The PGF 16U Nationals on Wednesday saw several of FloSoftball’s top 10 teams bow out early in the double-elimination bracket that started the day before at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex.

By Wednesday morning, the hopes of a PGF National Championship had already sank for two Batbuster clubs, No. 4 OC Batbusters- Briggs and No. 7 OC Batbusters- Smith.

Perhaps most shocking is the early exit of the 2014 PGF Champs, the No. 3 rated So Cal A’s- Myers/McNee team, which lost its first two games in the double-elimination bracket.

At least one California contender still looks strong and viable for a chance to play Saturday in the championship game and, importantly, remaining unbeaten and earning valuable rest time due to their undefeated record in the winner’s bracket.

The Sorcerer Gold-Williams team from Northern California and Oklahoma Exclusive carried a nail-biting scoreless game into the top of the sixth until the Sorcerers broke the game wide open with a four-run frame.

A run on a passed ball was all the Sorcerers needed to spark their offense as they added three more RBI singles in the inning, clinching the victory behind the stellar pitching of Danielle Williams (2018, Missouri)

During the team huddle after the game, Head Coach Mike Williams—the pitcher’s father—encouraged his team “to kick it into high gear as there are no more one-game days left in the tournament.”

He urged the team to consider non-tactical strategies, such as hydration, nutrition, and rest going into the rest of the tournament.

Elsewhere, Texas Bombers Gold ace and Oklahoma-verbal Brooke Vestel, whose second episode in the video documentary Riseball was released Wednesday on this site, could not hold off a strong offensive effort by the Southern Force team in a 3-1 loss.

Mallory Peyton (2017, Kentucky) batted in the final Southern Force run of the game on a solo home run on a 2-0 count from Vestel. When asked about the at-bat, Peyton stated, “I was just letting her pitch to me and trying to find my pitch to hit.”

Her father, Head Coach Shannon Peyton, added the exact moment when he thought his team had secured the victory: “It was the double play in the top of the sixth,” Peyton recalled, citing a 6-4-3 double-play the Bombers’ No. 4 batter hit into.

“Up to that point, they [Bombers] had good energy the whole game, but after the double-play, the momentum changed. They seemed deflated.”

Another key battle in the winner’s bracket game matched the Wichita Mustangs and Georgia Impact-Jeffreys.

The Mustangs, who were coming off an 18U national title win at the USA JO Cup Championship in which eight of the current 16U team played, were stunned by a three-run, bottom-of-the-7th rally by a strong Georgia Impact team.

A costly error by the shortstop trying to cut down the lead runner at second led tothe first run of the inning, followed by a fielder’s choice for the second run to tie the game at 3.

After a line-drive down the left field line that tipped the outfielders’ glove and rolled out of play resulting in a ground-rule double, 2017 Virginia-commit Sam Thomas stepped to the plate and nailed a shot up the middle for the winning RBI.

When asked about what was going through her head during the at-bat, Thomas stated, “I just wanted to make contact with the ball. I kept telling myself to calm down and hit the backside of the ball.”

Head Coach Rick Jefferys recounted what he told his team going into the bottom of the 7th. Talking to his No. 1 and 2 hitters, who he refers to as the team’s “table setters” and “spark plugs,” he simply told them to get on base and let the power behind them hit them in.

Describing the game as a “clash of the titans,” Jefferys emphasized the importance of coming out on top of the second round at the tournament and stressed that was a win his team needed.

Winning pitcher, and highly rated Hot 100 2017 pitcher Gabby Sprang, a Tennessee-commit, recalled her entering the game with two on and two outs as just like any other day on the mound.

Her whole focus going into the crucial last inning, she said, was “just shut them down and know that the offense would get the runs needed.”

On a non-softball related note, congrats to Explosion Head Coach Greg Borilleri who at 37 years young welcomed step-grandchild, a big boy (9 lbs, 1 oz!) named Anthony Young Jr., earlier this week.