PGF 2017 Premier Nationals 12UJul 28, 2017 by FloSoftball Staff
12U PGF Premier: Georgia Impact Langston Battle Through To The Championship
12U PGF Premier: Georgia Impact Langston Battle Through To The Championship
Georgia Impact Langston beat Beverly Bandits Pannell to advance to the 12U PGF Premier Championship. They face Diamond Sports Hotshots for the title.
After getting knocked into the loser's bracket after a close loss to OC Batbusters-Flores on Wednesday night, the chances were very slim for Georgia Impact-Langston to come back and reach the PGF 12U Premier national championship game.
Watch the 12U Premier Championship game LIVE on FloSoftball at 1:30 PM PT
But Georgia Impact did it by winning five consecutive games on Thursday at Harvard Park in Irvine, California, sending them to the finals where they will face Diamond Sports Hotshots on Friday at 1:30 PM at Deanna Manning Stadium at Bill Barber Park in Irvine.
Caydra Parker went 2 for 4 with a double and a triple to help Georgia Impact beat Beverly Bandits-Pannell 6-4 for the second consecutive time, propelling them into the national title game.
Mia Williams, the daughter of former NBA star Jason Williams, went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI and Jaydyn Goodwin went 4 for 4 with an RBI for Georgia Impact, who split the circle with their two pitchers -- Kirsten Fleet and Emma Langston with Fleet getting the win.
"I took the game play by play," Williams said. "I took my time and tried my best. We just have to keep playing well and keep calm."
Taylor Pannell went 4 for 4 with a triple and an RBI, Ella Whitney went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, and Keagan Rothrock threw a complete game while striking out eight to draw the loss.
This was the second victory of the night for Impact over the Bandits. Georgia Impact, which won three loser's bracket games to reach the semifinals, shut out Beverly Bandits 6-0 in the first semifinal game.
"I knew I had to throw strikes," Langston said. "But I knew my defense had my back. I think both of us have to keep throwing strikes tomorrow."
Georgia Impact began the day with a 3-0 victory over Birmingham Thunderbolts. Williams went 3 for 3 with two RBIs and Langston threw a complete game. Neely Taylor went 3 for 3 and Aubrey Johnson struck out six in 4.1 innings of relief work for the Thunderbolts.
Georgia Impact added another victory, this time a 4-2 win against Firecrackers-Brashear thanks to Alana Calloway's two-run double. Williams went 2 for 3 with a triple and an RBI while Fleet and Langston split time on the mound with Fleet getting the victory. Rylee Alfaro and Sarah Loper drove in a run each for the Firecrackers.
Georgia Impact were a win away from getting back in the winners bracket and it was against OC Batbusters-Flores, the team that took them down on Wednesday. Thanks to a three-hit, two-RBI game from Williams and another pitching gem from Langston, who threw a complete game, Georgia Impact got its revenge and beat OC Batbusters-Flores, 7-1, to get into the semifinals. Taylor Malvin went 3 for 5 with two RBI for the Impact. Kayla Lyon drove in the lone run for the Batbusters.
Georgia Impact had to win back-to-back games against the Bandits to reach the national championship game.
"It all starts in the circle," Impact coach Michael Langston said. "Shutout after shutout and low-scoring games. We had two pitchers that carried the load today. That last game we put them out there while they were running on fumes. We rotated them back and forth to get us through seven innings. Our pitching gave us time to get our bats to come alive. We had 17 hits against the OC Batbusters, who put us in the loser's bracket last night. These kids never ever give up. They battled the entire time. I am happy as can be and I'm thankful that they let me coach them."
After giving up a 6-0 lead and being tied heading into the seventh inning, Diamond Sports Hotshots Gold needed to get something going.
And like the Los Angeles Angels "Rally Monkey," the Hotshots turned to their rally song. The song "El Coco No" by Roberto Junior y Su Bandeno could be heard throughout the tournament all week and everyone knew that meant the Hotshots were in the middle of a big inning when the song was blasting.
The song came on in the top of the seventh and the Hotshots scored five runs en route to an 11-6 victory over East Cobb Bullets-Mayfield to advance to the PGF 12U national title game.
"It is our rally song," Hotshots first baseman Jules Cuarenta said. "It has been our rally song for a really long time. It picks us up when we our down."
The Hotshots looked like it didn't need a boost of energy in the beginning of the game after scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. After a one-out walk to Ashlyn Jones and a double by Kasidi Pickering put both runners in scoring position, a wild pitch and an errant throw allowed both to score.
After a run in the second inning, the Hotshots added three more runs in the top of the fourth inning, including a two-run triple by Kennedy Powell. It was 6-0 and it looked like it would become an easy victory for the Hotshots, but the Bullets woke up.
Raven Thompson had a sacrifice fly to make it 6-1 in the fourth. Lilliana Backes had a pinch-hit RBI single, pinch hitter Madison Smith knocked in two runs thanks to an infield error, McKaela Walker had a two-run triple, and a sacrifice fly sent Walker home to tie the game 6-6 in the fifth.
With the Hotshots' favorite song blaring from the speakers, Bergeron led off the top of the seventh a triple to right field and scored on a ground ball by Emma Strood that was overthrown from third base to make it 7-6. Strood went to second base, and following a single by Emma Garcia scored along with Garcia thanks to a two-run single to center field by Evany Gonzalez to make it 9-6. Gonzalez scored on a ground-out to make it 10-6 and Powell singled, stole second and scored on another passed ball to make it 11-6.
Strood went back to the circle in relief in the seventh inning to finish off the Bullets.
Walker went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs and threw 4.1 innings to take the loss for the Bullets. Dunagan went 2 for 3 with a double for the Bullets, who head home after putting up a fight to stay alive.
"We played with a lot of heart," Bullets coach Chris Mayfield said. "We were down six runs and we never gave up. We played all week with heart. That is all I ask for is (to) play with a lot of heart. We ran of gas in the end, but they are still a great team and we can't take that away from them."
Follow Manny Alvarez on Twitter @SoCalSidelines.
Watch the 12U Premier Championship game LIVE on FloSoftball at 1:30 PM PT
Watch the 12U Premier Championship game LIVE on FloSoftball at 1:30 PM PT
But Georgia Impact did it by winning five consecutive games on Thursday at Harvard Park in Irvine, California, sending them to the finals where they will face Diamond Sports Hotshots on Friday at 1:30 PM at Deanna Manning Stadium at Bill Barber Park in Irvine.
Caydra Parker went 2 for 4 with a double and a triple to help Georgia Impact beat Beverly Bandits-Pannell 6-4 for the second consecutive time, propelling them into the national title game.
Mia Williams, the daughter of former NBA star Jason Williams, went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI and Jaydyn Goodwin went 4 for 4 with an RBI for Georgia Impact, who split the circle with their two pitchers -- Kirsten Fleet and Emma Langston with Fleet getting the win.
"I took the game play by play," Williams said. "I took my time and tried my best. We just have to keep playing well and keep calm."
Taylor Pannell went 4 for 4 with a triple and an RBI, Ella Whitney went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, and Keagan Rothrock threw a complete game while striking out eight to draw the loss.
This was the second victory of the night for Impact over the Bandits. Georgia Impact, which won three loser's bracket games to reach the semifinals, shut out Beverly Bandits 6-0 in the first semifinal game.
"I knew I had to throw strikes," Langston said. "But I knew my defense had my back. I think both of us have to keep throwing strikes tomorrow."
Georgia Impact began the day with a 3-0 victory over Birmingham Thunderbolts. Williams went 3 for 3 with two RBIs and Langston threw a complete game. Neely Taylor went 3 for 3 and Aubrey Johnson struck out six in 4.1 innings of relief work for the Thunderbolts.
Georgia Impact added another victory, this time a 4-2 win against Firecrackers-Brashear thanks to Alana Calloway's two-run double. Williams went 2 for 3 with a triple and an RBI while Fleet and Langston split time on the mound with Fleet getting the victory. Rylee Alfaro and Sarah Loper drove in a run each for the Firecrackers.
Georgia Impact were a win away from getting back in the winners bracket and it was against OC Batbusters-Flores, the team that took them down on Wednesday. Thanks to a three-hit, two-RBI game from Williams and another pitching gem from Langston, who threw a complete game, Georgia Impact got its revenge and beat OC Batbusters-Flores, 7-1, to get into the semifinals. Taylor Malvin went 3 for 5 with two RBI for the Impact. Kayla Lyon drove in the lone run for the Batbusters.
Georgia Impact had to win back-to-back games against the Bandits to reach the national championship game.
"It all starts in the circle," Impact coach Michael Langston said. "Shutout after shutout and low-scoring games. We had two pitchers that carried the load today. That last game we put them out there while they were running on fumes. We rotated them back and forth to get us through seven innings. Our pitching gave us time to get our bats to come alive. We had 17 hits against the OC Batbusters, who put us in the loser's bracket last night. These kids never ever give up. They battled the entire time. I am happy as can be and I'm thankful that they let me coach them."
Diamond Sports Hotshots Rally To Finals
After giving up a 6-0 lead and being tied heading into the seventh inning, Diamond Sports Hotshots Gold needed to get something going.
And like the Los Angeles Angels "Rally Monkey," the Hotshots turned to their rally song. The song "El Coco No" by Roberto Junior y Su Bandeno could be heard throughout the tournament all week and everyone knew that meant the Hotshots were in the middle of a big inning when the song was blasting.
The song came on in the top of the seventh and the Hotshots scored five runs en route to an 11-6 victory over East Cobb Bullets-Mayfield to advance to the PGF 12U national title game.
"It is our rally song," Hotshots first baseman Jules Cuarenta said. "It has been our rally song for a really long time. It picks us up when we our down."
The Hotshots looked like it didn't need a boost of energy in the beginning of the game after scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. After a one-out walk to Ashlyn Jones and a double by Kasidi Pickering put both runners in scoring position, a wild pitch and an errant throw allowed both to score.
After a run in the second inning, the Hotshots added three more runs in the top of the fourth inning, including a two-run triple by Kennedy Powell. It was 6-0 and it looked like it would become an easy victory for the Hotshots, but the Bullets woke up.
Raven Thompson had a sacrifice fly to make it 6-1 in the fourth. Lilliana Backes had a pinch-hit RBI single, pinch hitter Madison Smith knocked in two runs thanks to an infield error, McKaela Walker had a two-run triple, and a sacrifice fly sent Walker home to tie the game 6-6 in the fifth.
With the Hotshots' favorite song blaring from the speakers, Bergeron led off the top of the seventh a triple to right field and scored on a ground ball by Emma Strood that was overthrown from third base to make it 7-6. Strood went to second base, and following a single by Emma Garcia scored along with Garcia thanks to a two-run single to center field by Evany Gonzalez to make it 9-6. Gonzalez scored on a ground-out to make it 10-6 and Powell singled, stole second and scored on another passed ball to make it 11-6.
Strood went back to the circle in relief in the seventh inning to finish off the Bullets.
We all had to work as a team. We did some of that today, but we didn't have the pitchers back in some situations. We are going to try and fix that. I think we have what it take to win the national championship for our pitchers. - Jules Cuarenta, Diamond Sports Hotshots
Walker went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs and threw 4.1 innings to take the loss for the Bullets. Dunagan went 2 for 3 with a double for the Bullets, who head home after putting up a fight to stay alive.
"We played with a lot of heart," Bullets coach Chris Mayfield said. "We were down six runs and we never gave up. We played all week with heart. That is all I ask for is (to) play with a lot of heart. We ran of gas in the end, but they are still a great team and we can't take that away from them."
Follow Manny Alvarez on Twitter @SoCalSidelines.
Watch the 12U Premier Championship game LIVE on FloSoftball at 1:30 PM PT