Barely 24 hours ago, the Corona Angels-Tyson 14U team had a long road just to get to the National Championship game.

The Angels had to battle out of the loser’s bracket by winning two games against an excellent Batbusters-Campbell team and that’s exactly what they did, but to give Head Coach Marty Tyson his first national title after finishing second 11 times at different age levels, it would take another herculean effort.

Fortunately, he had a workhorse to hand the ball off to in pitcher Megan Faraimo, an incoming freshman at Cathedral Catholic High in San Diego, who “carried the Angels on her back all week,” according to the coach.

She did it once again on Saturday afternoon, pitching a complete game, six-inning masterpiece where she allowed only three hits while striking out eight to give Tyson and the Angels that most coveted piece of hardware.

That would explain why, quietly on the field after the 7-1 win over So Cal A’s-Quarles, the head coach handed the PGF 2014 14U National Championship trophy to Faraimo.

Against a team loaded with Pac-12, SEC and Big 12 commits, the 2018 standout mowed down the first 11 batters she faced until the top of the 4^th inning when third baseman Malia Quarles (2017, UCLA) hit a moon shot that kept rising and rainbowed over the fence for a mammoth home run.

One club coach nearby quipped, “It looked like she hit that one with a seven iron.”

A jubilant Charles skipped around the bases and it looked like that could be the blow that might wake the A’s bats, but Faraimo settled down and would allow only two more hits the rest of the game.

The Angels responded quickly in their bottom half of the 4^th as shortstop Anna Vines led off with a walk and a sacrifice bunt put her on second. Outfielder Madi Huskey stroked a single that tied up the game and it appeared the Angels would put more on the board when they had runners on first and second and Anna Salas crushed a ball that was surely headed to right field and likely would plate the go-ahead run.

However, it tattooed Bianca Larios and ended up being the second out–the inning would soon finish quietly.

What looked like it could be a critical turning point in the game simply became a dress rehearsal for the offensive dam that would break the next inning.

Hannah Boss, who pitched great all week, struggled with a blister on Saturday and was one of three pitchers that circled in and out of the A’s rotation. She started and eventually came back into the game but to lead off the fifth she walked one Angel batter and plunked another with one out and the turning point of the game came on the next play.

Vines hit a ball to second and it could have been out No. 2 but no one covered second and the speedy Vines quickly got down the line to load the bases.

Amani Bradley singled in a run before Jenna Helberg grounded to third with the force at home that could have been out No. 3 and kept the score 2-1… but the floodgates were soon to open.

A wild pitch plated one run and an error on the throw to the plate allowed another to come in on the same play making the score 4-1.

Before the inning would end, Annabelle Salas would single in two more Angel runners and Lexi Delgado would drive in another run to make it 7-1.

The A’s had one more inning before the run-rule kicked in and they showed some signs of life as Madison Pacini (2018, Tennessee) singled to right to lead off the 6^th.

The crowd held its breath when Alexa Schultz (2017, Oklahoma) hit a ball to the wall in deep left-center but it was caught and two outs later when Quarles popped out to first base the Angels had their championship.

“This team never gave up,” said Tyson after the trophies were handed out. “The girls battled and even though we were in the loser’s bracket they did what they had to do. But it all started with Megan, she pitched almost every inning and we wouldn’t have made it without her.”

And that’s why the tall, quiet pitcher with the big-time riseball got the biggest trophy of all.