More than 80 teams have punched their ticked for PGF Nationals this summer after playing in qualifiers over the last couple weeks.

Below is a complete list of all the teams to date who have locked in a spot as well as a closer look at two teams that won their way to Huntington Beach, Calif. this summer …

 

*** At the Houston PGF Qualifier, the Firecrackers DFW Gold – Poole had a long two days of softball and had to go through the Loser’s Bracket, but persevered to earn one of the berths.

The Firecrackers started off bracket play on Saturday with an 8 am win over Texas Storm and had to play right away at 10:15 am against Team Mizuno-Impulse, a Metroplex rival, and lost.

The losers bracket put them in an afternoon game against Texas Magic which they won and then started their last game at 10:30pm against Houston Power Gold. The Firecrackers tam was able to fight for the win in a back and forth game that saw the lead change nearly every inning and didn’t end until close to 1:30am.

There was little time for rest as the team was back on the field Sunday morning at 8 am against Texas Rapid Fire Gold and captured the win in a close game and then took the field at 10:15 am versus Texas Blaze Gold that saw them trail by three going into the bottom of the 7th.

All-State outfielder and Ole Miss commit Megan Harris led off the inning with a base hit and the Firecrackers were able to load the bases with two outs.  Bailey Baldwin came up and hit a walk-off grand slam to help the team stay on the path to a PGF birth.

The Firecrackers then got an opportunity at a rematch with Team Mizuno Impulse in the 12:30 game and got up by three runs in the third before the rains came and delayed the game for several hours.

The team added one more run and took the win to put them in the final game against Louisiana Voodoo.  It was a back and forth pitchers dual and the Firecrackers trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the 7th.  Down to their last out with the bases loaded, the Firecrackers won with a walk-off double to take the game—it’s sixth straight of the event—and give them the third and final berth to the PGF Nationals in late July.

 

*** The DeMarini Zephyrs arrived in Birmingham, Ala. Friday night with enough time for BP and a late night Chic-Fil-A stop.

“With business on our mind, we headed to the park Saturday morning, with two games standing in the way of our Premier berth,” says Head Coach Ryan Taylor.

The Zephyrs first game was against Team Florida. Junior pitcher McKenzie Ellis, who has committed to Northwestern, threw a shutout to carry the team allowing just two hits while striking out six.  Brooke Rozier (2015, Iowa) drove in both runs on two extra base hits.

“Our team has a knack for scoring with two outs,” added Taylor. “That’s 65 on the year.”

Next up was for the Zephyrs was the AZ LIL Saints which had beaten Georgia Impact-Pauly, a team filled with SEC commits.

In the top of the first the LIL Saints scored a run, which was answered in the bottom of the first by the Zaphyrss as Madison Heide (2016, uncommitted) kept her hot hitting streak going reaching base and was driven in by Jess Heese (2014, SIU Carbondale).

In the second inning the DeMarini Zephyrs grabbed the lead on an RBI by Lindey Kneib (2016, uncommitted) who also controlled both games from behind the plate with pickoffs, including one of a speedster headed to LSU.

Kaili Hinds (2017, uncommitted) pitched a solid 2.1 innings with three strikeouts before being relieved by Baylee Douglass (2014, SIU Edwardsville) who threw 3.2 innings with no hits or walks and two strikeouts.

The Zephyrs pulled out a 7-3 win and locked up its PGF National berth.

Here’s an updated list of qualified teams in each age division; teams in bold are new additions over the last two weeks:

 

PGF Berths – 2014

 

18U – PREMIER (Total: 72)

 

Returning Berths: 12

1.  SC Athletics
2.  OC Batbusters Haning/Stith
3.  Texas Glory
4.  Beverly Bandits
5.  East Cobb Bullets Schnute
6.  Firecrackers Rico
7.  Jersey Intensity KOD
8.  Gold Coast Hurricanes
9.  Lady Lightning Gold TM
10. KC Peppers
11. Sorcerers

Invited Teams: 20

12. Strike Force GG-Platinum Champs
13. Corona Angels Tyson
14. WA Ladyhawks Gold Miller
15. Birmingham Thunderbolts Gold
16. Grapettes Gold
17. AZ Storm Brun
18. So Cal Choppers
19. Atlanta Vipers Jennings
20. Team North Florida
21. Cal Cruisers Sievers
22. Wichita Mustangs
23. TX Impact Gold Jackson
24. Nebraska Gold
25. Virginia Legends
26. Explosion
27. Minors Gold Lena
28. Irvine Sting
29. Texas Bombers
30. NW Bullets
31. Tennessee Fury
32. Rhode Island Thunder

Qualified Teams: 40

33. Firecrackers AZ – 6/1-AZ
34. Bownet – 6/1 – AZ
35. Georgia Impact Medlam – 6/1 – MB
36. Williamsburg Starz – 6/1 – MB
37. Aces Express
38. Texas Firecrackers May – 6/8-TX
39. TX Firecrackers DFW Gold- 6/8-TX
40. Originals Bernholtz-6/8-KS
41. DeMarini Zephyrs – 6/8-AL
42. Georgia Impact Pauly – 6/8-AL
43. Carolina Elite – 6/8-VB
44. Krunch Gold – 6/8-VB
45. Firecrackers Gold Blanco – 6/15-CA
46. So Cal Athletics Quarles – 6/15-CA
47. Batbusters Fox – 6/15-CA
48. AASA – 6/15-CA
49. AZ Killer Bees – 6/15-CO
50. New Mexico Sundancers – 6/15-CO
51. Beverly Bandits Team Premier -6/15-CP
52. – 72 TBD

 

18U – PLATINUM (TOTAL: 72)

 

Returning Berths: 3

1.  Central Cal Dirt Dogs
2.  Texas Peppers Gold
3.  TNL Downs

Invited Teams: 20

4.  OC Batbusters Stith
5.  American Athletics SJ
6.  Iowa Premier
7.  Jersey Inferno Elite
8.  Northern Ice
9.  Boise Blast
10. Spokane Crash
11. Firecrackers DFW – Torres
12. So Cal Choppers Castillo
13. Nebraska Quakes
14. Texas Glory RWB
15. Texas Black Widows
16. Mizuno All American
17. American Freedom-Mattox
18. Idaho Diamond Bandits
19. Minors Gold- Macias
20. SLC Pegasus
21. So Cal Diamonds

Qualified Teams: 49

22. Corona Angels Howard – 6/1 – AZ
23. USA Athletics Rogers – 6/1 – AZ
24. Glory Gold – 6/1 – MB
25. Louisiana Voodoo – 6/8-TX
26. Louisiana Voodoo Barksdale– 6/8-TX
27. Team Mizuno Impulse-6/8-TX
28. Originals Koop-6/8-KS
29. AZ Lil Saints – 6/8-AL
30. Newtown Rock Garvey – 6/8-VB
31. Vienna Stars – 6/8-VB
32. Cal Cruisers Phil/Lyn-6/15-CA
33. KG Hitters – 6/15-CA
34. OC Batbusters Briggs – 6/15-CA
35. TS Elite – 6/15-CA
36. Colorado Styxx – 6/15-CO
37. Colorado Stars Sakamoto – 6/15-CO
38. Indiana Shockwaves Black-6/15-CP
39-68 TBD

 

16U – PREMIER (TOTAL: 64)

 

Returning Berths: 5

1.    Beverly Bandits
2.    So Cal A’s Myers
3.    Minnesota Sting
4.    Firecrackers Blanco
5.    East Cobb Bullets Bass

Invited Teams: 19

6.  OC Batbusters Smith
7.  So Cal Choppers Shipman/Ziese
8.  Lady Lightning
9.  Corona Angels Dena
10. Texas Glory Naudin
11. Birmingham Thunderbolts Horton
12. Atlanta Vipers Kates
13. Wichita Mustangs
14. Cal Lite
15. WA Ladyhawks Nelons
16. Irvine Sting
17. Louisville Sluggers Jordan
18. Gametime Stars
19. Georgia Elite
20. Explosion Greg
21. Gold Coast Hurricanes
22. Cal Breeze Mashburn
23. Lady Magic
24. Germantown Red Devils

Qualified Teams: 40

25. So Cal Athletics Datan-5/26-AZ
26. AZ Storm Mizuno Tyler-5/26-AZ
27. East Cobb Bullets Legere – 6/1 – MB
28. Lady Blues Premier – 6/1 – MB
29. Firecrackers Brashear – 6/1 – LV
30. Firecrackers Baisdon – 6/1 – LV
31. KC Glory-6/8-KS
32. Lil Rebels Gordie – 6/8-NM
33. Texas Sudden Impact – 6/8-TX
34. Texas Glory Adkins Allen-6/8-TX
35. Texas Blaze White-6/8-TX
36. GA Impact Gibson – 6/8-AL
37. Atlanta Vipers Palazzo – 6/8-AL
38. Carolina Elite – 6/8-VB
39. Team Seattle – 6/8-VB
40. USA Athletics Mora – 6/15-CA
41. OC Batbusters Lucero – 6/15-CA
42. Sorcerers – 6/15-CA
43. Batbusters Fox – 6/15-CA
44. Firecrackers Young – 6/15-CO
45. NW Batbusters – 6/15-CO
46. NJ Intensity – 6/15-NJ
47. Minnesota Renegades 97 – 6/15-NJ
48. Beverly Bandits Demarini-6/15-CP
49. Illinois Chill Gold – 6/15-CP
50-64 TBD

 

16U – PLATINUM (TOTAL: 32) 

Invites: 4

1.    Ohio Outlaws
2.    Louisiana Pride
3.    Oklahoma Twisters
4.    Idaho Xtreme

Qualified Teams: 28

5.    AZ Firecrackers Henry-5/26-AZ
6.    Impact Gold Raley – 6/8-TX
7.   IL Sparks – 6/8-KS
8.   Lil Rebels 98 – 6/8-NM
9.   Firecrackers DFW Rosales-6/8-TX
10. GA Impact Daniels-6/8-AL
11. Idaho Sliders – 6/15-CO
12   Lady Sharks – 6/15-CA
13. Firecrackers Ted – 6/15-CA
14. MN Force – 6/15-NJ
15. Bayside Blues – 6/8-VB
16. Indiana Magic Gold Burkhardt-CP
17. – 32. TBD

 

14U – PREMIER (TOTAL: 65)

Returning Berths: 2

1.    So Cal Athletics Quarles
2.    Austin Stars Garcia

Invited Teams: 18

3.  So Cal Choppers Moore
4.  Corona Angels Perez
5.  OC Batbusters Marinacci
6.  Firecrackers Lutterloh
7.  Beverly Bandits Demarini
8.  Birmingham Thunderbolts
9.  Atlanta Vipers Vallery
10. AZ Suncats
11. Texas Glory Y2K
12. Lady Lightning
13. Irvine Sting
14. Georgia Impact Jeffreys
15. Power Surge Berndes
16. KG Hitters Kiko
17. Jersey Intensity
18. Sorcerers Williams
19. Lil Rebels RC
20. Gold Coast Hurricanes

Qualified Teams: 45

21. So.Cal A’s-Quarles_4/14 -TX
22. Texas Bombers-HTX-4/14-TX
23. TX Glory Adkins Campbell -5/11-NT
24.  Cal Lite – 5/11 – NT
25.  Corona Angels Tyson-5/26-AZ
26.  AZ Firecrackers Hinkle-5/26-AZ
27.  Impact Gold Grotenhuis – 4/14-TX
28.  Impact Gold Newcomb -5.11-TX
29.  Georgia Impact Lewis – 6/1 – ATL
30.  Georgia Power – 6/1 – ATL
31.  OC Batbusters Campbell – 6/1 – LV
32.  So Cal Pumas Black – 6/1 – LV
33. NWI White Sox – 6/1-Indy
34. Lakewood Firecrackers – 6/8-NM
35. OC Batbusters 2000 – 6/8-NM
36. Team GA Hawk – 6/8-AL
37. EC Bullets Millenium – 6/8-AL
38. Carolina Elite – 6/8-VB
39. Vienna Stars – 6/8-VB
40. Team Seattle – 6/8-VB
41. Thunder Elite – 6/8
42. Texas Sudden Impact-6/8-KS
43. OC Batbusters Lastrapes – 6/15-CA
44. SoCal Athletics Natividad–6/15-CA
45. So Cal Athletics Jendro – 6/15-CA
46. Cal Thunder – 6/15-CA
47. VA Glory Elite Mertz – 6/15-NJ
48. PA Lower South Liberty – 6/15-NJ
49. Beverly Bandits Premier – 6/15-CP
50. – 64. TBD

 

 

14U – PLATINUM (TOTAL: 32)

 

Invites: 1

1. Salinas Storm Kaiser

Qualified Teams: 31

2. Cal Cruisers Sievers/Kempton-5/26-AZ
3. Texas Bombers Prospects – TX
4. Georgia Elite Laukka – TX
5. Atlanta Premier Haag
6. OC Batbusters Granado – 6/1 – LV
7. NW Sidewinders Seek – 6/8-NM
8. NW Sidewinders Beer – 6/8-KS
9. VA Elite Black – 6/8-VB
10. Firecrackers Redmond – 6/15-CA
11. Nor Cal Firecrackers Miller – 6/15-CA
12. Plainfield Purple Twisters – 6/15-CP
13– 32. TBD

 

12U – PREMIER (TOTAL: 52)

Invites: 3

1.    OC Batbusters Steele
2.    Corona Angels Dena
3.    Salinas Storm Jimenez

Invited Teams: 13

4.  So Cal Choppers Rourick/Olson
5.  Firecrackers Thornburg
6.  So Cal Athletics Mercado
7.  Birmingham Thunderbolts Dorsett
8.  Texas Glory Blue 01
9. Georgia Impact Stewart
10. East Cobb Bullets Caldwell
11. Idaho Flash

Qualified Teams: 36

12. Direct TV Genies
13. Georgia Impact 02
14. Team Georgia
15. OC Batbusters-Stith
16. OC Batbusters-Young
17. OC Batbusters-Bracamonte
18. So Cal Breakers-01
19. SA Tapout No Regret 01-4/14-Tx
20. Texas Glory 2020-4/14-Tx
21. AZ Thundercats-4/14-Tx
22. Fresno Force Rod – 5/11/14-Sac
23. OC United – 5/11/14-Sac
24. LTG Lions – 5/11/14-Sac
25. So Cal 3D Gold – 5/11/14-Sac
26. Bownet Black – 5/11/14-AZ
27. Corona Angels Dominique –5/11/14-AZ
28. Hotshots Appel – 5/11/14-AZ
29. So Cal Choppers Vidal– 5/11/14-AZ
30. Texas Bombers CTX – 5/11 – NT
31. Texas Blaze Lindsey Red– 5/11 – NT
32. Cal Lite Viles – 6/1 – LV
33. OC Batbusters Montoya – 6/1 – LV
34. Firecrackers Manny – 6/15-CA
35. Firecrackers Blanco – 6/15-CA
36. OC Batbusters Williams – 6/15-CA
37. Cal Breeze 01 – 6/15-CA
38. SJ Sting – 6/15-CA
39. Beverly Bandits Premier
40. Team Mizuno Impulse 02
41. – 52. TBD