By Carlos Arias

Cruiser Control

Texas-commit Chloe Romero, a 2017 right-hander has come up huge for the California Cruisers this summer. This week she leads the Cruisers to the 18U Premier Division National Championship game after three victories in four games on Thursday at the PGF Nationals at Huntington Beach Sports Complex.

"Chloe Romero has played her heart out for this team," Cal Cruisers coach Mel Sievers said. "Our girls have rallied around her, because we see she is out there giving it everything she has. You see this team fight from behind, because we've fought in every single game. We've been behind in every single one. We have stepped up and won games for that young lady. She's been a huge part of why we're in this position right here."

The Cruisers knocked off No. 14 Texas Blaze Gold, 2-0, and No. 2 So Cal Athletics-Richardson, 3-2, to set up a showdown against the So Cal Choppers in the Final Four.

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The Choppers beat the DeMarini Aces 8-0 before getting knocked into the loser's bracket when Oregon-commit Mary Iakopo hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to give No. 5 Firecrackers-Rico a 4-1 win. The Choppers came back to beat All American Sports Academy, 3-2, to earn a spot in the Final Four.

The Choppers got a solo homer from Missouri-bound Cayla Kessinger and a grand slam from Arizona-bound Jessica Harper to beat the Cruisers, 7-3, to force a second game in the double-elimination tournament against the Cruisers for a spot in the finals.

In the second game, Oregon-commit Jasmine Sievers, the granddaughter of Coach Sievers, drove in Mississippi State-commit Makenna Cantillo with a single up the middle to stake the Cruisers to a 1-0 lead in the top of th first in the second game against the Choppers.

Romero took over from there, keeping the Choppers scoreless on three hits through the first six innings. The Cruisers added what proved to be two much-needed runs in the top of the seventh for a 3-0 lead. Huntyr Ava drove in Cantillo with a fielder's choice grounder to second and Sievers drove in the third run with a sacrifice fly to center field.

The Choppers didn't go quietly. Fresno State-bound Schuylar Broussard beat out an infield single to lead off the bottom of the seventh and Notre Dame-commit Abby Sweet drove her in with a triple to right-center field. The Choppers added an unearned run to make it 3-2 before Romero shut the door on the Choppers to preserve the 3-2 win. 


"I'm so glad my defense has backed me up through this whole thing," Romero said. "The first bracket game we were down, 1-0, and we came back and scored five runs in International Tiebreaker and won. Then we had a comeback when we played the (Birmingham) Thunderbolts (Premier). I gave up a grand slam in the first inning and then we just came back. Our bats have been alive, scoring a whole bunch."

The Cruisers will face Tony Rico's Firecrackers in the national title game on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Deanna Manning Stadium at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, Calif. The game will be televised live by ESPNU.

"I'm really excited to play them, because we've never played them before," Romero said. "We've played everyone else a ton of times. We played (Bruce) Richardson's team (the So Cal Athletics) a ton, Explosion a ton, Choppers a ton, but I don't think we've played (Rico's Firecrackers). We're super excited. We're so proud of ourselves just to make it this far. We wanted to make it as far as our team last year, because they got ninth last year and we wanted to go higher than them, but we never thought we'd make it this far. But we made it, so we're happy and excited."

Firecrackers Rico Explode

The Huntington Beach-based Firecrackers team features multiple players from Texas and Northern California are peaking at the right time.

"It's been an interesting dynamic for sure," said Firecrackers infielder Nicole Bates, who is headed to Washington. "We made it work. The girls from out of state are living here with girls from in state. We've just gotten so close this year. It's working out great. I basically lived with (Notre Dame-committed outfielder) Riley Wester for the summer. A couple of other out-of-state girls lived with some of the Huntington (Beach) girls."

Rico's plan was for his team to improve with each game and each tournament.

"It's something that we do every year," Rico said. "You never hear me say I think we're going to do this or I think we're going to do that, because if you watch this tournament, it's a very humbling tournament. Honest to God, you take it a day at a time. The old cliches absolutely come into play. You try to be the last team standing."

The Firecrackers beat So Cal Pumas Black, 9-1, and the Choppers to reach the Final Four where they went up against No. 4 Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier, which took the first game, 2-1. But the Firecrackers came back and beat the Thunderbolts, 5-2, in the second game thanks to a strong pitching performance by Brooke Vestal, a 2018 right-hander committed to Oklahoma.

Vestal pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and she got out of another jam with runners on second and third in the second inning before settling down and shutting down the Thunderbolts.

"Knowing that my defense has my back makes it a thousand times easier," Vestal said. "I never once doubted us in any of those situations. I knew that we could get it done."

Iakopo had another big game, going 3 for 4 with three doubles, a run and two RBI, Utah-bound Alyssa Barrera went 2 for 3 with three runs and Michigan-commit Alexis Allan had a key two-run double in the top of the fifth that gave the Firecrackers a 4-1 lead over the Thunderbolts.

Bates believes the Firecrackers will be up to the challenge against the Cruisers.

"They are definitely going to be a challenge," Bates said of the Cruisers. "They are a good team, but we're going to play together like always, just play together and have each other's back, and just play for each other."

The national title game will be aired on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Deanna Manning Stadium at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, Calif. The game will be televised live by ESPNU.