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So Cal A’s friendly – top teams to battle (9/16)

So Cal A’s friendly – top teams to battle (9/16)

Sep 17, 2014 by Brentt Eads
So Cal A’s friendly – top teams to battle (9/16)

Earlier this summer I was blown away by the talent at the So Cal A’s Invitational run by the So Cal A’s organization.

There were 14 quality teams and at the time Bruce Richardson made a comment that looks pretty smart now—he said the winner of the PGF Nationals would come out of that event.

He was proven to be prophetic as the OC Batbusters – Haning/Stith team won it over the Corona Angels.

The Explosion looked competitive playing the Phillipines National Team on Sunday.
The Explosion looked competitive playing the Phillipines National Team on Sunday.

In two weeks from this weekend, on Sept. 27 and 28, those two teams—along with four other teams who finished in the top 10 (So Cal A’s: tied for 3rd; Explosion: tied for 7th; Firecrackers-Rico: tied for 7th and So Cal Choppers: tied for 9th)—will play in a competitive friendly that will be held at Los Alamitos (Calif.) High School.

“It just goes to show that top competition wants to go where the talent is,” says Richardson. “We go by that philosophy and we like to go where the top teams are. When we go to Florida—Diamond9 Fall Classic, for example—it’s not a vacation.”

All of the teams except the California Grapettes, based in Stockton, are from Southern California but don’t let the small geographic vicinity full you: probably more than 30% of the Hot 100 2016’s which are being released this week and next are on one of these teams.

One team I had a chance to get a sneak peak at was Explosion, which on Sunday played the Philippines National Team very competitively.

That team has several new outstanding additions and with pitcher Brittany Finney and catcher/infielder Paige Halstead coming back, along with several outstanding new additions like pitcher Alyssa Loza (2016, Arizona State) and outfielder Vanessa Taukeiaho (2016, Oklahoma), the Explosion will be a fun team to watch.

But this friendly over two days will give us a nice early look at who to watch next year as we head to the 2015 Nationals including returning champ OC Batbusters, the Angels who have added several top players from within their organization, the Firecrackers which should be competitive once again and, of course, the host team which looks strong as always.

Here’s a list of the programs that will be involved on Sept. 27 and 28.

  1. So Cal Athletics – Richardson
  2. So Cal Athletics – Quarles
  3. So Cal Choppers
  4. California Grapettes
  5. OC Batbusters – Haning/Stith
  6. Explosion
  7. Corona Angels – Tyson
  8. California Cruisers – Sievers
  9. Irvine Sting
  10. Firecrackers – Rico
  11. Jets

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