Coach Mike Stith had won the previous two title games at the Team NJ Summer Classic held in Edison and Bridgewater, N.J.

Two years ago, as the head of Team Mizuno – which included such future 2015 Hot 100 honorees as Amanda Lorenz (Florida) and Morganne Flores (Washington) –Stith’s team beat the Lightning and last summer – after merging with legendary club coach Gary Haning and the OC Batbusters – Stith and crew beat Carolina Elite on its first step of the journey to winning the PGF 18U Premier National Championship.

This year, because of rain, wind and cold, the event was called prior to the championship game so his OC Batbuster Haning/Stith team and the California Cruisers – Mel (Sievers) squad were named as “Co-Champions” after winning in the semi-finals.

“We would have liked to have played (the championship game),” said Coach Stith after the rain came in during the afternoon, “but we were fortunate to have gotten in three games today. It got so cold, too, that we allowed some of our kids, like Amanda (Lorenz) in centerfield, to wear jackets during the game.”

The Batbusters defeated Lady Lightning Team Miken Gold in a five inning game 6-2 game incoming junior catcher Jocelyn Alo (Cal) sparked the win with a first inning grand slam and senior pitcher Taylor McQuillin (Arizona) recorded the win. Alo had seven home runs for the week.

The Batbusters flexed their offensive muscles in the first two games, too, hitting six home runs –including a pair from infielder Tannon Snow (Washington) in an 11-1 win over Jersey Intensity and started the day off with a 9-2 victory over Newtown Rock. Freshman pitcher Vanessa Foreman was brought in off the OC Batbusters – Campbell 14U team and looked strong.

“We brought in some young players to get experience,” Stith continued. “Several of them looked really good and that will serve them well for the future including Boulder next week.”

In the other matchup, the Cruisers won 2-1 over PA Chaos as 2017 third baseman Breah Ava hit a walk-off home run and pitcher Annisa Amarillas recorded the victory.

Coach Sievers said, “I told (Event Direct) Jim (Barsalona) we would have loved to played in the championship game,” but admitted he was surprised his team even got that far after a rocky beginning.

“We lost the first two games and we had a sit down talk with the team, a heart-to-heart, and they responded in an amazing way,” he said. “We ended up going 8 and 2 and I’m extremely proud of them.”

“As a coach we preach ‘we before me’ and playing together and on the same side of the fence. It unfolded for us this weekend right before our face.”

Unlike the Batbuster blowout wins, the Cruisers had some nailbiting comebacks to go undefeated on Saturday.

Against Team Pennsylvania early Saturday, the Cruisers were down by two in the last inning before 2019 infielder Hunter Ava hit a home run to tie the game. In the 10^th, the Cruisers again trailed by two before winning the game 12-10.

In the 16U division the Virginia Glory Elite-Mertz and Beverly Bandits-DeMarini teams were named Co-Champions as well.

Other than losing the championship games to inclement weather, event director Jim Barsalona said he was very happy with how this year’s Team NJ Summer Classic went.

“The whole event went very smoothly,” he explained, “and the quality of the teams was what made this event so enjoyable. The teams all had a good time and we had a lot of college coaches—over 200—and there were so many that we ran out of scouting books for them.”

“It was amazing in every way,” said Coach Sievers of the tournament. “It’s a great tournament to play in and enjoy the East Coast. It’s especially good for kids who are bright and get to look at Ivy League schools. My shortstop is signed at Harvard and my first baseman at Penn and we had players check out schools like Columbia while we’re here. It’s a great trip to make in so many ways.”