Firecrackers Medina, Tampa Mustangs Pynes Win Titles At PGF Nationals
Firecrackers Medina, Tampa Mustangs Pynes Win Titles At PGF Nationals
Championships stepped up in the final rounds of the 12U and 14U Platinum divisions of the PGF Nationals.
Two more clubs left Orange County, California, and the 2023 PGF Nationals as titleholders, as Firecrackers Medina claimed the 12U Platinum division crown; and Tampa Mustangs Pynes won in the 14U Platinum division.
Your 2023 14u Platinum PGF National Champions! Congratulations, Tampa Mustangs Pynes! 🥇🏆#PGF2023 #playPGF #bestofthebest #thefutureofthegameishere pic.twitter.com/R1R3GYZW4W
— PGF (@PGFnetwork) August 6, 2023
In the 14U Platinum bracket, Tampa Mustangs Pyne rallied from an early deficit against the Birmingham Thunderbolts, sprinkling runs over the first three innings to build enough of an advantage to win a championship game marked by outstanding pitching and outstanding defensive plays.
Ansley Brown gave Birmingham its initial lead with a two-out base hit in the first that trickled through the infield into right.
Emma Pynes crushing a lead-off double in the very next half-inning helped make the Thunderbolts' advantage short-lived. with Sabrina Boyer driving in Pynes for the tying run.
Tampa faced loaded bases in the third with the score still tied at 1, but the Mustangs avoided surrendering any runs. That set the stage for their pivotal half of the third, when Yamilette Cordova's lead-off triple preceded Pynes' shot into right field.
Pynes drove in Cordova, giving the Mustangs a lead they never relinquished then added to when Madi Rider scored on a bases-loaded fielder's choice.
Birmingham cut into the lead, then put runners into scoring position in the seventh inning, but Addison Allaire got out of trouble with a bases-loaded strikeout then immediately forced a pop-up in the next pitch to secure the 3-2 win and the PGF National championship.
In the 12U Platinum Championship, Firecrackers Medina held off SoCal Athletics Kim/Romero, 2-1.
The teams needed more than seven innings to determine a champion. Firecrackers scratched across a run with a two-out RBI in their half of the eighth, then kept the SoCal Athletics at-bay despite getting a runner to third base.