One pitch.
Just one pitch away from winning it all or taking home the second place trophy, that was what was on the line in today’s ASA/USA 16U GOLD National Championship first game between TN Fury 97 and Tulsa Elite 98.
The Elite had moved through the winner’s bracket and had the advantage of having more rest than the Fury, who had to come out of the loser’s bracket and played four games on Saturday–at 8 am, noon, 2 pm and 4 pm.
And it was 100 degrees on the fields in Broken Arrow, Okla.
After training by 7-2, the Fury roared back to score four runs in the 6th inning and the critical one that tied the game and came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and two strikes on outfielder Alyssa Coppinger (2015, Tennessee Chattanooga).
Coppinger hit a hard grounder to the left side that got through and allowed the tying run to come in and, essentially, allow the Fury to come back and win the 16U championship, albeit eight innings later.
“I had a just a little bit of hair before today,” joked Head Coach Randy Coppinger, “but now it’s all gone.”
The Fury would give up two runs to the Elite in the top of the 8th inning, but scored three runs in part because of singles by Baylee Cook (2015, Belmont), Jordan Spicer (2015, Belmont) and Kelsey McGuffin (2015, Western Kentucky), the latter of which knocked in the winning run to make the final score 10-9.
Coach Coppinger said an unsung hero for the team was pitcher Hannah Bodenhorn. With Fury trailing 8-0 in the winner’s bracket final, Bodenhorn relieved starter Brianna Jones in the top of the 4th and cooled off the Elite hitters, allowing only one more run in the 9-5 loss. A few hours later, she pitched almost five innings in the first championship game, allowing three earned runs and keeping the game close.
“Hannah did a fine job and allowed our other pitchers to get some rest,” said Coppinger. “That was critical in the second game.”
In the Elite dugout, mention has to go to De’Leigh Emarthle who went 3-for-4 with a home run and two doubles which knocked in three RBI.
That was all in game one.
The “if” game looked like the momentum continued Fury’s way, as the offensive that provided 15 hits in the first game didn’t miss a beat.
The Tennessee team punched out four runs out of the gate in the top of the first highlighted by a three-run homer by Libby Sugg (2015, BYU) who knew it was gone the moment she hit it.
“I definitely knew the way it came off the bat that I really hit it well,” she said. “I was frustrated because I let a good pitch go by for the first strike and then I watched a riseball go by for a second strike and knew I had to hit the next pitch. It was a similar riseball, up in the zone and I was fortunate to hit it well.”
The offense was also led by Jordan Fortel (2015, Tennessee Chattanooga) who hit three singles in four plate appearances and drove in a run, but more importantly she was the stopper in the circle as she scattered six hits over seven innings with only one walk to slow down one of the top offenses in the country.
“She (Fortel) stepped up and did a wonderful job today,” continued Coach Coppinger. ”
By the top of the 6th, Fury had stretched the lead to 7-0 and the Elite was able to put two on the board in the bottom of that inning but that was the final score.
Years from now, players and coaches from both sides will remember how TN Fury 97 made an incredible comeback over the course of the day and stunned an outstanding Tulsa Elite team.
“When we were down by five in the first game,” Libby Sugg admits, “I gotta be honest, I wasn’t feeling too good about our chances at that point. But in the sixth inning all the hits started coming together and we knew we could do this, it was just a crazy feeling. Then coming into the second game we knew we had to keep the adrenaline and momentum going. It was important for us to jump on them early and once that happened we felt we couldn’t be stopped.”
If there is a silver lining after today for the Elite, it figures to be that almost all of the team will return next year at the same 16U level.
“Tulsa executed really well,” said Coach Coppinger. “That team hits the ball really well and is one of the best hitting teams we played all year.”
The same could be said for the Fury, which batted .430 as a team in the Nationals this week. Sugg led the way with a .583 average and Fortel slugged eight of the teams 21 home runs. One factor that may have helped the Fury is big-game experience–eight of the 12 players on this team were on the squad two years ago that won the ASA/USA Class A 14U Nationals held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Today’s title was significant for another reason: it was the first-ever ASA/USA 16U GOLD National Championship.
“I look at this team and each player contributed and defines what it means to be a true champion,” concluded Coach Coppinger. “I really believe you’re only as good as the people around you and we have great kids and a staff of coaches that give the players outstanding instruction, which we saw pay off today.”
Coach Coppinger mentioned that others who contributed to the team’s success this year included players Katie Corum (2015), Madison Cousineau (2015, Mississippi State), Hannah Devault (2016) and Kayla Logoleo (2015) as well as coaches Keith Perry (Co-Head Coach), Kevin Earls, Bob Fortel and Chuck Sugg.