game 5-0. The 16U(Pierce) team also qualified for PONY Nationals   Champions Again Relaxing Between Games Thursday, June 10 2004 12s & 14s Sweep Beavercreek USSSA NQ The HEAT 12s and 14s both went undefeated at Beavercreek this weekend. Both teams went 6-0. The 12-U team outscored its opponents 43-3. The 14s shut out its first five opponents and won the final game 10-7. The 14-U team is now 12-2 on the season, while the 12-U team is 15-5. The Heat 16-U teams played at the ASA Hall of Fame qualifier in Whitehall. The (Pierce) and (Rasor) teams each went 2-1, with the Rasor team tying for its pool championship, but missing out on advancing to the semi-finals based on runs allowed. The (Ristas) team went 1-2, including a loss to tournament champion Lasers, giving the Lasers the best game of any team all weekend. The 18-U team opens this weekend in Youngstown, and will be joined by the 14s and the 16-U (Pierce) and 16-U (Rasor) teams. Monday, May 31 2004  14-U and 12-U each take 4th MARYSVILLE - The Heat 14-U and 12-U teams each finished in fourth place this weekend in the Heart of Ohio Memorial Day Tournament. The 14-U team went 3-0 in pool play and won its first double elimination game, but lost 3-2 to the Marion Rebels to head to the loser's bracket. A win over North Union set up a fourth-place game with the Lasers White. The Heat lost 6-3 to the Lasers White, which ended up sharing the tournament title with the Marion Rebels when the rains came. The Heat beat the Central Ohio Lady Rebels 8-0 and 4-2, the Marion Rebels 7-2, the Heart of Ohio Rage 12-3, the Cardinal Crush 9-0 and the North Union Lady Cats 8-3 in the tournament. The 12-U Heat team went 2-1 in pool play and won its first double elimination game before losing to the eventual champion, Lasers Purple, 7-0. The Heat then won two loser's bracket games before falling to the Lasers Green to finish fourth. The 12-U and 14-U teams will be in Beavercreek next weekend, while all three 16-U teams open their seasons in Whitehall. Howard and members of the 14U Heat Monday, May 17 2004 14U Works Out The 14U team spent two very full days this weekend working with Howard Kobata on fielding techniques.     12U at Marysville 16U at Oklahoma City 16U Pictures from Whitehall A close-knit group before the tournament All smiles after the win   Heat 16-U wins 2001 Hilliard All-American Tournament HILLIARD, OH (AP) - Despite three injuries, two missing players and a left-handed shortstop, the Worthington Heat won the 16-U division of the Hilliard All-American Girls' Softball Tournament today. The Heat beat the Miami Valley Express in the final, 9-7. Injuries during the tournament to pitcher-catcher Courtney Witter and outfielder Courtney Brewer made a difficult situation tougher for the Heat. The club started the tournament with shortstop-center fielder Allison Scheetz on the disabled list with a broken finger and were missing top hitters Megan Terrell and Andrea Knox to previous commitments. Heat places second in Hilliard The Heat 18-U (Abraham) team knocked off several strong teams on its way to a runner-up finish Sunday in the Hilliard All-American Girls Tournament. The Heat lost 2-0 to the Lasers White in the final. The Heat beat the Columbus Crush, the Ohio Extreme, the UA Bears, the Lancaster Phoenix and the host Hilliard Cats in the tournament. The Heat has placed in the top three of every tournament this season with the exception of Sluggerfest. The team stands at 28-12 on the season. Wednesday, June 11 16U to go to Hall of Fame Tourney in OK Due to an ineligible player, the 16U team was declared the winner of the Whitehall Tournament, and has accepted the invitation to play in the Hall of Fame Tournament in Oklahoma. They will be playing in the complex that just hosted the Women's College World Series.   Tuesday, May 29    Howard Kobata put the Heat through the fire on Friday and Saturday Kobata Clinic Rousing Success DUBLIN (AP) - Howard Kobata turned the Worthington Heat's world upside down over the weekend. Kobata, a nationally recognized defensive coach, led the Heat through eight hours of intense training in throwing, catching and fielding on Friday and Saturday. "Oh my. I don't think the girls knew what they were in for," said Heat coach Joe Abraham. "That was so far and away the best skills clinic I've ever seen. I knew it was going to be good and that the girls would be extremely challenged, but it far exceeded my expectations. I wish we could have had 80 hours instead of eight." Kobata, of California, was joined by friend and nationally successful travel coach Gary Keller for the clinic at Dublin Coffman High School. The Heat had two team sessions, as did Larry Orahood's Central Ohio Lady Rebels. Kobata teaches fundamentals in painstaking detail. He emphasizes footwork, body positioning, quickness and efficiency with movements. "To call it catching, throwing and fielding doesn't really begin to do it justice," Abraham said. "Our girls and the Rebels struggled big-time with many of the things. Our girls got much better on Saturday and we looked very good in Sunday's practice. The girls' attitude during the clinic was great and that will pay off for us as the girls continue to learn Howard's techniques." Monday, June 11 Heat bats off to hot start BEAVERCREEK (AP) - The Worthington Heat spent the weekend hitting shots all over the field in going 5-2 in the USSSA Southern State tournament. After a cold start at the plate in a 2-1 win over Miami Collision and an 8-0 loss to the Cincinnati Stars, the Heat responded with wins over Patterson  Park Ice (7-0), the Springfield Thunder (9-0), Heart of Ohio Heartbreakers (4-1) and the Ohio Cobras (7-3) before falling to the NWO Sting (6-3). The Heat hit the ball hard many times against the Sting, but good defense by the team from northwest Ohio and some hard luck hitting held the Heat to three runs. The Heat tied for 5th out of the 21 teams in the tournament. In no particular order, the Miami Valley Express, Lady Lasers Gold, Cincinnati Stars and the NWO Sting took the top four spots. Stats for the tournament have not yet been compiled. Heat earns NSA World Series berth PICKERINGTON (AP) - A return trip to Charlotte awaits the Worthington Heat 16-U team after its third-place finish Sunday in the Stingrays NSA qualifier. A 5-4 win over the Lasers Gold vaulted the Heat into the semi-finals before the host Stingrays plated two runs in the bottom of the last inning to knock off the Heat, 4-3. The Stingrays played the Hilliard Cats in the final. The Heat had a choice of either an A or a B berth, but, like most teams in Ohio have done this summer, chose the B because of the better location and better date. The NSA B World Series is expected to attract 400-700 teams and will take place July 21-29. "We had a good time in Charlotte last year at the USSSA World Series and the Mayor called and said he'd like for us to come back," said Heat coach Joe Abraham. "I told him I'd think about it and get back to him. I later confirmed with the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce that we would go ahead and grant them our presence." Heat finishes season by playing in two Nationals ROCK HILL, S.C. and WHITEHALL, OH (AP) - The Worthington Heat wrapped up its 2001 campaign by going 6-5 in NSA and ASA national tournaments. The Heat went 4-2 in the NSA B World Series in Rock Hill, losing its last game 7-6 after holding a 6-3 lead going into the last inning. The Heat also lost an extra-inning game in Rock Hill, 6-5. The Heat outscored its opponents in Rock Hill, 33-20. The ASA Eastern Nationals was the reward for winning the Hilliard All-American Girls Tournament. The Heat finished 2-3 in the tournament. An extra-inning 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Haze and a 4-3 loss to the River City (W.Va.) Rapids capped pool play. The Heat suffered its only run-rule loss of the season in the first round of the double elimination as the Miami Valley Express "A" team avenged its loss in the Hilliard championship game by winning 13-3. The Heat then beat the Ohio Swarm 4-1 on a one-hitter by Courtney Witter before falling 8-6 to the Falcons (N.Y.). The Heat finished 35-16 on the season. Besides the Hilliard championship, the Heat took second in the USSSA Beavercreek Challenge, third in the Stingrays NSA Invitational in Pickerington, third in the USSSA SGS Magic Shootout in Toledo, fifth in the USSSA Southern State and fifth in the Reynoldsburg Firecracker. The two fifth-place finishes were the lowest the team placed besides the national tournaments.