The 2014 Triple Crown USA Nationals, one of the top girls’ high school fastpitch-softball events in the country, begins today in Cumming/ Forsyth County, Alpharetta, and Gainesville, Ga., and will run through Thursday.

More than 180 of the top 14U, 16U, and 18U clubs in the country will be featured in this year’s tournament field.

“The TC/USA Nationals brings together elite softball clubs from across the country to compete for a national championship,” said TC/USA Nationals Director Krista Judge.

“Each year the event is played in a different region of the U.S.  This year we are excited to be playing the event in Cumming/Forsyth County, Alpharetta, and Gainesville due to the area’s premier facilities, excellent lodging partners, and ease of access for teams either driving or flying.”

A record 27 states will be represented in this year’s tournament (Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington).

A tournament-best 52 teams from Texas will be competing, followed by 20 teams from both Georgia and Florida.  One of the top local teams to watch is the EC Bullets, the top-ranked Georgia team.  The 18U EC Bullets reside in Buford and are currently ranked No. 7 in the country in the U.S. Club Rankings national ratings.

The 18 Open group is loaded with talent and future Division I players. According to usclubrankings.com, the field features 53 of the top 100 rated squads, 28 of the top 50, and six of the top 10 teams in the country, including two-time defending champion and No.2-ranked Firecrackers-Rico from California.

The No. 3 Corona Angels (CA), No. 4 Texas Glory, No. 7 EC Bullets (GA), No. 8 Wichita Mustangs (KS), and No. 10 Gold Coast Hurricanes (FL) round out the top-10 teams.

The semifinals and championship will be nationally televised live in HD on CBS Sports Network on Thursday, July 17 from Fowler Park in Cumming at 4:30pm ET and 7:00pm ET, respectively.

Thad Anderson (play-by-play), two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Michele Smith (analyst), and former Texas A&M pitcher Amanda Scarborough (dugout reporter) will be calling all the action.

CBSSN is available across the country in millions of households through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158.

 

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For complete tournament schedules and event information visit the TCS website at www.triplecrownsports.com.  You can also follow Triple Crown Sports on Instagram (tcsports), and Twitter (@triplecrownspts).

 

Note about TC/USA Nationals and the U.S. Club Rankings: 


Triple Crown Sports created the event in 2012 using the U.S. Club Rankings (www.usclubrankings.com) to help target the top 14U, 16U, and 18U teams in the country. TCS takes the top 100 teams listed on the NCR and gives an automatic berth to a program’s 18 Gold, 16U and 14U teams, along with the top five regionally ranked teams from 13 regions around the country.  Invites are not passed down if a team chooses not come.  Instead, TCS fills all open spots with at-large selections.  At-large teams fill out an application listing reasons why TCS should select them to fill the remaining spots.

In 2012, New York City’s 31-field Randall’s Island Complex hosted all games.  That year the Firecrackers-Rico squad from Huntington Beach, Calif. finished 5-0 and knocked off the Corona Angels-Tyson 1-0 in the 18 Open championship game.

It was the Firecrackers-Rico again in 2013 going undefeated (9-0) and shutting out the Corona Angels-Tyson 8-0 in the championship held at Golden Eagle Regional Park in Reno, NV.