The dust has settled after all the summer nationals and we’re seeing more and more players having the time to make unofficial visits and, in many cases, commit.

Today we have news from all over the country and hit several major conferences including the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC and dozens more!

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*** Tori Gilbert, a 2018 3B/OF with the Virginia Glory Elite, has committed to Longwood.

According to her father, Dean, Tori sent e-mails to the Farmville, Va. university a couple months ago and included her hitting video.

“Coach (Kathy)Riley became interested in her from the video and came to watch her play in the 14U PGF National Championships in Huntington Beach, Calif. Tori made contact through her travel ball coach, Mike Mertz, who is the head coach for Virginia Glory Elite and and unofficial visit was set up for Tori to visit Longwood on August 5.”

“Longwood and Coach Riley had been at the top of Tori’s school list as it is only 45 minutes from her home and Coach Riley is one of the most respected softball coaches in our area. So when an offer was made, we felt that although she is young, we knew that this was the right fit.”

The Virginia Glory Elite had a 12th place finish and 6-2 overall record at PGF Nationals and finished as the top Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region team.

Tori has been one of the leading hitters for the Elite, hitting 16 home runs this season. She will be a freshman this fall at Powhatan (Va.) High School.

 

*** The CT Charmers 18U Gold team has had a few new commits recently:

— OF Stephanie Stumm (2015, SUNY Cortland)
— C Harleigh Kaczegowicz (2015, University of Rochester)

The Charmers had 2^nd Team All-American Kendra Friedt pitching for them this past club season but it looks like she’ll be joining Jersey Intensity for the 2014-’15 season.

Kendra helped lead Southington High to the state championship and one of her Blue Knight teammates, Kaitlin Paterson, a 2015 MIF who plays for the CT Eliminators 18U Gold team, will head to Central Connecticut State University.

 

*** Happy to report that one of our 2014 Watch List players will continue playing softball in college.

Tristine Vandeman, a catcher with the Diamond Dusters-Black 18U team, will play at SW Minnesota State Univ.

 

*** More good news, this time out of Mississippi as 2016 catcher Cassidy “Cat” Blount from Newton Co. High in Decatur, who had been sidelined for about a month with a stretched UCL in her elbow, has been cleared to begin playing again.

Cat was a 2^nd Team All-American after helping Newton Co. to the state championship and is one of the top uncommitted incoming juniors.

She’s a C/1B/OF and will be at the Gulf Coast Exposure Camp this week.  SEC schools, among others, have been talking to her.

 

*** Brenna Finck, a 2015 SS with the Premier Fastpitch Black 16U team and a senior at Maroa-Forsyth High School in Maroa, Ill. has verbally committed to Murray State in Kentucky.

Finck played shortstop for PF Black and Maroa-Forsyth’s Trojans. She earned Illinois Coaches Association’s 2A 2nd Team honors as a junior and 1st Team All Conference.

As a sophomore she was 2nd Team All-State and All-County and 1^st Team All-Conference. This past spring Brenna hit .534 in 31 games with 25 RBI after racking up a .535 average with 25 RBI in 21 games as a sophomore.

She also lettered in basketball and volleyball.

 

*** Fun story out of the Washington Ladyhawks organization as teammates Shelby Jeffries and Alyssa McKiernan tripped to Cal Poly recently and both 2016s were offered and committed, albeit about three hours apart!

Shelby is a pitcher and Alyssa is a middle infielder.

I’ll be doing more on their commitment together soon…

 

*** Parker Brantley, a 2015 3B/OF with Spirits Fastpitch Gold has committed to Lincoln Memorial University.

The North Carolina senior says, “LMU has the whole package: a great academic program, a competitive softball program and a beautiful campus.”

Parker hit .367 last year with a .438 on-base percentage.

 

*** A good source in Florida says that Kylan Becker, a 2015 outfielder with the Miami Stingrays, has switched her commitment from Florida International to Ole Miss.

Kylan is a two-time All-Dade 1^st team pick and last spring led Coral Reef High to the Class 8A State Championship.

 

*** Congratulations to a Rising Star in pitcher Peyton St. George out of Virginia who led her Dixie Chicks-Ruch team to a win in the 14U NSA World Series.

Peyton led her team to an 8-0 record throwiing 51 innings with 60 Ks and only nine walks. She beat another excellent pitcher in Courtney Viestra of the Lady Lasers who’s starting to get some attention…

 

*** More verbals:

— SS Erin Andris (2016, DePaul)… plays for So Cal Choppers-Andris
— 2B/OF Taylor Blevins (2016, Bowling Green)… plays for Ohio Outlaws
— SS Sammey Bunch (2016, Northern Iowa)… plays for Missouri Stealth Gold
— OF Heaven Burton (2016, Louisiana-Lafayette)… plays for Impact Gold
— OF Megan Choinacky (2015, Ohio State)… plays for Indiana Magic
— IF/UT Ashton Clem (2016, Alabama Birmingham)… plays for Alabama Twisters-Walz
— IF Katie Corum (2015, Tennessee Chattanooga)… plays for Tennessee Fury
— OF McKenna Gray (2017, Fresno State)… plays for Firecrackers-Flores
— C Shelby Graybill (2016, Bowling Green)… plays for Louisville Lady Sluggers
— SS Megan Hargis (2015, Kennesaw State)… plays for Morton Mystics
— IF Elysia Hernandez (2016, Cal State Northridge)… plays for NorCal Firecrackers
— IF/3B Anna Hessenthaler (2015, UNC Wilmington)… plays for Lady Blues Elite
— C/OF Olivia Huffman (2015, South Dakota)… plays for Minnesota Sting
— OF Trinity Kirkland (2016, Shorter Univ.)… plays for EC Bullets-Council
— P/IF Aryka Knoche (2016, Drake)… plays for Minnesota Renegades
— SS/3B Katie Krzus (2015, Georgia Tech)… plays for New Jersey Cheetahs
— OF Jessie Lowery (2015, Tennessee Tech)… plays for Cincy Static-Morgan
— C Julia Miller (2015, Toledo)… plays for Ohio Nightmare Gold
— SS Taryn Miller (2016, Robert Morris)… plays for Tri-State Thunder Gold
— C Ally Moore (2015, Boston College)… plays for New Jersey Intensity
— OF Lauren Myers (2015, Tennessee Tech)… plays for Cincy Static-Morgan
— P Savannah Sanders (2015, Iowa State)… plays for Germantown Red Devils
— SS/UT Erica Serafini (2015, Elon)… plays for Tampa Mustangs-Boynton
— SS/OF Megan Shaw (2015, Louisiana-Monroe)… plays for Firecrackers DFW-Torres
— C/3B Ashley Sheetz (2017, St. Francis)… plays for Ohio Outlaws
— P Kiley Sosby (2015, Bowling Green)… plays for Ohio Outlaws
— P Shelby Sunseri (2017, LSU)… plays for Impact Gold
— P Ava Tillmann (2017, Ole Miss)… plays for Georgia Impact-Gibson
— UT Peyton Tinney (2015, Stephen F. Austin)… plays for Axe Elite
— C Vanessa Vodan (2017, Kent State)… plays for Ohio Outlaws
— UT Kial Watts (2015, Hampton)… plays for Xtreme Chaos Gold
— OF Hayleigh Weissenbach (2016, Tennessee Chattanooga)… plays for OC Batbusters-Smith
— C/1B Kassidy Williams (2015, Dartmouth)… plays for OC United
— IF Lindsey Williams (2016, Mississippi State)… plays for Southern Spirit
— 1B/OF Samantha Zaccari (2015, George Mason)… plays for Firecrackers-Blanco