Sean Brashear always tells his Firecrackers to "never fear failure" and "embrace opportunity."



Firecrackers-Brashear went out and embraced opportunity in a big way, surviving a game that featured five lead changes to pull out an 11-9 win over Beverly Bandits-Dorsey in the third round of the winner's bracket at the PGF 16U Premier Nationals on Wednesday night at Huntington Beach Sports Complex in California.

"We always trust in ourselves, even when we are behind," Cal State Fullerton commit Alyssa Hernandez said. "No matter what we're always able to come back and get it, because that's just the kind of team we are. (Firecrackers coach) Sean (Brashear) always tells us, 'Never fear failure. Embrace opportunity.' And I feel that's what we did."

Jacey Bourgeois had a two-run double during the Firecrackers' four-run rally in the top of the sixth that gave them a 6-4 lead, but Hope Straight answered with a home run in the Bandits' three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth that helped them regain a 7-6 lead.

Oklahoma commit Alycia Flores came back with an RBI double in the top of the seventh to help the Firecrackers tie the score 7-7 and send the game into extra innings.

Hernandez had a two-run double and Miranda Gallardo delivered a two-run single to give the Firecrackers an 11-7 lead in the top of the eighth and they held on for the win despite a two-run rally from the Bandits in the bottom of the eighth.

The Firecrackers continue in the winner's bracket of the double-elimination tournament to face Explosion-Greg in the fourth round on Thursdayat 10:15 AM PT.

In other PGF 16U Premier third round winner's bracket games:

Beverly Bandits-Tyrrell 8, Gainesville Gold 1
Northwestern-bound lefty Sydney Supple of the Bandits and Gainesville Gold ace Alexis Kilfoyl, a 6-foot-1 right-hander committed to Alabama, were engaged in a pitching duel for five-plus innings before the Bandits erupted with seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to send Gainesville into the loser's bracket.

Kilfoyl connected on a solo bomb to left-center field in the top of the second to stake Gainesville to an early 1-0 lead. The Bandits tied it in the bottom of the fourth and Alabama commit Bailey Dowling's three-run double capped the Bandits seven-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth to give them the run-rule win.

"She's definitely a great pitcher and kept us off balance and swinging," Supple said. "But really honed in as a team and decided what we were getting and decided our plan of attack. It changed throughout the game. We were leaning on each other and picking each other up and just trusting each other that we would get the job done."

Athletics-Mercado/Smith 6, Texas Threat 0
Army commit Kayla Edwards went 2 for 3 with a triple, a run, and three RBIs; LSU commit Raeleen Gutierrez went 2 for 3 with a run; Ole Miss commit Paige Smith went 1 for 2 with a double, a run, and an RBI; Oklahoma commit Quincee Lilio went 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI; and UCLA-bound Alyssa Garcia went 1 for 3 with a double, a run, and an RBI to lead Athletics-Mercado/Smith, the defending PGF 14U Premier National Champions.

"We've won 12s and 14s, so this year we're just trying to work on camaraderie and everything and we're just going to keep winning," Edwards said. "That's the goal, just keep winning. We're all really close and we have really good teamwork and everything, so that really helps when it comes to games because we all know we have each other's backs."

Atlanta Vipers 1, Desert Thunder 0
Karlie Keeney, an uncommitted 2019 right-hander, tossed a four-hit shutout with one walk and five Ks. Michigan State commit Charla Echols drove in Kennesaw State commit Denise Teague with a single in the top of the third to lift the Vipers over the Thunder.

Sorcerer-Savoy 2, Tennessee Fury 0
Nicole May tossed a three-hitter with no walks and 10 strikeouts and Sydney Frankenberger, Brook Mitchell, and Hope Alley had two hits apiece as Sorcerer blanked the Fury.

Oro Valley Suncats 1, So Cal Choppers-Ziese 0
Izzabela Goerke doubled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and eventually scored on an error to give the Suncats the walk-off victory over the Choppers. Amya Legarra threw a six-hit shutout with three walks and two strikeouts for the Suncats.

East Cobb Bullets-Biele 6, Impact Gold-Plocheck 5
Paige Cook went 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI; Chandler Dennis went 2 for 4 with a double, a run, and an RBI; and Arielle Oda, Leea Hanks, and Kieara Edwards had two hits apiece as the Bullets pounded out 14 hits to hold off Impact Gold.

Explosion-Greg 6, Courage-Weaver 1
Arkansas commit Jenna Bloom allowed two hits, one walk, no earned runs while striking out eight to pick up the complete game win. Arkansas commit Larissa Cesena and Long Beach State-bound Maddy Ruffin both doubled and drove in a run to power the Explosion.

Huntsville Sparks Elite 4, Wagners Gold 3
Emma Latham scored on a passed ball and Anna Hazelwood drove in Karla Hice for the walk-off win as the Sparks rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth to beat Wagners Gold.

So Cal Breakers Blue 7, OC Batbusters-Zappia 6
Paige Dimler went 3 for 3 with a double, a home run, two runs, and three RBIs to help the Breakers hang on for the win over the Batbusters.

Firecrackers-Roth 1, Iowa Premier 0
Keahilele Mattson went 2 for 2 with a double and a homer and Morgan MacBeath scattered seven hits, walked one, and struck out five to help the Firecrackers edge Iowa Premier.

Nor Cal Firecrackers 5, Cal Nuggets-Woods 1
Katelyn Sturm belted a three-run homer during Nor Cal's five-run rally in the bottom of the third en route to the victory.

South Dakota Renegades 2, Beverly Bandits-Ketelhut 0
South Dakota State commit Grace Glanzer recorded a six-hitter with no walks and six strikeouts to record the shutout for the Renegades and send the Bandits into the loser's bracket.

New Lenox Lightning-Izzo 13, Lady Lightning Gold Elite 5
Emily Schultz went 3 for 4 with a home run, two runs, and four RBIs; Gabriella Gedville went 3 for 5 with three runs and an RBI; Alyssa Cacini went 3 for 4 with a triple, a run, and two RBIs; and Kaitlin Lynch went 1 for 5 with three runs and an RBI to power New Lenox to the win.

Birmingham Thunderbolts-Maze 6, Vienna Stars 3
Kolby Holcombe went 4 for 5 with a double, a run, and three RBIs and Kaitlyn Savannah Woodward homered to help the Bolts rally to victory.

Texas Glory-Naudin 4, Georgia Academy Power-Tunon 2
Savanna DesRochers went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Madison Hirsch went 1 for 3 with a double, a run, and an RBI to lead Texas Glory past Georgia Academy.

Follow Carlos Arias on Twitter @SoCalSidelines.

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