PGF Ultimate ChallengeOct 4, 2015 by Brentt Eads
Live Blog from PGF Ultimate Challenge (Sunday)
Live Blog from PGF Ultimate Challenge (Sunday)
Pictured: the So Cal Choppers-Fausett team, winners of the PGF Ultimate Challenge 18U title.The PGF Ultimate Challenge in Salinas, Calif. started Friday ni
Pictured: the So Cal Choppers-Fausett team, winners of the PGF Ultimate Challenge 18U title.
The PGF Ultimate Challenge in Salinas, Calif. started Friday night with five games, saw another 40 take place Saturday and concluded Sunday with 15 more including championships in the 18U, 16U and 14U divisions.
Below are game reports, highlights and insights from our on-site coverage
Note: all the games today were live streamed and this week will be uploaded to FloSoftball.com!
***
UPDATED 2:30 PM PST
*** 18U CHAMPIONS: So Cal Choppers-Fausett
*** 16U CHAMPIONS: So Cal A’s-McNee
*** 14U CHAMPIONS: So Cal Choppers-Fausett
***
18U: Choppers Take the Lead for Good
The third lead was the charm for the So Cal Choppers which jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning, went ahead 4-3 in the 3rd and pushed ahead the decisive two runs in the top of the 4th to beat All American Sports Academy for the PGF Ultimate Challenge 18U Championship.
The Choppers loaded the bases right out of the gate and put three on the board highlighted by a two-out two-run single by Jessica Harper.
AASA bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the 2nd as infielder Katie Vretzos (2017, San Diego) and outfielder Sabrina Nunez (2017, Cal) had RBI singles.
With the score tied 4-4 in the 4th, the key play of the game came when infielder Amanda Doyle (2016, LSU) purposely got caught in a run down between first and second and when the catcher threw to first Schuylar Broussard (2016, Fresno State) came in to score pumping up the Chopper players, coaches and fans.
Coach Dean Fausett was especially proud of his two pitchers, Taylor Dockins (2017, Cal State Fullerton) and Brooke Yanez (2017, UC Davis), who battled through heat and fatigue to give the Choppers the win.
“They stepped up and got it done,” said the coach. “I told them we knew they didn’t have their best stuff at the end but they battled, came together and got it done. It was nice to see them fight for it.”
Fausett said the key to his team’s championship weekend was how all elements on the team came together.
“We had pitching, defense and good hitting,” he continued. “I’d have to check, but I think we probably had 11 or 12 home runs this weekend. We must have had three girls who hit three each.”
As for the tournament, he told Salinas Storm and PGF officials, “This was the best tournament we’ve ever been to. We were treated well and the facilities were outstanding. I wish they’d do one of these in June.”
***
Pictured: the 16U championship So Cal A's-McNee team
16U: Ticked Off Players Push So Cal A’s to Title
The PGF Ultimate Challenge didn’t start off well for the So Cal A’s-McNee team as the SoCal 16U squad lost its first game to the Cal Nuggets 3-2.
“The girls knew they did bad and were ticked,” Coach Steve McNee said Sunday afternoon following the team’s 9-1 win over the So Cal Choppers-Ziese team for the PGF Ultimate Challenge 16U title.
“They came into the dugout Saturday morning and said, ‘Let’s get this done.’”
That they did, as the team exploded for nine runs and the pitching tandem of Shelby Macias (2019) and Paige Vargas (2018) shut down a strong Chopper offense. The duo allowed only three hits.
On offense, almost every starter got a hit led by outfielder Allison Englant (2017, Ohio Univ.) who had a pair of doubles and scored three runs.
After the players’ renewed efforts Saturday morning, Coach McNee felt everything came together.
“The kids played together, that was the key,” he said after the team gathered for pictures including the presentation of a check for $1,795 indicating they wouldn’t have to pay the PGF Nationals entry fee if they make the prestigious tournament next summer.
“We had solid pitching, timely hitting and we played great defense. It was a total team effort—the parents, players, everybody. It was fun and as I told the team last weekend, ‘We’re going up there to win it all.’”
***
The So Cal Choppers-Fausett team, winners of the PGF Ultimate Challenge 14U title.
14U: Choppers Make it 2 of 3 at PGF Ultimate Challenge
After winning the Boulder IDT and TC/USA Nationals championships this summer, the So Cal Choppers won on the big stage again as the Steve McNee-coached team beat Sorcerer 6-1 to give the Choppers titles at the 18U and 14U levels and a 2nd place finish at 16U.
With the game tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the 5th, the Southern Calif. team exploded for five runs including three homers: solo shots by Lauryn Carter and McKenzie Barbara and a two-run blast by Emily Tinkham.
Pitcher Jessie Fontes finished strong, getting two K's in the last inning to continue the strong year for the Choppers 14U program.
***
UPDATED 12:00 PM PST
The Championship Games are set for the 18U and 16U levels and the semis will start shortly too.
You have to hand it to the So Cal Choppers organization—one team from each of the three ages (14U included) is still alive, but it didn’t come without some controversy in one of the levels.
Here’s an update on how each team got to the older age finals:
18U
The So Cal Choppers used a two-run inside-the-park-homer by Cayla Kessinger (2016, Missouri) to knock off the OC Batbusters Haning/Stith team in a controversial play that the coaches and umpires discussed for 10 minutes.
With two outs and a stellar pitching performance by Natalie Lugo (2017, Florida), a ball hit to deep center was caught by centerfielder Neli Casares-Maher who ran into the fence and tumbled to the ground entangled in the fence net.
Chopper coach Dean Fausett screamed at Schuylar Broussard (2016, Fresno State), who was on first, to run the bases and she crossed the plate as did Kessinger.
The umpires reportedly said they didn’t see the ball and were going to call ground-rule double but Fausett successfully argued that the ball was never shown and ultimately the two runs counted.
Credit also should go to pitcher Brooke Yanez (2017, UC Davis) who pitched an outstanding game to keep the Batbusters to the one run, a third inning RBI single by Reyna Carranco (2016, Arizona).
The other match-up saw the All American Sports Academy top Explosion Denio/Wilson in a game closer than the 7-1 score indicated.
It was a 1-0 and 3-1 for most of the contest until AASA exploded for four late runs.
Pitchers Nerissa Eason (2016, Oregon State) and Katie Kibby (2016, UC Davis) pitched four and two innings, respectively and totaled six K’s.
16U
Jim Ziese saw his So Cal Choppers-Ziese team make the title game thanks to another great pitching effort by 6-foot-1 lefty Shea O’Leary, a 2018 who has offers from Texas and Arizona State and will check out Ole Miss soon.
O’Leary used her effective down spins to shut-down the OC Batbusters-Smith team 5-0. Last summer she helped the 14U Choppers team win the TC/USA Nationals as well as the Boulder IDT.
The team pushed across three runs in the 4th inning thanks to three straight RBI singles by Kalei Sorensen (2017, St. John’s), Makenna Harper (2018, Arizona State) and Makena Smith (2018, uncommitted).
Smith also had a double in the win.
“This team is different than any team I’ve ever had,” said Ziese after the win. “My other teams in the past have had power, this team is balanced in that it pitching defense and speed.”
On the other side of the draw, the So Cal A’s led by long-time coaches Steve McNee and Doug Myers, blanked the strong Explosion-Greg team 5-0 to set up an all “So Cal” final.
14U
Interesting match-ups in the 14’s as the semi’s featured three Nor Cal teams—Lady Magic and Sorcerer—in one game with the Sacramento-based Cal Breeze versus the So Cal Choppers in the other match-up.
Now to see if the Choppers can make it a trifecta and win a championship at each age level!
***
UPDATED 10:30 AM PST
The first six games of the day are in the books and you can see the scores below in our table… also, some highlights:
--- The So Cal Choppers-Fausett team continues to roll behind good pitching—Taylor Dockins (2017, Cal State Fullerton) works fast and aggressively and is a very under-rated pitcher—and the offense continues to rack up runs.
Catcher Ally Shipman (2018, Tennessee) hit a three-run home and outfielder Jacqui Prober (2016, UCLA) hit an RBI triple to help the Choppers put the game away in the top of the third en route to a 5-2 win.
Prober, by the way, was on her official visit to UCLA yesterday and drove the 5 ½ hours late last night to join her team. That’s dedication and being a team player!
--- a good start for the Explosion teams as both the 18U team coached by Bret Denio and Jim Wilson came from behind to win 2-1 while Greg Borzilleri’s team won comfortably 7-1.
The 18U win was paced by pitcher Alyssa Loza (2016, Arizona State) who pitched a four-hitter with six K’s and only one walk. Outfielder Hannah Howell (2016, Arizona State) went 2-for-3 and catcher Mikaela Mak (2018, Hawaii) had an RBI single.
Pitcher Eve Harvey (2018, uncommitted) twice pitched out of bases-loaded, no-outs jams while the Explosion 16U offense had a triple and two doubles in the second inning to score four runs to spark the win.
One of the best players we’ve seen all weekend is Maddie Ruffin, a 2018 outfielder who has a 4.3 GPA and every time we see her gets a hit and/or makes a great softball play, be it stealing an extra base or making a defensive play.
She’s uncommitted and should see her recruiting interest skyrocket this year.
--- The Lady Magic went down 4-2 in the sixth inning but scored four in the bottom of the inning to come back and advance in the 14U bracket.
--- One of the tightest games so far this tournament was in 16U this morning as Mike Smith’s OC Batbuster team broke a late 1-1 scoreless tie with the California Grapettes-Renfro team to win 1-1.
Now… on to Round 2!
SUNDAY RESULTS:
The PGF Ultimate Challenge in Salinas, Calif. started Friday night with five games, saw another 40 take place Saturday and concluded Sunday with 15 more including championships in the 18U, 16U and 14U divisions.
Below are game reports, highlights and insights from our on-site coverage
Note: all the games today were live streamed and this week will be uploaded to FloSoftball.com!
***
UPDATED 2:30 PM PST
*** 18U CHAMPIONS: So Cal Choppers-Fausett
*** 16U CHAMPIONS: So Cal A’s-McNee
*** 14U CHAMPIONS: So Cal Choppers-Fausett
***
18U: Choppers Take the Lead for Good
The third lead was the charm for the So Cal Choppers which jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning, went ahead 4-3 in the 3rd and pushed ahead the decisive two runs in the top of the 4th to beat All American Sports Academy for the PGF Ultimate Challenge 18U Championship.
The Choppers loaded the bases right out of the gate and put three on the board highlighted by a two-out two-run single by Jessica Harper.
AASA bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the 2nd as infielder Katie Vretzos (2017, San Diego) and outfielder Sabrina Nunez (2017, Cal) had RBI singles.
With the score tied 4-4 in the 4th, the key play of the game came when infielder Amanda Doyle (2016, LSU) purposely got caught in a run down between first and second and when the catcher threw to first Schuylar Broussard (2016, Fresno State) came in to score pumping up the Chopper players, coaches and fans.
Coach Dean Fausett was especially proud of his two pitchers, Taylor Dockins (2017, Cal State Fullerton) and Brooke Yanez (2017, UC Davis), who battled through heat and fatigue to give the Choppers the win.
“They stepped up and got it done,” said the coach. “I told them we knew they didn’t have their best stuff at the end but they battled, came together and got it done. It was nice to see them fight for it.”
Fausett said the key to his team’s championship weekend was how all elements on the team came together.
“We had pitching, defense and good hitting,” he continued. “I’d have to check, but I think we probably had 11 or 12 home runs this weekend. We must have had three girls who hit three each.”
As for the tournament, he told Salinas Storm and PGF officials, “This was the best tournament we’ve ever been to. We were treated well and the facilities were outstanding. I wish they’d do one of these in June.”
***
Pictured: the 16U championship So Cal A's-McNee team
16U: Ticked Off Players Push So Cal A’s to Title
The PGF Ultimate Challenge didn’t start off well for the So Cal A’s-McNee team as the SoCal 16U squad lost its first game to the Cal Nuggets 3-2.
“The girls knew they did bad and were ticked,” Coach Steve McNee said Sunday afternoon following the team’s 9-1 win over the So Cal Choppers-Ziese team for the PGF Ultimate Challenge 16U title.
“They came into the dugout Saturday morning and said, ‘Let’s get this done.’”
That they did, as the team exploded for nine runs and the pitching tandem of Shelby Macias (2019) and Paige Vargas (2018) shut down a strong Chopper offense. The duo allowed only three hits.
On offense, almost every starter got a hit led by outfielder Allison Englant (2017, Ohio Univ.) who had a pair of doubles and scored three runs.
After the players’ renewed efforts Saturday morning, Coach McNee felt everything came together.
“The kids played together, that was the key,” he said after the team gathered for pictures including the presentation of a check for $1,795 indicating they wouldn’t have to pay the PGF Nationals entry fee if they make the prestigious tournament next summer.
“We had solid pitching, timely hitting and we played great defense. It was a total team effort—the parents, players, everybody. It was fun and as I told the team last weekend, ‘We’re going up there to win it all.’”
***
The So Cal Choppers-Fausett team, winners of the PGF Ultimate Challenge 14U title.
14U: Choppers Make it 2 of 3 at PGF Ultimate Challenge
After winning the Boulder IDT and TC/USA Nationals championships this summer, the So Cal Choppers won on the big stage again as the Steve McNee-coached team beat Sorcerer 6-1 to give the Choppers titles at the 18U and 14U levels and a 2nd place finish at 16U.
With the game tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the 5th, the Southern Calif. team exploded for five runs including three homers: solo shots by Lauryn Carter and McKenzie Barbara and a two-run blast by Emily Tinkham.
Pitcher Jessie Fontes finished strong, getting two K's in the last inning to continue the strong year for the Choppers 14U program.
***
UPDATED 12:00 PM PST
The Championship Games are set for the 18U and 16U levels and the semis will start shortly too.
You have to hand it to the So Cal Choppers organization—one team from each of the three ages (14U included) is still alive, but it didn’t come without some controversy in one of the levels.
Here’s an update on how each team got to the older age finals:
18U
The So Cal Choppers used a two-run inside-the-park-homer by Cayla Kessinger (2016, Missouri) to knock off the OC Batbusters Haning/Stith team in a controversial play that the coaches and umpires discussed for 10 minutes.
With two outs and a stellar pitching performance by Natalie Lugo (2017, Florida), a ball hit to deep center was caught by centerfielder Neli Casares-Maher who ran into the fence and tumbled to the ground entangled in the fence net.
Chopper coach Dean Fausett screamed at Schuylar Broussard (2016, Fresno State), who was on first, to run the bases and she crossed the plate as did Kessinger.
The umpires reportedly said they didn’t see the ball and were going to call ground-rule double but Fausett successfully argued that the ball was never shown and ultimately the two runs counted.
Credit also should go to pitcher Brooke Yanez (2017, UC Davis) who pitched an outstanding game to keep the Batbusters to the one run, a third inning RBI single by Reyna Carranco (2016, Arizona).
The other match-up saw the All American Sports Academy top Explosion Denio/Wilson in a game closer than the 7-1 score indicated.
It was a 1-0 and 3-1 for most of the contest until AASA exploded for four late runs.
Pitchers Nerissa Eason (2016, Oregon State) and Katie Kibby (2016, UC Davis) pitched four and two innings, respectively and totaled six K’s.
16U
Jim Ziese saw his So Cal Choppers-Ziese team make the title game thanks to another great pitching effort by 6-foot-1 lefty Shea O’Leary, a 2018 who has offers from Texas and Arizona State and will check out Ole Miss soon.
O’Leary used her effective down spins to shut-down the OC Batbusters-Smith team 5-0. Last summer she helped the 14U Choppers team win the TC/USA Nationals as well as the Boulder IDT.
The team pushed across three runs in the 4th inning thanks to three straight RBI singles by Kalei Sorensen (2017, St. John’s), Makenna Harper (2018, Arizona State) and Makena Smith (2018, uncommitted).
Smith also had a double in the win.
“This team is different than any team I’ve ever had,” said Ziese after the win. “My other teams in the past have had power, this team is balanced in that it pitching defense and speed.”
On the other side of the draw, the So Cal A’s led by long-time coaches Steve McNee and Doug Myers, blanked the strong Explosion-Greg team 5-0 to set up an all “So Cal” final.
14U
Interesting match-ups in the 14’s as the semi’s featured three Nor Cal teams—Lady Magic and Sorcerer—in one game with the Sacramento-based Cal Breeze versus the So Cal Choppers in the other match-up.
Now to see if the Choppers can make it a trifecta and win a championship at each age level!
***
UPDATED 10:30 AM PST
The first six games of the day are in the books and you can see the scores below in our table… also, some highlights:
--- The So Cal Choppers-Fausett team continues to roll behind good pitching—Taylor Dockins (2017, Cal State Fullerton) works fast and aggressively and is a very under-rated pitcher—and the offense continues to rack up runs.
Catcher Ally Shipman (2018, Tennessee) hit a three-run home and outfielder Jacqui Prober (2016, UCLA) hit an RBI triple to help the Choppers put the game away in the top of the third en route to a 5-2 win.
Prober, by the way, was on her official visit to UCLA yesterday and drove the 5 ½ hours late last night to join her team. That’s dedication and being a team player!
--- a good start for the Explosion teams as both the 18U team coached by Bret Denio and Jim Wilson came from behind to win 2-1 while Greg Borzilleri’s team won comfortably 7-1.
The 18U win was paced by pitcher Alyssa Loza (2016, Arizona State) who pitched a four-hitter with six K’s and only one walk. Outfielder Hannah Howell (2016, Arizona State) went 2-for-3 and catcher Mikaela Mak (2018, Hawaii) had an RBI single.
Pitcher Eve Harvey (2018, uncommitted) twice pitched out of bases-loaded, no-outs jams while the Explosion 16U offense had a triple and two doubles in the second inning to score four runs to spark the win.
One of the best players we’ve seen all weekend is Maddie Ruffin, a 2018 outfielder who has a 4.3 GPA and every time we see her gets a hit and/or makes a great softball play, be it stealing an extra base or making a defensive play.
She’s uncommitted and should see her recruiting interest skyrocket this year.
--- The Lady Magic went down 4-2 in the sixth inning but scored four in the bottom of the inning to come back and advance in the 14U bracket.
--- One of the tightest games so far this tournament was in 16U this morning as Mike Smith’s OC Batbuster team broke a late 1-1 scoreless tie with the California Grapettes-Renfro team to win 1-1.
Now… on to Round 2!
SUNDAY RESULTS:
| Time | Field 1 | Field 2 | Field 3 | Field 4 | Field 5 | Field 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 08:00 AM | Lady Magic 6, LTG Lion 4 (14U) | Explosion 7, AASA 1 (16U) | So Cal Choppers 5, WC Intensity 2 (18U) | Explosion 2, Cal Breeze 1 (18U) | OC Batbusters 2, Grapettes 1 (16U) | Cal Breeze 5, Universal Fastpitch 4 (14U) |
| 2 | 10:00 AM | Sorcerer 4, OC Batbusters 2 (14U) | So Cal A's 5, Explosion 0 (16U) | So Cal Choppers 2, OC Batbusters 1 (18U) | AASA 7, Explosion 1 (18U) | So Cal Choppers 5, OC Batbusters 0 (16U) | So Cal Choppers 8, Nor Cal Firecrackers 0 (14U) |
| 3 | 12:00 PM | Sorcerer 13, Lady Magic 3 (14U Semifinal) | So Cal A's 9, So Cal Choppers 1 (16U Championship) | So Cal Choppers 6, AASA 4 (18U Championship) | So Cal Choppers 2, Breeze 1 (14U Semifinal) | ||
| 4 | 02:00 PM | Choppers 6, Sorcerer 1 (14U Championship) |