By Manny Alvarez

See below for a recap of all the 2016 PGF Nationals 12U action that went down during the last few days in Huntington Beach, California!

SUDDEN IMPACT UPSET NO. 1 POWER SURGE 03

Erna Carlin threw a three-hit shutout to lead Sudden Impact to a 1-0 extra-inning upset over Power Surge 03-Bachtell--ranked No. 1 in the nation by FloSoftball--in the second round of the PGF 12U Nationals on Tuesday afternoon at Harvard Park in Irvine, California.

The game was scoreless in the bottom of the eighth with Kayla Falterman at second base due to the ITB rule. Madelyn Juleeana Lopez got on base on an error from the pitcher to put runners on first and second with one out for Samantha Graeter, who drove in Falterman with a walk-off sarifice fly to right field to give Sudden Impact the huge victory and stun everyone at Harvard Park.

Olivia Gigante threw 7.2 innings of work, while going 2 for 3 at the plate for Power Surge. Devyn Greer got the other hit for Power Surge, who beat Nor Cal Smackers, 9-0, earlier in the day in the first round. Power Surge moves into the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament and plays Louisville Slugger on Wednesday at 8 a.m. at Field 7. Power Surge will now have to win 10 consecutive games to claim the PGF 12U national title.

Kelsie Kelso went 2 for 3 for Sudden Impact, which will move on to the third round of the winner's bracket to play So Cal Future.

In other PGF 12U Nationals winner's bracket games:

Corona Angels '03 7, Corona Angels '04 3 (8 innings)

Jordin King made two critical throwing errors, but kept her composure as her offense delivered in the eighth inning to lead Corona Angels 03 over Corona Angels 04. King struck out six in eight innings to get the win. She also went 1 for 1 with three walks. It was Isabella Guerrero that delivered in the top of the eighth inning with her bases clearing triple to right that put Corona Angels 03 up for good.

"We got clutch hitting at the right time," Corona Angels 03 Coach Andre Adams said. "We were pretty much dead with our bats the entire game, but when it came time to come through with some hits, we were able to string along 5 or 6 hits together. That was the key to winning the ballgame."

Corona Angels 04 pitcher Brianna Romero kept her team in the game until Corona 03 got the best of her in the eighth inning. Romero allowed six hits in 7.2 innings, including five of those in the eighth inning alone. After giving up a hit to the first batter of the game, Romero kept Corona Angels 03 hitless until she ran out of gas.

"I'm just proud of them," Corona Angels 04 Coach Ondra Carter said. "They never gave up. They started off behind and controlled the game all the way through. They did a great job."

Corona Angels 04 had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the seventh inning when they had runners in scoring position with one out for Mia Squarey, who flew out to first in foul territory. Gibbs ran home before doubling back and getting tagged out at third. The next batter grounded out to the pitcher to send the game to extra innings.

"We wanted to try on the throw and see where it goes," Carter said. "We got a little too far out there and got hung up. It was just a tough break."

Two of Corona Angels 04's three runs were scored on throwing errors. One of those errors came from King, who kept her cool while throwing her changeup as she finished the job for Corona Angels 03.

"I had to compose myself and think about the next play," King said. "I had to push off what happened before. I just had to go with the flow. I have to get the next play and the next out."

As Corona Angels 03 got second life in the eighth inning, Lair Beautae, Hannah Slyke and King got on with no outs for Guerrero, who connected to give Corona Angels 03 a 5-2 lead. They scored two more to give King plenty of breathing room.

"I was really nervous, of course," Guerrero said. "I had to believe in my teammates in order to believe in myself. I knew if I got out, my teammates that came up after me would of backed me up. I was just relaxed and took a breath because I didn't need the nerves. When I got the hit, it was amazing."

Kaitlyn Caneda went 2 for 2 with two walks, Kaylee Sullivan went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a walk and Emily Springer went 2 for 3 for Corona Angels 04, who head to the loser's bracket as they will have to win out to stay alive.

"We have to play it one at a time," Carter said.

One inning at a time, one out at a time. We'll see what happens.

Tennessee Mojo 9, OC Pride 1 (6 innings)

The Mojo got off to a quick start and never looked back thanks to Savanna Jones, who allowed three hits and struck out seven in six innings to give Tennessee Mojo the run-rule win. Aubrey Barnhart led the Mojo offense, going 4 for 4 with 4 RBI, including a homerun to right in the fifth inning. Keri Munn went 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the first inning. Lydie Coleman went 2 for 3 for the Mojo defeating Cal Breeze 03 6-0 later in the day in the second round.

The Mojo face Georgia Impact-Gusaeff on Wednesday at 2:45 p.m.

"In the first inning, we were trying to wait back because we knew that they were going to come out on us strong," Barnhart said. "We knew we needed to hit to get to the next game. We were mostly waiting on the changeups. Our defense is key. We have a solid defense. Our offense has to keep being strong and staying on the ball."

Morgan Lastinger drove in the lone run for the OC Pride with a sac fly to short, scoring Irianna "Chill" Serna. Emily Gomez had a tough time with the Mojo. She went six innings, while striking out two on 13 hits.

Ohana Tigers 4, Explosion 2

Veronica Valdez lost her no-hitter in the seventh and finished with a four-hitter to get the win for the Ohana Tigers, who escaped despite Explosion's late comeback effort. Valdez struck out four and walked one. Alexis Romero went 1 for 3 with two RBI and Mikayla Carman went 2 for 3 with an RBI for the Tigers.

"Pitching and defense was big," Valdez said. "Defense was big. Our bats came out early."

Elizabeth Rader went 1 for 2 with an RBI and a walk and pitcher Anna Bjorkjund threw six innings in the loss. The Explosion had the bases loaded with no outs in the seventh inning before reliever Lauren Narvaez shut them down to get the save.

Hailey White drove in the other run for the Explosion, which heads to the loser's bracket and face So Cal A's-Lewis Wednesday at 8 a.m. The Ohana Tigers will move on in the winner's bracket and face Panthers Gold on Wednesday at 2:45 p.m.

So Cal Future 3, Diamond Sports Hot Shots South 1

Cheyenne White tallied three hits for So Cal Future in the win over Diamond Sports Hot Shots South. So Cal Future advanced in the winner's bracket and face Sudden Impact, who had the biggest upset of the day over top-ranked Power Surge. The game will be Wednesday at 2:45 pm.

"We had to work as a team," White said. "We stayed positive and come in with a lot of energy. It made us bond and win the game. I'm just hyped about moving to the next round. I can't wait. Hopefully, we win."

The Hot Shots were eliminated in their next game in a 7-1 loss to So Cal A's-Mercado.

Georgia Impact-Gusaeff 3, Nor Cal Firecrackers 0

Sarah Currie threw a complete game three-hit shutout with nine strikeouts for Georgia Impact. Ellie Williams went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI and Jenna Lord also went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Gwyneth Ludwig threw six innings for Nor Cal Firecrackers in the loss.

So Cal Choppers Graphite 2, Foothill Gold 1

Ariana Chavez went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Giselle Farless threw a complete game five-hitter with eiht strikeouts to lead the So Cal Choppers to victory. Shelby Pfeiler drove in the lone run for Foothill Gold. So Cal Choppers move on to face So Cal A's-Angulo on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

Birmingham Thunderbolts 12, Oregon Panthers 1 (4 innings)

Grace Hiller had a triple and four RBsI to lead the Bolts to a run-rule victory. Acelynn Sellers threw a one-hitter, while Riley Hull went 4 for 4 with two doubles and three RBI for the Thunderbolts, who move on and play Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. against OC Batbusters-Garcia. Madeline Doig had the lone hit for the Panthers.

Panthers Gold 3, Dirt Dogs Kubo 2 (8 innings)

Amber Tovan went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple and driving in all three runs for the Panthers, including two in the eighth inning. Desiree Hernandez threw a complete game, while striking out nine for the Panthers. Logan Amaral and Brooke Riggins each drove in a run for the Dirt Dogs.

Impact Gold Esparza 5, Beverly Bandits-Ball 4 (8 innings)

Sydney Lewis and Camryn Carmouche each drove in two runs to lead Impact Gold to an extra-inning victory. Impact Gold takes on Tennessee Fury on Wednesday at 2:45 p.m. in the winner's bracket. Madison Young went 2 for 4 with an RBI double for the Bandits.

Other winner's bracket scores:
Tennessee Fury 2, Mizuno Storm 1
OC Batbusters Garcia 3, So Cal Choppers Gurule 1
Impact Applebe 3, FC Oakes 0
So Cal A's Angulo 8 Lady Lightning 0
So Cal Dirt Dogs Romero 9, Batbusters Pantages 2
Batbusters Maroon 9, Batbusters Banuelos 6