The hot spot for club softball will be in Salinas, California as the PGF Ultimate Challenge kicks off Friday night and runs through the championship games Sunday afternoon.

FloSoftball will be there live streaming the games on Fields 1-4, as well as covering the prestigious showcase each day, so check in on the site over the weekend.



The PGF Ultimate Challenge is in its second year and is run by event director Bill Sparrey, Salinas Sports Complex facility director Armando Barragan, and Warren Wayland, who is the founder of the Salinas Storm organization that hosts the tournament.

The Ultimate Challenge expands to 36 teams after 30 took the fields in 2015.

"Last year was considered a success and we've increased the size because more wanted to get in," explains Sparrey, "but to order to do that we had to get lights on Field 6 and Warren and the Storm organization was able to get money and get the lights installed last week."

"We've had great support in Salinas and not only are we funding the winners to get into PGF Nationals if they qualify, but the organization is providing dinner for club team and college coaches Friday and Saturday and feeding them lunch during the day.  You don't find many tournaments who will do that."

If you like good softball -- and want to see today's elite club teams and future college stars -- you won't want to miss the action. But in case you still need convincing, here are five reasons you'll want to catch the games:

1. FIRST LOOK AT TEAMS TO BEAT

You can make a case that this tournament features many, if not most, of the favorites for PGF Nationals. Take the 18U division for example, as six of the seven 18U championships have been won by either the OC Batbusters or the So Cal A's-Richardson teams. Both squads will be in Salinas this weekend.  

Other perennial powers which will take the field over the next few days include out-of-staters like the Beverly Bandits (Illinois), the Birmingham Thunderbolts (Alabama) and the NW Bullets (Oregon). Also making appearances will be California elite teams like the So Cal Choppers, Sorcerer Gold, Explosion, All American Sports Academy, Firecrackers, and San Jose Sting, just to name a few.

We'll get a first look at how these teams are built for next summer and get early insights on which ones to watch.

For example, last year's Ultimate Challenge saw a strong showing from the So Choppers teams, which won the 18U and 14U titles in Salinas. Both of those teams went on to finish third and fifth, respectively, at PGF Nationals. The Thunderbolts, So Cal A's, AASA and Sorcerer teams also went on to finish in the top 10 at PGF.

2. NEW LOOK TO ROSTERS

Whether its players graduating, new talent emerging, or switching teams, the Ultimate Challenge is a first look at how many of these teams have changed this summer post-PGF Nationals.

The So Cal A's, which finished third at PGF Nationals, have eight new players to replace six seniors who are now playing at colleges like Arkansas, Tennessee and Stanford. Like every organization, coach Bruce Richardson has to plug in the holes and reload.

One player to watch for the A's will be UCLA commitment Kelli Godin, a 2018 outfielder/third baseman who helped lead Mater Dei High (Santa Ana, CA) to a CIF championship this spring. A state champion in the 100-meter dash, Godin brings great speed at the top of the order for the A's.

Richardson sees the Ultimate Challenge as a great vehicle to not only look at the new players, but also get them in synch with the rest of the team.

"You need to see that what you're trying to teach in your system is being implemented and used by new kids and if we're getting better," said Richardson, whose A's 18U teams won the first four PGF National titles.   

"Even when you lose, you look to find a way to get better that game -- that you'll be successful in the long run. So at the PGF Ultimate Challenge, you look for things to improve on. It's not how many games you win, but more important to see the development of kids. Some come from different programs and you need to see what's necessary to get them acclimated into your program."

3. TALENT, TALENT, TALENT

Want to see future SEC, Pac-12, Big 12, ACC, and Big Ten talent? The Ultimate Challenge is loaded with well over 100 players who are going to universities in these power conferences and to other great schools.

Mike Stith's OC Batbusters team includes the FloSoftball No. 1 player in the 2017 class, shortstop Taylon Snow, who is committed to Auburn, as well as other outstanding players going to Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, UCLA, and Washington.

And that's just the Batbuster 18U team. Mark Campbell's 14U team has three elite prospects who were listed in the top 17 of the recently released FloSoftball 2020 Hot 100 list: power hitting third baseman Zaida Puni (ranked No. 2, uncommitted), pitcher Morgan Smith (No. 13, uncommitted) and shortstop Tiare Jennings (No. 17, Oklahoma).



Another team to watch with elite talent is 14U Universal Fastpitch. Martin Garcia's team has three talented young players in the 2020 Hot 100: pitcher/shortstop Tehya Bird (No. 19, Oregon), pitcher/utility player Jordyn Hutchings (No. 64, uncommitted), and middle infielder Sophie Jacquez (No. 90, uncommitted).

4. SOMETHING TO PLAY FOR

Unlike many fall showcases, which are recruiting exposure oriented, the Ultimate Challenge has a big prize at the end of the weekend for those who win the final game: All age group champions will have their entry fee paid for to the 2017 PGF National Championship (as long as the team qualifies or has a returning berth or receives an invite).

Talk to college coaches and they say almost in unison that they prefer the championship format so they can see players in "games that count." The Ultimate Challenge does a great job of putting the best of both worlds on the fields: Early games for reps, then later games that have a more serious, playoff-type feel.

5. SOUTH VS. NORTH

If you're not from California, you may not recognize it but there is definitely a competitive rivalry in almost everything between So Cal and Nor Cal. It's the Dodgers vs. the Giants, the Lakers vs. the Warriors, Stanford and Cal vs. UCLA and USC, etc.

A fun element to the Ultimate Challenge is you do have many traditional powerhouses from Southern California but also some excellent teams from Northern California (and we're counting Central Cal here, too), like Sorcerer, Nor Cal Firecrackers, San Jose Sting, AASA, LTG Lions, Grapettes and, of course, the host Salinas Storm.

You KNOW the northern teams would love to show So Cal -- which gets a lot of deserved attention for its high-caliber players -- that the North can compete and even beat its peers from the South.

Last year, all three winners were from So Cal: 18U So Cal Choppers-Fausett, 16U So Cal A's-McNee, and 14U So Cal Choppers-Fausett.

The teams north of the Grapevine -- the pass that leads from So Cal into Central Cal -- hope to put an end to that this weekend.