The So Cal A’s Invitational is able to draw top teams to its relatively small 13-team field because those elite teams are looking to challenge themselves against the best and get ready for the six-week run leading up to the PGF Nationals and the USA Softball JO Cup in August.

It’s the perfect opportunity for teams to see where they stack up against the best and what they have to do to improve as the major national events approach.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR FLOSOFTBALL.COM’S LIVE STREAMING OF THE SO CAL A’S INVITATIONAL

The results have been all over the place the past two days, but two teams from the South took down to powerhouses from So Cal on Saturday afternoon at Hillview School.

The Gold Coast Hurricanes (Fla.) rallied from a 3-0 deficit to pull out a 4-3 win over the OC Batbusters, the defending PGF 18U national champions, and the Birmingham Thunderbolts (Ala.) blanked the always dangerous Corona Angels (Calif.), 4-0, in pool play games.

“That’s why we come, to face some of the best in the country,” Hurricanes coach Marty Cooper said. “This makes us better for the long run. We’re trying to get ready for the end.”

The Batbusters scored three runs in the first two innings to jump out to the early 3-0 lead. Florida-committed Danielle Romanello’s solo blast of Batbusters ace Taylor McQuillin in the bottom of the second made it 3-1.

A pair of future Florida State teammates helped the Hurricanes score three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-3 lead. Leslie Faris came through with a two-run single to tie it and Carsyn Gordon added an RBI single for the go-ahead run.

The Thunderbolts and Angels battled to a scoreless standstill until Morgan Nelson doubled and scored on KK Crocker’s triple to give the Thunderbolts a 1-0 lead. Then Crocker scored on a wild pitch and it was 2-0. Nelson added an RBI double in the fifth and Alabama-signee Reagan Dykes sealed it with a solo blast to left-center field in the sixth.

The Thunderbolts, who were beaten by the So Cal Choppers (Calif.), 4-2, and OC Batbusters (Calif.), 6-2, on Friday, rode the momentum from the Corona Angels win to an impressive 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. Giselle Juarez piched a solid game for the Thunderbolts to keep the Hurricanes’ bats in check.

“We come out hear to play the best competition that’s on the West Coast,” said Thunderbolts assistant Katelyn Boyd, who won a national championship at Arizona State in 2011. “I’m from the West Coast, so it’s very familiar to me. Yesterday was a rough day with two losses. To see them come back today and not only win, but play a little bit better as a team collectively, that was uplifting.”

Both the Corona Angels and the Batbusters bounced back with wins to close out pool play. Florida-bound Amanda Lorenz had an inside-the-park homer that went for a two-run home run and an RBI single to lead the Batbusters to a 7-0 win over the Wichita Mustangs (Kan.) and Oregon State-commit Camryn Ybarra had two hits and drove in three runs to lead the Corona Angels to an 8-2 win over Texas Glory (Tex.).

In a So Cal A’s Invitational bracket game:

Wichita Mustangs (Kan.) 5, Explosion (Calif.) 3: LSU-committed Taryn Antoine broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run blast and Julia Cottrill added an RBI single in the top of the fifth to make it 4-1 for the Mustangs. Houston-bound Elise Lebeouf’s RBI single in the sixth made it a 5-1 lead for the Mustangs.

Explosion didn’t go quietly. With the 90-minute time limit ticking away in the bottom of the sixth, Oklahoma-commit Vanessa Taukeiaho got an RBI single and Auburn-bound Makayla Martin drove in a run with a ground out to close the gap to 5-3 before the game ended on a called third strike with the bases loaded.

The Mustangs advance to play the Batbusters on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. in the single-elimination portion of the tournament.

In other So Cal A’s Invitational pool play games:

So Cal A’s (Calif.) 10, Jersey Intensity (NJ) 1: Arkansas-commit Autumn Storms allowed one hit and struck out four in five innings to pick up the win and the So Cal A’s used and eight-run rally in the fourth inning to blow out Jersey Intensity. South Carolina-bound Kennedy Clark went 2 for 3 with a triple, an RBI and two runs, Samantha Diaz drove in two runs, South Carolina-commit Mackenzie Boesel went 2 for 2 with an RBI and two runs, Tennessee-commit Jenna Holcomb went 2 for 3 with a run and Long Beach State-bound Nichole Fry had an RBI double to power the So Cal A’s offense.

Firecrackers-Rico (Calif.) 5, East Cobb Bullets (Ga.) 1: Cal-bound Courtney Shaw got the complete game, Washington-committed shortstop Nicole Bates made some nice defensive plays and contributed with her bat and Utah-bound Kelly Martinez broke open the game with a two run double to help the Firecrackers to victory.

Firecrackers-Rico (Calif.) 2, So Cal A’s (Calif.) 2: Bates delivered with an inside-the-park homer down the right-field line in the bottom of the sixth to help the Firecrackers tie the So Cal A’s as the time limit expired.

Wichita Mustangs (Kan.) 0, So Cal Choppers (Calif.) 0: Loyola Marymount-commit Lexi Sorensen of the Choppers and Georgia-committed Lauren Mathis of the Mustangs battled to a scoreless draw in an excellent pitching duel.

Beverly Bandits (Ill.) 5, Jersey Intensity (NJ) 0: Notre Dame-committed Alexis Holloway scattered five hits and struck out six in six innings to secure the shutout, Miami of Ohio-bound Michaela Schlattman drove in two runs and scored a run, South Carolina-bound Alexis Mack had two hits and scored a run and Oregon-commit Lauren Burk went 2 for 2 with a run and an RBI for the Bandits.

Explosion (Calif.) 8, East Cobb Bullets (Ga.) 0: Missouri-bound Kolby Romaine hit a three-run bomb in the fourth to help the Explosion take down the Bullets.

Texas Glory (Tex.) 11, So Cal Choppers (Calif.) 0: Oklahoma State-bound Madison Montgomery and Oregon-commit Shannon Rhodes had two his apiece for the Texas Glory in the romp over the Choppers.

---

SO CAL A’S INVITATIONAL AT HILLVIEW SCHOOL, SANTA ANA, CALIF.

SATURDAY, JUNE 20 RESULTS

POOL A

So Cal A’s (Calif.) 10, Jersey Intensity (NJ) 1

Firecrackers-Rico (Calif.) 5, East Cobb Bullets (Ga.) 1

Explosion (Calif.) 8, East Cobb Bullets (Ga.) 0

Beverly Bandits (Ill.) 5, Jersey Intensity (NJ) 0

So Cal A’s (Calif.) 2, Firecrackers-Rico (Calif.) 2

POOL B

So Cal Choppers (Calif.) 0, Wichita Mustangs (Kan.) 0

Birmingham Thunderbolts (Ala.) 4, Corona Angels (Calif.) 0

Gold Coast Hurricanes (Fla.) 4, OC Batbusters (Calif.) 3

Texas Glory (Tex.) 11, So Cal Choppers (Calif.) 0

OC Batbusters (Calif.) 7, Wichita Mustangs (Kan.) 0

Birmingham Thunderbolts (Ala.) 3, Gold Coast Hurricanes (Fla.) 2

Corona Angels (Calif.) 8. Texas Glory (Tex.) 2

BRACKET PLAY

Whichita Mustangs (Kan.) 5, Explosion (Calif.) 3

---

SUNDAY, JUNE 21, SCHEDULE AT HILLVIEW SCHOOL, SANTA ANA, CALIF.

BRACKET PLAY

FIRST ROUND

Firecrackers-Rico (Calif.) vs. Texas Glory (Tex.), Field 1, 9:45 a.m.

East Cobb Bullets (Ga.) vs. Birmingham Thunderbolts (Ala.), Field 1, 8 a.m.

Beverly Bandits (Ill.) vs. Gold Coast Hurricanes (Fla.), Field 2, 8 a.m.

So Cal Choppers (Calif.) vs. Jersey Intensity (NJ), Field 2, 9:45 a.m.

QUARTERFINALS

OC Batbusters (Calif.) vs. Wichita Mustangs (Kan.), Field 1, 1:15 p.m.

Firecrackers-Rico (Calif.)-Texas Glory (Tex.) winner vs. East Cobb Bullets (Ga.)-Birmngham Thunderbolts (Ala.) winner, Field 2, 11:30 a.m.

So Cal A’s (Calif.) vs. Beverly Bandits (Ill.)-Gold Coast Hurricanes (Fla.) winner, Field 1, 11:30 a.m.

Corona Angels (Calif.) vs. So Cal Choppers (Calif.)-Jersey Intensity (NJ) winner, Field 2, 1:15 p.m.

SEMIFINALS

Field 1 and Field 2 at 3 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Field 1 at 4:45 p.m.