Softball Today Magazine 18-2 August 2015

Softball Today • August 2015

By DW at SoftballCenter.com

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Kissimmee, FL., --- The USSSA post season is off to a wild start as 11 of the 52 games at the USSSA 'B' World were won in the last at bat of those games. 17 of the 52 were determined in the last at bat and 19 games were won by 3 runs or less. What also was amazing is the number of games won by the top seeded teams in their last at bat.

OC Swats Doerflinger/Miken/LCP from southern California, the eventual champion won 2 games in their last at bat including the championship game.

2nd place Compound Athletics/Easton won the loser's bracket championship in their last at bat, and 3rd place Encompass/Eurotech/Easton/CA won 3 of their 4 wins in the last at bat!

The tournament began on Friday August 21 at 4 PM eastern and the whole weekend it was 90+ degrees with high humidity and there were a pair of lightning delays during the event. All games

were played at the Fortune Road complex in Kissimmee, Florida with its daunting 310-325-325325-310 field dimensions.

The great games started early as T's 13 from Nebraska the best non-conference 'B' team knocked off Semper Athletics U.S. military team 2221. T's would then be struck by the injury bug in their second game when Chaun Demars was out with a bad back and two T's outfielders collided with each other. #3 seeded Encompass/Eurotech/Easton/CA from Minnesota narrowly escaped with a win over local 'D' team Cuttin Up when Encompass right fielder Patrick Ellwanger hit a walk off homer to win it!

Pure Romance a conference 'B' team from Ohio came from a 14 run deficit against S2S/REM a local 'C' team to win. PRI pitcher Brandon Jonas was carted off after being hit by a line drive in the left chest. Luckily he had no broken ribs. Smash It Sports/DirtDawgs a 2014 'C' to 'B' mandatory bumped team from Rhode Island upset 3rd Street

from Ohio 19-18 on a walk off single.

Three teams advanced by forfeit as Peak Softball was never coming to the tournament, Team Reebok 'C' team had roster problems and was removed, and New Jersey 'B' team Deluxe Bakery had cancelled flights out of Philadelphia due to bad weather Thursday night.

The rest of the favorites Broughton/Bad Draw (NC), OI Livingston (GA), VCH Worth (TX), Classic Glass (CA), Primetime (GA), Compound Athletics (IL), Above All Landscaping (NJ), and Newbreed (WA) all advanced fairly easily.

All second round games were also played on Friday night: #1 OC Swats Doerflinger/Miken/LCP struggled but came from behind to beat a very good Texas Conference 'C' team called Steel. KG/Slayer/Wilson/Louisville Slugger an Indiana 'B' team who has struggled all year got a walk off homer from left hander Brandon Sisson in the bottom of the 7th to beat #2 seeded TG Brand 27-25.

outfielder. Compound middle infielder John Sullivan ranging to the shortstop side of 2nd base made a twisting leaping throw to first for an out that was one of the best plays of the year.

And Chente Granados for OC Swats mad a sliding backhand and LONG throw/quick release for an out to first showing off his quickness and cannon. In the other semi-final the best game of the tournament was a brewing.

Broughton/Bad Draws infield made a couple of miscues and Encompass took advantage and pulled out to a lead. Broughton would fight back and both teams were putting up big numbers with clutch hitting.

Towards the end of the game Encompass/Eurotech manager Mike Beardsley pinch hit his backup pitcher Dirk Updike for his starting pitcher Allan Ouellette and Updike hit a huge 3 run homer! In the top of the 7th though Broughton came back from 7 runs down and got clutch hits from pitcher Danny Lopez, and Matt Bunn to take a lead and force Encompass to score in the bottom of the 7th.

With two outs and a runner on second and the score tied at 23-23 Broughton walked Ehnstrom to get to Allan Oullette who had been reentered at pitcher. Ouellette "clutched up" and roped a solid single to center field where Broughton's Freddie Bynum (who played for the Orioles in the Major Leagues) unleashed an incredible throw to the plate, but the throw drifted high and Encompass runner Brandon Newman scored on a head first slide to win the game 24-23.

It was one of those games neither team deserved to lose but in the end Broughton just did not make the plays defensively. Encompass didn't have time to breath though and promptly went over to the winner's bracket finals game where OC Swats quickly separated from an emotionally drained team and beat them 29-12.

Sunday morning the loser's bracket started at 8 am where Compound Athletics battled Broughton to a tie in the bottom of the 7th on a Ross Heubner pinch hit and a Ben Dunn tying hit setting up Zach Messer who painted the 3rd base line for a game winning hit with two outs to advance 22-21.

In the loser's bracket finals Compound Athletics then beat Encompass 25-17 in a gutty performance by everyone on the Compound team who just outplayed a

very good Encompass team.

In the championship Compound jumped out to such a big lead on OC Swats that the sentiment in the park was just to end the game and start the "if" game. Compound was up 21-4 in the bottom of the 5th. But OC Swats got 7 runs mostly on base hits in the bottom of the 5th and a whopping 15 runs in the bottom of the 6th. Brambilla and Vega each hitting 3 run bombs to take a 2 run lead to the top of the 7th.

In the top of the final inning pitcher/sponsor Jason Wilkins hit a clutch 3 run homer to center field with two outs to give Compound a 1 run lead but it would not be enough. Swats Defensive MVP second baseman Pilar Amaya making a big ranging catch on a grounder and twisting throw for a key out in the top of the 7th.

Then in the bottom of the 7th OC Swats 9 hitter Charlie Hinojosa a new talent to slowpitch softball hit a no doubter solo homer to tie the game at 2727. That was Swats last homer as they had reached the 'B' limit of 6. Then 10 hitter Caezar Camarillo hit a double in the gap and 11 hitter Matt Fox hit an rbi single into left center field to win the game 28-27!

The USSSA 'B' Worlds was an incredible start to the USSSA post season. The hard hitting play, the close wins, and the great defense played throughout was entertaining for all. OC Swats pitcher Paul Winner was named tournament MVP.

Final USSSa 'B' World ToUrnamenT STandingS 1 CA - OC Swats Doerflinger/Miken/LCP 2 IL - Compound Athletics/Easton 3 MN - Encompass/Eurotech/Easton/CA 4 NC - Broughton Pharmacy/Bad Draw/Worth

5-0 6-2 4-2 3-2

Softball Today • August 2015

Broughton/Bad Draw got past T's 13 with their injuries 28-11. OI Livingston beat VCH Worth 26-23 in a close game that could have went either way.

Encompass/Eurotech used another walk off homer, this one by center fielder Colin Bartman to beat Classic Glass 14-13.

Compound Athletics held down Primetime 2213 after Primetime had just scored 27 runs on AZM in a run rule shortened game. Above All Landscaping run ruled Pure Romance 28-13 for one of their biggest wins of the season. And Smash IT Sports beat Newbreed 13-12 after midnight Friday in the tournaments biggest upset to make the final 8 undefeated.

The final 8 on Saturday took place at 12:30 PM on all 4 fields simultaneously. There were 4 relative surprises in the final 8 teams: NonConference B team Smash It Sports, Broughton, Above All and OI Livingston who had all had rough years. Broughton/Bad Draw separated and beat KG Slayer 24-13.

Encompass/Eurotech hammered OI Livingston late to win 31-18 after OI had gotten out to a 10-6 lead early. The Encompass offense taking off after a Patrick Ellwanger homer gave them a 15-10 lead.

Compound Athletics beat Above All Landscaping in a marathon game 32-25 in a game that was stalled by a lightning delay. Compound putting up 15 runs in the top of the 1st inning.

OC Swats who had an early 9-3 lead on Smash It Sports after one inning was down 19-9 late after Smash scored 16 runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings combined and OC Swats came all the way back and won the game on a Charlie Hinojosa home run in the bottom of the 7th after a Mario Granados double 26-23.

The final 4 of the winner's bracket started around 6:30 PM Saturday evening under overcast skies and 90 degree temperatures. OC Swats made quick and efficient work of Compound Athletics with leads of 11-0 and 19-4 and won easily 22-7.

The game, although a blowout was highlighted by three great defensive plays: Ben Dunn in center field for Compound made some great catches and showed the best range of the tournament of any

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Softball Today • August 2015

By DW at SoftballCenter.com

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The 7th Annual ASA/USA Border Battle was a weeklong tour across the northern Midwest of the United State between Monday, August 17th and Saturday, August 22nd. The Team USA bus filled with the country's best slow pitch softball players made stops in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

The first part of the tour was the Border Battle itself with Canada where 6 teams played a round robin at the Midland, Michigan minor league baseball stadium with its very big 332-375-400-373-325 dimensions. The 6 teams in the round robin were the Team USA All Stars, the USA Future Stars who are the best players under the age of 32, Team Canada, Canada Selects who are the best players in Canada under the age of 32, and two local teams Wallace Landscaping and 22 Below.

The action started on Monday with Wallace Landscapings Lyf Nimmo and Filip Washington leading the way to two straight victories over 22 Below (28-9) and Canada Selects (10-8). Nimmo and power hitter Brian Lipman combined for 4 homers and 12 RBI. Then The USA Futures rattled off two wins over 22 Below 11-4 and a big 22-10 win over Team Canada. In

the night cap Team USA made short work of the Canada Selects team 20-6.

On Tuesday the action continued with 22 Below upsetting Team Canada 13-5 and then in the middle of the day the games became interesting. A very good Wallace Landscaping team gave the USA Future Stars everything they could handle but the Future Stars pulled out a 14-13 win with the help of two Kyle Pearson home runs.

And then 22 Below which was a local 'C' team gave Team USA a scare as Jeremy Bloor hit a go ahead homer in the top of the 7th. In the bottom of the inning Team USA's Chris Larsen hit a clutch homer to tie the game at 11-11 and force extra innings. In the bottom of the 8th Team USA's Bryson Baker hit a two out single, down by a run Brian Wegman hit a walk off game winning homer to keep Team USA undefeated.

They moved the actual "Border Battle" games between the USA and Canada to Tuesday night with pending rain coming in on Wednesday and the USA Future Stars beat their Canada Select peers 21-5 and Team USA rolled through Team Canada 22-7.

The crowd of over 2,000 stayed after the Border Battle games to watch the Long Haul Bomber home run derby.

Denny Crine swinging Miken and a former Long Haul Bomber champion scored 13 points to beat left hander Kevin Filby (12-Miken) and Dale Brungardt (12-Demarini) to win the event. Many of the home runs landed across the street outside of the stadium!

LONG HAUL BOMBERS Denny Crine, Team Miken - 13 Kevin Filby, Team Miken - 12 Bubba Brungardt, Team DeMarini - 12 Brian Wegman, Team Easton - 11 *Bryson Baker, Team Easton - 9 Chris Larsen, Team DeMarini - 8 Chris Greinert, Team Combat - 7 *Hit for Scott Kirby On Wednesday the rains came and washed out the rest of the Midland, Michigan event. Team USA packed up and travelled to Parma, Ohio where 3 exhibition games were played on Thursday. Two with the North East Ohio All Stars and one between the two Team USA teams.

The USA Future Stars remembering their loss to the NEO All Stars in 2014 quickly pounced on them and the Futures won easily 30-4. In the second game Team USA needed a walk off home run by outfielder Brandon Dillon to beat the Ohio All Stars led by Ike Worlow 26-25.

And in the night cap Team USA run ruled the USA Future Stars 29-7. On Friday they packed up and headed to Topeka, Indiana where they arrived to a huge throng of Amish fans and played three more exhibition games. The USA Future Stars beat the Topeka All Stars #1 34-14.

Team USA then beat the Topeka All Stars #2 3419. And in the showdown the USA Future Stars upset Team USA 28-8 as Ryan Harvey hit two homers and Mike Umschied drove in 5 runs. On Saturday Team USA made their final stop in Holland, Michigan each of the all-star teams defeated 22 Below and the trip came to an end...

Softball Today • August 2015

By DW at SoftballCenter.com

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Oklahoma City, OK., --- The 2015 ASA 'B' National competition took the field at the 4 field ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with 16 strong 'B' teams. In the first round Budweiser/Promolink from Minnesota made short work of Izzy Sports/TKO/Miken from Oklahoma 21-4 on the stadium field.

C-Town/GTS/Beus Excavation/Action Garage Door from Idaho knocked off Great Lakes Belt from Connecticut 2317 back on field #4 to get their tournament started off right. The All Army all stars led their game on field #3 most of the way before Fence Brokers Inc/Worth/Buzini from Arkansas came from behind and stole the game 16-14!

All American Restoration/Combat from Minnesota solidly beat Nightmare from Missouri 18-12. JBL/Tailgaters/B&E the 2014 ASA 'C' champs from Pennsylvania jumped out to a 10-3 lead and controlled the entire game against 'B' favorite T's 13/DeMarini from Nebraska and pulled off the shocking upset 26-12! And Above All Landscaping from New Jersey used up most of their allotted 6 home runs early to build a 12-3 lead and held off a late charge from VCH/Worth from Texas to win 16-14.

In the final 4 of the winner's bracket Fence Brokers jumped out to an 8-1 lead on C-Town/GTS who could get nothing going offensively. But FBI used up all of their homers and only scored 16 runs through 6 innings leaving the door open for a C-Town rally.

C-Town scored 11 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning getting a 3 run homer from Mike Powers, a 2 run homer from leadoff man Brad Carlson, and 6 more hits after that.

In the bottom of the 6th C-Town got a big 3 run homer out of Rusty Kawachi to take a 19-16 lead and they held FBI scoreless in the 7th to win and advance to Sundays

winner's final. In the other final 4 games Above All Landscaping jumped all over All Air Force with leads of 12-0 and 22-10 and won 30-10. Clint Murray leading the way with 5 hits and 2 homers.

In the loser's bracket JBL/Tailgaters had two nice wins to make it to Sunday and T's 13 came from behind to beat BBS 16-15 on a Reggie Schulte walk off home run to advance.

On Sunday there were 6 teams remaining and the action began at 9 AM. The winner's bracket finals in the stadium was all C-Town as they had leads of 8-2 and 23-3 after two innings and beat Above All Landscaping 24-6. C-Towns Pat Paschal was 3-3 with a homer.

In the loser's bracket FBI overpowered JBL 27-18 as JBL ran themselves out of two innings trying to come back, and T's 13 came from an 8-6 deficit vs All Air Force to win 12-8 with big homers by Joe Bulens and Ryan Pennebaker late in a low scoring game.

The two winners then met in the stadium where FBI scored a whopping 15 runs in the 3rd inning and won by the run rule 33-18. FBI middle infielder Steve Whaley was 5-5 with 2 homers and 6 RBI in the game. FBI advanced to face Above All Landscaping in the loser's bracket championship.

In that game FBI's Tim "bye bye" Bowser hit a first inning grand slam with no outs and FBI led 7-2 after one inning.

Then Bowser made a diving catch in the bottom of the 2nd inning at first base and FBI center fielder Colby Hughes made an incredible assist to the plate to get an Above All runner in the 3rd and FBI led 8-4 going into the 4th inning.

But Clint Murray hit a go ahead grand slam in the 10 run bottom of the 4th to give Above All a 14-8 lead. The lead swung back to FBI in the top of the 5th as Colby Hughes hit a grand slam of his own giving them a 15-14 lead but Above All outscored FBI 9-2 down the stretch and advanced to the championship game 23-17.

In the finals C-Town/GTS started off with 8-1 and 10-1 leads using up 4 of their 6 homers early on. Above All Landscaping answered with a 4 run top of 3rd to close the gap to 10-5 as Tom Paturzo homered.

Then C-Towns Corey Gilbert hit a homer off the top of the left center field light tower, one of the longest or at least highest homers of the tournament to give them a 14-10 lead.

Above All's Clint Murray answered with a 2 run bomb of his own over the tree in left field, pitcher Jeff Graus tied the game with a 2 run homer, and Jason Hoynowski gave them a 1 run lead with an RBI triple.

A diving catch by C-Town left fielder Jonathan Gastineau ended the 5th inning with Above All on top 15-14. In the bottom of the 5th C-Towns Mike Powers hit a solo homer to tie the game at 15-15, pitcher Cole Patterson hit an RBI single and Brad Carlsen and Chris Hoshaw added RBI hits to give C-Town a 6 run inning and a 20-15 lead. Above All shortstop Jesse Campanelli ended the inning finally with a nice diving one hop stop in shallow left center field and a throw to 2nd for the force out. In the top of the 6th Above Alls Tom Paturzo singled and big David Miller hit a 2 run homer to cut the lead to 3.

But C-Town got 3 more insurance runs on a Rick Cornu sacrifice fly and a Jonathan Gastineau 2 run bases loaded single with 2 outs to go up 23-17 going into the 7th. Above All made one last ditch effort on singles by Mike Dill, Jeff Graus, Jason Hoynowski, and Jesse Campanelli.

Then got a two out triple by Paturzo and an RBI single by Miller to cut the lead to 23-22 before making the last out.

Ryan Goodman at middle infield laid out for one of the best leap/diving line drive stabs of the season in the last inning and Patterson at pitcher snapping off a high line drive down the stretch. Congratulations to C-Town/GTS/Beus Excavation/Action Garage Door.

Softball Today • August 2015

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By DW at SoftballCenter.com

Kissimmee, FL.,--- The Nationwide Conference Championships began on Friday night of Labor Day Weekend with 8 teams in the Major bracket and 9 teams in the 'A' bracket. The upsets started early in this one as the short handed #8 seeded Albicocco/The Scene/Easton 'A' team knocked off #1 seed Smash It Sports 148 early Friday night in the Major bracket.

The #6 seeded Red's Astros/Louisville Slugger

knocked off their sister team #3 seeded Backman/Shoppe/Louisville Slugger 19-10 back on field #1. #4 seeded Precision and #2 seeded Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth advanced as well to the final 4 but Precision by just one run over #5 Team Combat and Resmondo used a game tying two run homer by Andrew Collins and a walk off single by Greg Connell to beat #7 OC Swats 21-20 in the bottom of the 7th.

Had OC Swats hung on there would have been 3 lower seeds in the final 4. Late Friday night

Precision advanced to the winner's final with a 1510 victory over Albicocco and Resmondo crushed Red's Astros 33-4 to advance.

On Saturday in the Major bracket the best game of the tournament was Precision and Resmondo in the winner's bracket finals. They played in sweltering heat and humidity and Precision jumped out to early leads of 7-0 and 9-3.

Resmondo scored 3 in the 5th inning and 2 in the 6th to close the gap to 10-8. But Precisions Brett McCollum led off the top of the 7th with a

Softball Today • August 2015

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solo homer and they added one more run to take a 12-8 lead. In the bottom of the 7th with one quick out, Dennis Rulli singled, Greg Connell doubled, and Andy Purcell hit a 3 run homer.

That was followed by a Jimmy Salas solo homer to tie the game at 12-12 but Precision got a 3-6-3 double play to force extra innings.

In the 8th Precision put up a zero and in the bottom half of the inning Resmondo struck out and fouled off a third strike and the game went to the 9th inning tied at 12-12.

Precisions Brett McCollum tripled to hit for the cycle in the game and Davis Bilardello hit a sacrifice fly to score him.

Dan Kirkwood walked and scored from first on Curtis Stewarts RBI single to left center field to give Precision a 14-12 lead. In the bottom of the 9th Resmondos Jeremy Yates hit a one out single, Rulli singled, and Connell hit an RBI double. Precision intentionally walked Andy Purcell and they got Salas to hit a sacrifice fly that tied the game at 14-14 but the game went to the 10th inning!

Precision pitcher Andy Vitcak and Gary Lofton hit one out base hits to roll it to the top of the order where Matt Rear singled, Keith Laski doubled, Brett McCollum hit a sacrifice fly, and Davis Bilardello hit an RBI double to give them a 18-14 lead.

Resmondo could only muster a two run triple by Andrew Collins in the bottom of the 10th and lost 18-16.

In the loser's bracket of the Major bracket Albicocco was leading Smash It Sports 2019 going into the bottom of the 7th of the loser's semi final and Smash It Sports pitcher Travis Clark hit a game tying single and Kevin Filby hit a walk off sacrifice fly that ended up being scored a single with the outfield moved in to win 21-20. Smash It Sports scored the last 9 runs of the game.

In the loser's bracket finals with the winner advancing to the live CBS Sports Network championship game on Sunday morning, Smash It Sports scored 8 runs in the top of the first inning.

Resmondo answered with 14 runs before the first out was made in the top of the 2nd and took an 18-8 lead into the 3rd inning.

Smash It Sports put up zeroes in the 2nd and 3rd inning but got 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th to close the gap to 20-13. Resmondo put Smash It Sports away with 7 runs on 7 hits in the top of the 6th and won the game 32-23.

Had Smash It Sports won, they would have been the #1 seed for the USSSA Men's Major World Series. As they won the regular season for the first time but will be the #2 seed for the Major.

Resmondo then had a rematch against Precision on Sunday morning at 10:30 AM live on CBS Sports Network. Much like the

winner's final Precision jumped out to a 7-1 lead after 2 innings and led in hits 10-3.

Matt Rear and Keith Laski each collecting two hits in their first two at bats. Veteran hitter Howie Krause got the Resmondo team going with a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 3rd to cut the lead to 7-3 and big lefty BJ Fulk hit a 3 run homer to tie the game at 7-7 and Resmondo led 9-7 after 3 innings.

In the top of the 3rd Precision grabbed a 12-9 lead on a Rear sacrifice fly, a Laski RBI single, a Davis Bilardello RBI single, and a two run double

by Dan Kirkwood. But Resmondo separated in the bottom of the 5th and extended their lead to 8 in the bottom of the 6th and forced the "if" necessary game with a 26-15 win.

In the final game it was all Resmondo as they out powered Precision 8 homers to 1 and won 249. Resmondos Greg Connell hit 3 homers in the game and was 5-5. Jimmy Salas went 4-4 with 2 homers, and Don Dedonatis Jr was also 4-4.

The tournament was played in extreme heat and humidity and was delayed both Friday and Saturday for rain/lightning delays but finished up on time. They used the Conference ZN Stadium

ball which was perfect for the tournament, and a full contingent of top Conference umpires officiated the games.

In the 'A' bracket it was all Xtreme/Miken has they won their first game by forfeit then rolled through 3 straight opponents to capture the first ever GSL 'A' title. The real story of this tournament may have been in the loser's bracket as 5 teams without a berth to the Major were still trying to qualify with the highest finishing non-qualified team getting the 17th seed to the World Series.

Combat NWA, OI Livingston, and Semper Athletics did not play well enough to get into the Major and 3rd Street gassed out on Saturday, but Broughton/Bad Draw/Worth exploded for at least 21 runs in every game they played and mashed their way into the World Series by winning 5 games including come from behind victories over very good FBI and Compound teams 38-35 and 49-37.

The Compound game went to extra innings and was the best game of the tournament.

Congratulations to Xtreme and Broughton on their wins!

Final ConFerenCe ChampionShip STandingS 1 2 3 4

FL – Resmondo Specialty Tank Worth IL – Precision/Easton/DO NY – Smash It Sports/Compound Athletics/Easton NY – Albicocco/The Scene/Easton

By Dave Utnik

Softball Today • August 2015

Hillsboro, OR. --- Collectively, it was arguably their proudest athletic moment -- a symbolic and defining achievement for the ages that will forever link the Beverly Bandits to softball greatness.

In the world of fastpitch softball, they represent the pinnacle of success as 18U ASA Gold National Champions.

One-by-one, the players will soon be heading off to

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collegiate careers. All 16 players who took the field this summer have committed to Division I programs and each one will graduate from travel ball between now and 2018 knowing that they spent one amazing summer playing the best ball of their lives together.

“Most of these players have grown up with ASA and realize that winning the 18U Gold National title is one of the highest honors a player can earn in her career,” Bandits coach Rona Dorsey said. “They are ecstatic about being National Champions, playing for and representing the Bandits and for the opportunities provided by ASA.” The Bandits -- Kennedy Beach, Haley Dominique, Alexee Haynes, Miranda Elish, Lynsey Meeks, Jordyn Cordell, Brittany Anderson, Gabby O’Riley, Destini Ewing, Olivia Gray, Caitlyn Robinson, Alyssa Rothwell, Brooke Parker, Sydney Warinner and Lauren Woodward -- went 8-0-1 at nationals and combined to score 60 runs.

Pitcher Miranda Elish, a University of Oregon recruit who batted .467 at nationals, struck

out nine as the Bandits defeated the Manucci Patriots, 32, in the championship game.

With the score tied at two in the seventh inning, Alexee Haynes (Pitt), doubled to start the winning rally and Haley Dominique (Ball State) drove in the game-winner with a sacrifice fly that capped a 3-for-3 day at the plate. She batted .500 during the tournament.

“It was an amazing experience,” coach Dorsey said.

Brooke Parker (Bowling Green), Alyssa Rothwell (Ball State) and Sydney Warinner (Louisville) teamed up with Miranda Elish in the pitcher’s circle as the Bandits allowed only 18 runs in nine games. Beach batted over .500 and Haynes carried a .500 batting average during nationals, while James Madison recruits Kennedy Beach (.500), Lynsey Meeks (.400) and Loyola recruit Jordyn Cordell (.367) also came through with big hits.

“I am extremely proud of the job head coach Rona Dorsey and assistants Robert Hoiles and Emily Swank did with this talented group of young ladies,” said Beverly Bandits President Bill Conroy. “Although we have become diverse in competing at the national level in the last few years, we have remained avid supporters of ASA. Winning this tournament is very meaningful to our players, coaches and the Beverly Bandit Organization.”

Salem, OR. --- Olivia Ferrell is just now beginning her junior year in high school. Sometimes it’s hard to tell.

The Nebraska Gold right hander carries herself with a demeanor in the pitcher’s circle that suggests she is much older -- and wiser -- than the average 16-year-old.

Having already accepted a scholarship offer to the University of Nebraska, Ferrell accomplished another feat this summer that sets her apart from her peers by pitching seven scoreless innings against the Kansas City Originals to help her travel team become the first from Nebraska to capture a 16U ASA Gold National Championship.

“A huge part of what we do at Nebraska Gold is to prepare these young ladies for their college

By Todd Brantley

Spartanburg, S.C., --- There really was no other way to say goodbye.

Friendships, some of them forged in Little League, will forever link the girls from the Windermere Wildfire. They’ve practically grown up together.

But in their final summer together, before most of the team’s players head off to the bright lights and big stage of college softball, the Wildfire had one last important bonding moment by capturing the 2015 ASA/USA 18U Class A Girls Fastpitch National Championship with a 3-1 victory over the defending champion Tampa Mustangs.

“That was what made it so special,” said coach Steve Stutsman, a former Baylor tight end who played professionally with the Dallas Cowboys.

“I’ve been with some of these girls since they were

playing futures,” coach Mike Heard said. “At the Division I level, college coaches like to see these players walking on campus as a freshman ready to compete and play as soon as possible.”

Ferrell and her Nebraska Gold teammates are well prepared for the next step in their careers following a travel season that included nine wins in 10 games at ASA Nationals, culminating with a 3-0 victory over Kansas City Originals in a winner-takeall finale.

With 8 of its 12 players already committed to college programs and a summer that featured many 18U opponents, they were ready for anything, including a 10-6 loss to the Originals that set up the championship showdown.

Nebraska Gold -- Lauren Wobken, Payton Huscroft, Peyton Glatter, MacKinsey Schmidt, Madison Otte, Courtney Wallace, Camry Moore, Tori

Homolka, Olivia Ferrell, Bobbi Singleton, Hailey Bartz and Courtney Sandell -- outscored opponents 44-8 at nationals, while four players hit .400 or better.

Peyton Glasser, who is also committed to Nebraska, batted .440 to lead the team. Bobbi Singleton, who is headed to Missouri-Kansas City, hit .407, while Payton Huscroft (Nebraska) and Courtney Sandell, who will play at Creighton, each hit .400.

Olivia Ferrell pitched 46 innings at nationals, striking out 45 batters and posting a 1.40 ERA. “I’m just really proud of our team and how we came together this year,” said Sandell.

“We’ve had our rough patches and we pushed through it this tournament. I just couldn’t be happier with how we performed. I just love this family and they mean everything to me.”

playing in Little League. … We’ve won a lot of tournaments, but this is the one that you shoot for.

This is definitely the biggest.”

The Wildfire -- Kelsey Morrison, Sabrina Stutsman, Analyse Petree, Cassady Brewer, Tate McClellan, Kori Petersen, Alex Paulson, Alexina Mora, Jade Caraway, Brianna Daiss, Chole Rosa, Michaela Hynes, Mary-Sloan Bradford, Alex Suzuki, Lindsey Bert and Sydney Jones -captured the 104-team tournament by going 7-1 and holding off the Mustangs in a matchup of Florida-based finalists.

Tampa became the first Florida team to capture an 18U ASA National Championship in 2014 and made it all the way back to the finals in August before falling to Orlando-based Windermere in the championship game.

“Best team in the nation… Never felt so good,” said McClellan. “I can’t believe it was my last travel

game with the ones I’ve been playing with for eight years.”

George Paulson and Keith Bradford created the Wildfire program 10 years ago in Windermere, a town of about 3,000 people located 20 minutes west of Orlando. The league now features nine teams, including three in the 18U division.

Many of this year’s nationals champions have already moved on to college, including Kelly Morrison (Tennessee), Analyse Petree (UAB), Cassady Brewer (Central Florida), Sabrina Stutsman (Florida State), Sidney Pollack (Southern Mississippi) and Chase Cassady (Mississippi). “[There’s] no better feeling than ending my travel ball career as a national champ,” said Petree. “The past few years with this group of girls have been a blast and it's amazing what we all have accomplished.”

Softball Today • August 2015

By Maria Garcia

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Softball Today • August 2015

By Todd Brantley

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CHATTANOOGA, TN -- Elsie Rivera has the same mentality every time she steps into the batter’s box: “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”

That philosophy has worked pretty well for close to 10 years now, so the Florida Fire catcher won’t be changing her approach any time soon.

Rivera doesn’t strikeout often. That’s one reason she hits in the No. 4 spot for the Fire.

And it’s a big reason why the Tampa-based travel squad won nine consecutive games against a 183-team field to capture the 16U ASA National Championship.

Rivera batted .469 with a .500 on-base percentage during a week-long blitz that culminated with a 2-0 victory over the Williamsburg (Va.) Starz

Gold in the championship game.

Rivera even drives in runs when she doesn’t hit.

Against the Starz, she hit a sacrifice fly to give the Fire a 1-0 lead.

The Fire - Kailey Christian, Rebekah DiLavore, Claire Feldman, Sloan Hammons, Haley Hendricks, Madison Lynn, Edmilly Molina, Peyton Moritz, Elsie Rivera, Morgan Slater, Breanna Wells -- bounced back from a pair of run-rule defeats in pool play to go undefeated the rest of the way.

“Out of 183 teams we came out on top,” said Peyton Moritz, who went 2 for 3 and scored a run.

Moritz singled and scored on Rivera’s sacrifice fly in the fourth and then singled again to set up Edmilly Molina’s run-scoring hit in the sixth.

Claire Feldman, who led her high school team to a state championship earlier in the summer, pitched a shutout in her final game of the season.

SALEM, Va. -- There wasn’t an easy out in the lineup. The one thing that everyone understands about Southern Force is this: They can flat out hit.

Playing mostly against teams in a higher age division, the Force proved they could hang with anyone.

“These girls just know how to win and always seem to make the play or get the hit when it matters most,” Southern Force coach Dave Carroll said.

Seven starters had an on-base plus slugging of .900 or higher and the team batted .354 overall during an amazing 36-8-4 summer that culminated with the Southern Force becoming the first team from Kentucky to capture the ASA 14U National Championship.

“Every game it seems to be a different player,” coach Carroll said. “It takes a complete team to win an ASA Championship.”

Southern Force -- Laken Nesby (CF), Jenna

Howell (Utility), Emmy Blane (SS, C), Gracie Osbron (C, 3rd, SS), Abby Shoulders (2nd, RF), Megan Fortner (LF), Taylor Roby (P, 1st), Payton Blades (Utility, P), Bailey Woodward (Utility), Lindsey Carroll (3rd, SS, P) and Alyssa Case (1st, 3rd) -- won its final eight games in Salem, including a thrilling 2-1 victory over Atlanta Premier in the finals.

Seven different players led the team in some offensive category throughout the travel campaign and they relied on that balance to go 9-1 at nationals as Southern Force out-hit opposing teams 82-38.

Abby Shoulders led the team in hitting (.444), while Emmy Blane batted .410 and Alyssa Case had a slugging percentage of .757 with two homers. Megan Fortner had a team-high 14 RBI, including a grand slam.

After splitting a pair of pool play games, Southern Force began double elimination play by announcing its championship aspirations. Taylor

Roby threw a no-hitter with eight strikeouts against the Richmond Diamonds and went on to allow five runs in nine games overall.

Southern Force combined for 18 hits in a 101 win over the Minnesota Sting; Alyssa Case hit a walkoff home run to beat Team Michigan, 5-4, and a game-ending double play clinched a 2-1 victory over the East Cobb Bullets.

Megan Fortner’s sixth-inning grand slam highlighted a 5-0 win over the Jacksonville Storm, while Taylor Roby homered in a 3-0 shutout of the Frost Falcons.

After defeating Atlanta Premier, 6-3, to reach the championship finals, the two teams met again in the championship game with Southern Force prevailing behind RBI singles by Alyssa Case and Gracie Osbron.

“We played several quality teams,” coach Carroll said. “But I think the difference for us was timely hitting, great pitching and solid defense.”

Softball Today • August 2015

By Dave Utnik

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By Dave Utnik

ROSEVILLE -- A sore ankle wasn’t going to slow Skylar Shanahan down. She had to get back on the field.

Her team was at nationals and Shanahan was not going to miss out on that.

After getting hurt on a slide into home plate during the first pool play game of the tournament, Sudden Impact’s ace pitcher spent the rest of the week nursing a twisted ankle back into playing shape.

But she never stopped pitching. And when her teammates needed her to come up with the performance of her young career, Shanahan delivered as Sudden Impact defeated the Frost Falcons, 4-2, in a winnertake-all finale to capture the 12U ASA National Championship.

“She was phenomenal. That was her second start of the day,” coach Troy Falterman said. “To throw two great games like she did against one of the best hitting teams in the country was phenomenal.”

Shanahan had a 1.40 ERA as Sudden Impact went 9-1 overall -- taking two of three against the runner-up Frost Falcons, from Tennessee.

Sudden Impact -- Amanda Allen, Madelyn

By Dave Utnik

Softball Today • August 2015

NORMAL — An opposing runner stood on every base. The seventh inning was getting a little too suspenseful for Birmingham Vipers pitcher Caroline Whisenhunt.

She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts in the circle and then returned her attention to the batter’s box.

The Vipers still had a five run lead and all she needed was three more outs. There was no reason to panic.

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Lopez, Jacey Meade, Amanda Skivington, Skylar Shanahan, Skylar Sirdashney, Kayla Falterman, Mia Rivers, Sam Graeter and Katie Cimusz -- scored 54 runs in 10 games and bounced back quickly from it’s only defeat to clinch the championship.

Just 15 minutes after the Falcons held on for a 7-5 win that set up a championship rematch, Sudden Impact won it all on a game-winning double by Amanda Allen.

“We have six 2003 players and four 2002 players so we were young compared to most teams at the tournament,” coach Falterman said. “But our girls played with the heart and determination that they demonstrated all year.”

Allen, who shared the pitcher’s circle with Shanahan during the week, went 6 for 10 on championship Sunday and Sudden Impact was also led offensively by Amanda Skivington (.448) and Kayla Falterman (.400). Katie Cimusz also came up with one of the most significant hits of the tournament -- a solo home run that helped secure a 2-1 win over the

California Grapettes.

In the championship game, Skivington delivered an RBI double and Cimusz came through with a run-scoring single to give Sudden Impact an early 2-0 lead. Cimusz later scored the go-ahead run on Allen’s sixth-inning double.

“Winning the 12u ASA national championship was a tremendous accomplishment for our team,” coach Falterman said.

“It was an accomplishment that the girls and everyone involved will remember for the rest of our lives.”

“It’s all about the girls,” Vipers coach Patrick Barfield said. “I made a trip to the circle to calm the girls down and get them focused on getting those three outs to end it.”

The players had talked all week about becoming the first team from Alabama to capture an ASA 10U National Championship and, even with the bases loaded and the Heartland Havoc doing their best to rally, Whisenhunt and her teammates maintained the poise that led to a 53-18 record.

Whisenhunt got the next two batters to pop up and the Vipers recorded the final out by doubling a runner off second base to secure an 83 victory and an undefeated showing at ASA Nationals.

“They did what they had to do and settled down and made it happen,” coach Barfield said. “They were unbelievable all year long from our first tournament in February to July Nationals.

They went to the national championship tourney to take care of business, and they showed it with their play on the field. I am super proud of them.”

The Vipers used the same 10 players all spring and summer -- Maddie Barfield, Becca Benton, Paci Clark, Elaina Collins, Alex Harvard, Lennon McAnnally, Hannah Miles, Marissa Painter, Karlee Pierson and Caroline Whisenhunt -- as the team traveled to tournaments in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Illinois.

“We didn’t pick up any additional players for nationals,” said Barfield, who was assisted by coaches Garry McAnnally and William Harvard. “All the girls did their part. Everyone stepped up when called upon.”

After winning the ASA state championship and clinching a nationals berth on Mother’s Day weekend, the Vipers won easily in their first two games in Illinois -defeating the Windy City Ice, 13-1, and the Ohio Stingrays, 14-4.

But the team truly showed its championship potential by coming back from a five-run deficit to beat the Iowa Mud Dawgs, 8-6, and then rallying from a 3-0 deficit to upend the East Cobb (Ga.) Bullets, 5-4.

After a 9-4 win over the Worth (Ga.) Cobras, the Vipers handled the Texas Travelers, 5-1, to set up a championship showdown against the Havoc.

“They worked hard for it all year, and to be the first team in history from Alabama to win a national championship is truly something to be proud of,” coach Barfield said.