FloSoftball did a live blog from the Premier Girls Fastpitch National Championships on Monday, July 27, at Fountain Valley Sports Park. Here’s

CRUISERS KNOCK OFF SORCERER

PGF held its opening ceremony extravaganza on Monday evening, but earlier in the morning bracket play in the double-elimination 18U Premier Division began.

Mel Sievers’ Cal Cruisers (Calif.) pulled off the big upset of the day, knocking off Sorcerer (Calif.), 6-4, at Fountain Valley Sports Park to advance to the second round.

“Going into the tournament, that was the toughest team that somebody could have drawn into,” Sievers said. “Actually it was two quality teams. That was a very, very good team that we just beat right there.”

With the game knotted, 2-2, the Cruisers loaded the bases on UCLA-committed pitcher Holly Azevedo inthe top of the fourth. Fordham-bound Kylie Michael drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, BYU-commit Laina Su’esu’e scored on a wild pitch and UC Riverside-bound Hannah Rodriguez, who made some stellar defensive plays at shortstop, scored on an error to give the Cruisers a 5-2 lead.

Utah-bound Maddie Roth added a solo homer to left-center field in the top of the sixth to give the Cruisers a 6-2 advantage.

Utah-bound Hailey Hilburn scattered five hits and struck out six to pick up the complete game victory for the Cruisers, who got six hits off Azevedo, a 2017 right-hander.

“My biggest concern is that as a team, collectively, we stay together and play the game the right way,” Sievers said. “We won that game by playing collectively. That will be our message … we gotta do this together. That is the biggest message that I am trying to convey going into this tournament.”

SEAWALKER PUTS TRAVEL IN TRAVEL BALL

Most of the top 18U teams in the country are in Huntington Beach, Calif., this week for the Premier Girls Fastpitch National Championships. Which team has made the longest road trip to get to PGF? That honor goes to SeaWalker Guam, which is from the island of Guam, a territory of the United State in the western Pacific Ocean. SeaWalker put the travel in travel ball, going 6,106 miles, a nearly 16-hour flight, to reach Huntington Beach.

SeaWalker, which brought 10 players from various high schools on Guan, received an invitation to compete in PGF’s 18U Platinum Division after a top-5 finish at the 2014 Triple Crown World Series in San Diego, Calif.

“In Guam, our island girls don’t have any exposure whatsoever due to our location away from mainland USA,” SeaWalker manager Russell Maratita said, “so my wife, June, coaches, parents of players and SeaWalker Guam owner Mr. Warren Pellitier believed in me and my dream to give them at least an opportunity to showcase their abilities. What better way to show it than at the PGF.”

All-Island MVP P Meagan Maratita, All-Island SS Colleen Quintana and C Sirena Cepeda are the top players for SeaWalker, which plays Iowa Premier in the first round on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Fountain Valley Sports Park. Russell Maratita said the local Guamanian community, including former Pacifica High of Garden Grove, Calif., and Arizona star Kristen Arriola, have come out to support at SeaWalker games.

“These opportunities have afforded our girls with valuable knowledge and tools for future endeavors,” Maratita said.

PGF NATIONALS

AT HUNTINGTON BEACH SPORTS COMPLEX/FOUNTAIN VALLEY SPORTS PARK/HARVARD PARK

18U PREMIER DIVISION

MONDAY, JULY 27, RESULTS

PLAY-IN ROUND

WINNER’S BRACKET A

• CA KG Hitters 13, KS Kansas City Peppers 0
• CA Batbusters-Fox 6, TX Blaze-Bonola 2
• CA Lady Magic Gold 7, CA Lady Hustle Gold 1
• CA So Cal Choppers 3, CA Bownet Gold 0

WINNER’S BRACKET B

• TX Impact Gold 10, NY Conklin Raiders Gold 0
• GA Southern Force 4, RI Thunder Gold 1
• PA Krunch Gold 1, AZ Firecrackers-Ewing 0
• GA Impact-Medlam 4, CA Grapettes-Olson 0

FIRST ROUND

WINNER’S BRACKET A

• CA OC Batbusters-Stith/Haning 15, LA Marucci Patriots Gold 5
• AZ Desert Thunder 1, MO Esprit Premier-Huecker 0
• AZ Firecrackers-Kaye 8, SC Carolina Elite Gold-Genovese 0
• CA So Cal Athletics-Quarles 6, OK Exclusive Gold 2
• IL Chicago Cheetahs 4, CA Cal Riptide 3
• CA All American Sports Academy 7, GA Impact-Bass 3
• GA Atlanta Vipers-Kates 1, TX Firecrackers-DFW 0
• Diamond Sports Hotshots Gold 2, NC Challengers-Renzi 1
• NJ Jersey Intensity-KOD 3, KS Originals Gold-Koop 0
• CA Cal Thunder 7, CA Corona Angels-Howard 6
• CA Irvine Sting 5, VA Team Glory Gold 1
• IL Beverly Bandits Gold-Conroy 2, TX Glory-Adkins 0

WINNER’S BRACKET B

• CA Corona Angels-Tyson 8, CA Fresno Force Gold 0
• NC Lady Lightning Gold Premier 3, CA Grapettes-Gomes 1
• IL Sparks Softball 1, CA Explosion-Morgan 0
• CA Cal Cruisers-Sievers 6, CA Sorcerer Gold 4
• PA Newtown Rock Gold 2, VA Legends-Paul 1
• CA Firecrackers-Brashear 4, AZ Storm Gold 0
• AL Birmingham Thunderbolts 5, CA Minor’s Gold 1
• IL Chill Gold 1, TX Glory-Shelton 0
• TN Fury ’97 1, WA Ladyhawks Gold-Miller 0
• CA Explosion-Denio 8, CA Firecrackers-Kevin 0
• WA NW Bullets Gold 2, NV Las Vegas Rage Gold 0
• CA So Cal Athletics-Richardson 7, ID LIDS Indiana Dreams 0

12U PREMIER DIVISION

FIRST ROUND

WINNER’S BRACKET A

• GA Impact ’02 8, CA So Cal Wicked 1
• CA Firecrackers-Young 13, ID Flash Fastpitch 0
• TX Glory 2020 5, Beverly Bandits Futures 12U 1
• TX Blaze-Lindsey 7, GA Select 6
• CA Firecrackers TJ-Cerritos 7, OH Lady Lasers-White 5
• CA OC United 12U-Viles 7, CA The Next Level 12U-Kubski 5
• CA OC Batbusters-Aleah 2, OH Outlaws-Schmeiser 1
• CA So Cal A’s-Keester 6, CA Corona Angels ’02-Tyson 0
• CA OC Batbusters-Mascarenas 4, CA So Cal 3D-2K3 0
• GA Intensity-Taylor 3, CA Cen Cal Dirt Dogs-Davis 0

WINNER’S BRACKET B

• VA Vienna Stars 2002 6, CA OC Batbusters-Amador 0
• GA Team Georgia ’02 12, OR Thunder ’02 1

10U PREMIER DIVISION

FIRST ROUND

WINNER’S BRACKET A

• TX Shock 2004 10, CA So Cal Wicked-Limon 0
• CA Firecrackers-Ollison 9, TX Glory ’04 4
• AL Birmingham Thunderbolts 7, CA OC Batbusters-Powell 0
• CA OC Elite 10U 14, HI Crush Black Hawaii-Agbayani 3
• VA Team Glory 12, CA Salinas Storm 6
• CA Cal Cruisers-Kilgore 6, CA Nor Cal Smackers 1
• GA Fury ’04 15, TX Bombers ’04-STX 2
• CA So Cal A’s-Limo 6, CA Power Surge-Mau 1

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