It wasn’t easy, but it was surely satisfying, for Team Mizuno Impulse out of Keller, Texas as the team overcame two loses and battled back from the loser’s bracket to win the Colorado Freedom Invitational’s 14U bracket.

The Texas team beat Pure Fastpitch-Jackson twice in the finals, 18-7 and 6-2, to take the crown.

The Impulse squad, comprised of uncommitted 1018’s and ‘19’s, went 11-2 for the week and, according to Head Coach Tony Woodall, saw the pitching and offense gel at the right time.

“We have played well in several national tournaments prior to this,” Woodall explained, “and we were able to put everything together this week. It all starts with pitching and we had it—Katelyn Terrell (2018) was 7-2 on the week and Paxton Scheurer (2018) was 5-0.”

“We had quality at-bats all week. The girls hit 15 home runs during the tournament and our trio of lefties, Claudia Ware (2018), Erin Blackburn (2018) and Caraline Woodall (2019) all hit better than .460 for the tournament.”

The week started off well for the Impulse girls as they took the first two games during pool play against Hudson Valley Express (11-1) and the Albuquerque Stingers (3-2).

The pool games Sunday proved to be more challenging as four of the Impulse players –Scheurer, Ware, Kathleen Clum (2018) and Madyson Lohman (2018) – were performing at the OnDeck Softball Colorado Jamboree. The team dropped the first game against Michigan Outlaws 7-1, but rallied in its second game to beat Raptors-Stinson 11-1.

A 3-1 record in Pool Play was good enough for a No. 2 seed going into Bracket Play, but TMI started off poorly.

Trailing 6-0 early against Absolute Blast from Washington, Impulse – thanks to solid pitching by both Scheurer and homeruns by Kasey Simpson (2018) and Ryleigh Aungst (2018) – was able to claw back into the game and win 8-7 in ITB.

However, TMI dropped its next game against a strong Indiana Magic Gold team and had to play through the Loser’s Bracket. Impulse won games against Michigan Outlaws (2-0), Rip City 00 (10-5) and those victories set up a chance to make it to the final day of the tournament.

Championship Day saw the team from Dallas/Fort Worth face a long road to the finals, but five games later— victories against Vienna Stars 00 (6-0), Indiana Magic Gold (5-3), New Jersey Intensity (7-3) and the pair against Pure Fastpitch-Jackson – put the Texans on the victory stand.

 

Order of finish for the tournament

1^st Team Mizuno Impulse
2^nd Pure Fastpitch-Jackson
3^rd New Jersey Intensity
4^th Indiana Magic Gold
5^th Vienna Stars 00
5^th SoCal Choppers 00

 

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Here’s a player-by-player rundown of each girl on the title-winning Team Mizuno Impulse team and how she did in the tournament:

Ryleigh Aungst (2018)
Hit four home runs in the tournament.

Erin Blackburn (2018)
Hit .464 with a .571 on-base percentage and used her speed to hit a three-run in-the-park home run versus Vienna Stars.

Aleah Bozarth (2019)
Hit her first home run of her career and was stellar behind the plate and at 3^rd base with a .974 fielding average.

Kathleen Clum (2018)
Very good utility play with a 1.000 fielding average and led the team in sacrifice bunts and walks.

Mackenzie Hooker (2017)
Tremendous defensively at catcher, she had 1.000 fielding average for the tournament and finished with the double to the end the ITB win versus Absolute Blast.

Madyson Lohman (2018)
Led off the New Jersey Intensity game with a double and scored on Kasey Simpson’s home run.

Paxton Scheurer (2018)
Compiled a 5-0 pitching record with a 1.17 WHIP and .226 BA. Offensively produced four home runs.

Kasey Simpson (2018)
Finished the week with four home runs, one of which was a clutch two-run blast in ITB versus Absolute Blast. She batted .459 with 16 RBI and led the team in doubles with 8.

Katelyn Terrrell (2018)
Went 7-2 in the circle with a 1.5 WHIP and .281 BAA.

Claudia Ware (2018)
Hit .486 for the tournament with one homerun, 13 RBI and 16 runs scored.

Caraline Woodall (2019)
Hit .464 with a .500 on-base percentage and scored 12 runs.

Avery Zeigler (2018)
Hit a clutch two-run single versus Indiana Magic Gold to tie the game in the fifth inning and eventually scored the go-ahead run.