By Mike Martinez

With a couple strokes of fortune, the Georgia Firecrackers-Sewell came back from the brink of the elimination bracket to stay alive in the winners’ side with a dramatic, 3-2, walk-off over Firecrackers-TJ at the PGF 16U Premier Nationals on Wednesday at Fountain Valley Sportspark.

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After Lauren Flanders was out beginning the bottom of the seventh, the Georgia Firecrackers, trailing 2-1, appealed to the home plate umpire that the Firecrackers-TJ catcher had not been properly re-entered prior to the frame. Flanders was awarded first base on the appeal, touching off the winning two-run rally. 

Mia Cantu drove in Flanders with one out to tie and Makenna Segal drove in Cantu with the walk-off run.

“I guess they forgot to sub in, and we used it to our advantage,” said Flanders.

“I hadn’t had a ton of success tonight, so I knew I needed to help my teammates in some way,” said Segal. “I knew I had to drive it to the right side, and luckily I produced and scored Mia.”

The night was a pitcher’s duel between Georgia’s Britton Rogers and TJ’s Eryka Gonzales. Grace Uribe’s fourth-inning two-run homer accounted for the only runs for the first 5.1 innings and a 2-0 Firecrackers-TJ lead.

But while Rogers was able to finish out her seven innings with five strikeouts, allowing just two hits, Gonzales had to leave with an apparent knee injury, leading to a 2-0 lead and just one out from her sixth full shutout inning.

The injury to Gonzales opened the door for Georgia, and Cali Decker delivered a two-out RBI to bring in Mia Rushton and cut the Firecrackers-TJ lead to 2-1.

“We knew we had a chance (before Gonzales was hurt),” said Flanders. “The chance just got bigger (after she went out).”

In other Winner's Bracket games:

Impact Gold DFW-Middlebrook 2, Illinois Chill-Quinn 0

Maddy Wright’s complete game, five-hit shutout led Impact Gold-Middlebrook to a win over Illinois Chill-Quinn. Carson Armijo led Impact with three hits and scored a run.

Lady Lightning Gold-Harrison/Taylor 4, Easton Preps-Hansen 2

Lady Lightning Gold scored two runs in the sixth inning to force extras and grabbed two runs in the top of the eighth inning to knock off Easton Preps-Hansen. Jenna Greene pitched the final 5.2 innings scoreless and hitless, striking out 10.

Beverly Bandits-Carver 5, OC Batbusters-Lara/Portesi 0

On the strength of a four-run second inning, Beverly Bandits-Carver knocked off OC Batbusters-Lara/Portesi. Danielle Drogemuller (two innings) and Amber Linton (five innings) combined for a six-hit shutout.

Texas Blaze-Bonola 5, The Factory-Patrick 4

Texas Blaze-Bonola opened up a 5-1 lead in the third inning and held on for a 5-3 win over The Factory-Patrick.

Birmingham Bolts-Dorsett 5, Tampa Mustangs-TJ 1

Shelby Lowe pitched a complete game five-hitter, striking out eight to lead Birmingham Bolts-Dorsett to a win over Tampa Mustangs-TJ.

EC Bullets-Caldwell 6, So Cal A’s-McNee 0

Emma Wilson and Sara Beth Allen combined to pitch a six-inning shutout in a 6-0 win for the EC Bullets-Caldwell over SoCal A’s-McNee. Wilson also notched two hits, a double and home run, while knocking in two. Bailee Richardson led the Bullets with three runs batted in.

Prospex Gold-Adams 9, Cal Nuggets-Woods 2

Prospex Gold-Adams broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the fifth inning and capped it with three more in the seventh inning to pull away from Cal Nuggets-Woods. Olivia Ball led the Prospex offense with three hits and four batted in with two homers. Olivia Baker also knocked a home run and pitched a scoreless final two innings, striking out five.

Premier Fastpitch-Paulson 5, LTG Lions-Lively 4

Premier Fastpitch opened up a 4-0 first-inning lead and held on to defeat LTG Lions-Lively. Kynzie Wrigley led PFP, going 2-for-3 with three batted in. Madi Eberle went the distance for the win allowing four unearned runs and striking out three.

Demarini Aces-Taylor 1, DS Hotshots-Dumezich 0

Kacie Hoffman’s first-inning RBI, driving in Stevie Meade, was the only run in a 1-0 DeMarini Aces-Taylor win over DS Hotshots-Dumezich. Mac Morgan did the rest from the for the Aces, pitching a complete-game three-hit shutout with four strikeouts.

Universal-Garcia 6, Alabama Sparks Elite-Stewart 0

A couple of three-spots and a 10-strikeout, four-hit shutout by Oregon-commit Reagan Breedlove led Universal-Garcia to a 6-0, six-inning win over Alabama Sparks Elite-Barnes. Alexis Bishop’s RBI broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning. 

Birmingham Bolts-Roberson 1, Cal Breeze-Warren 0

Alabama-commit Jaala Torrence weaved a two-hit, four-walk, 11-strikeout shutout in a Bolts-Roberson win over Cal Breeze-Warren. Taylor Middlebrook’s RBI plated Kaylen Madrey in the top of the sixth for the winning run.

Bandits Tyrell 1, Aces Ashley 2