King of the Hill TournamentSep 24, 2015 by Brentt Eads
5 Reasons To Watch The King of the Hill
5 Reasons To Watch The King of the Hill
Pictured: Jen Tyrrell (middle) and pitcher Miranda Elish (right) are together again on the Bandits Premier 18U team. The pair is being interviewed here by O
Pictured: Jen Tyrrell (middle) and pitcher Miranda Elish (right) are together again on the Bandits Premier 18U team. The pair is being interviewed here by Olympian Amanda Freed after winning PGF 16U Nationals in 2013.
This weekend many top 18U and 16U teams from across the Midwest will competing in the King of the Hill Tournament being played in St. Charles and Downer’s Grove, Ill.
FloSoftball will be streaming the 18U games, which start Saturday at 9 am CST with pool play action and then began single elimination Sunday morning through the Championship Game which starts at 4:30 pm.
To make sure you see all the 18U games streamed live this weekend at King of the Hill, Join Now!
FloSoftball previewed the King of the Hill on Wednesday and the day before spotlighted the St. Louis Esprit teams headlined by two standout pitchers, Savanna Copeland (2017, Florida State) and Lauren Boyd (2020, uncommitted but with several offers).
In today’s focus on the 32-team tournament, we present five key reasons why this tournament is one you won’t want to miss…
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1. The King of the Hill Tournament Means Something!
Unlike most other Fall events, which are showcases to allow college coaches to get to see prospective recruits, the King of the Hill Tournament is a championship and has PGF Nationals implications. As we explained in the Event Preview, the winners will position themselves nicely to be considered for inclusion go the Nationals next summer. Many of those in this 16-team field has played at the PGF 18U Premier Nationals, the most coveted ticket in club softball. The quality of the teams this weekend is so good, don’t be surprised if many of these teams do end up at PGF Nationals but winning it all at the King of the Hill will not only get the victors bragging rights, it will also get them notice that they can play with the big boys.
2. Champions Are Crowned
Tied into it the concept of the event having relevance in the PGF Nationals space, the fact that two participating teams will have won titles by Sunday afternoon is also key because it increases the intensity and effort of the play on the field. Players won’t just be going half-speed if they are already committed or because the games “don’t count,” they will be playing as hard as possible because the games aren’t showcases, they’re playoffs! College coaches love this format because, with the pressure on, you will see how players step up and perform when they’re in the spotlight and there’s something on the line. As we saw with the PGF Labor Day Showcase run by Conroy earlier this month, when teams are battling to make it to a title game, the effort and attitude go up to a whole new level.
3. Tons of Talent
There are dozens of Hot 100 players in this event and you will see future college players who are headed to the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. Let’s look at just a couple of teams, shall we? The Illinois Chill has top players like power-hitting catcher Kayla Konwent (2016, Wisconsin), fast-rising pitcher Caroline Hedgcock (2016, Arkansas) and slick-fielding infielder Alex Martens (2016, Kentucky), to name a few. Moving over a state, the Indiana Gold has players like outfielder Kristina Burkhardt (2016, North Carolina) and Halle Hixenbaugh (2016, Boston College) heading East while infielder Issy Hoty (2016, Purdue) and shortstop Gabby Jenkins (2016, Indiana) will be playing in the Big Ten. And one more state represented… the Michigan Finesse, which has pitcher Nicole Bauer (2016, Stanford) heading West while outfielder Haley Hoogenraad (2016, Michigan), catcher Abby Skvarce (2016, Michigan) and middle infielder Summer Callahan (2016, Michigan State) will all stay in-state to play Big Ten ball. That’s just a quick summary—every 18U team has talent including one that could be a favorite at the PGF Nationals next summer… which takes us to reason No. 4!
4. Could the Bandits-Tyrrell Team Be The Nation’s Best?
In an interesting twist of coaching responsibilities, Bill Conroy is taking over leading the Bandits’ Premier 16U team while Jen Tyrrell will now be the head coach for the 18U team, which last year won the prestigious Boulder Independence Day Tournament and tied for 5th at PGF Nationals. Coach JT has won a National Championship before, in 2013, with the Bandits 16U team lead by Oregon-bound pitcher Miranda Elish, who is one of two aces on this team. The other is Notre Dame commit Alexis Holloway who FloSports has as the No. 1 player in the 2017 Hot 100 (Miranda is top 3 in the 2016 class). It’s all about pitching and this duo makes the Bandits teams one of the best in the country, not to mention position players like catcher/UT Lauren Burke (2017, Oregon), infielder Lea Thompson (2016, Iowa) and infielder/outfielder Cambry Arnold (2016, James Madison) among others. The coaching and pitching will have this team as one of the favorites heading into 2016’s nationals run as most every other top team has to replace at least one front-line pitcher including the OC Batbusters (Taylor McQuillin, Arizona), So Cal A’s-Richardson (Matty Moss, Tennessee), Birmingham Thunderbolts (T Statman, Arizona), Firecrackers-Rico (Kourtney Shaw, Cal) and Explosion-Denio (Brittaney Finney, Oklahoma). Not saying these teams won’t reload or have great talent already, but the Bandits are comparable right now with any!
5. Recruiting
As we mentioned in the intro, there are still some elite players like Lauren Boyd of St. Louis Esprit who will be playing that coaches will watch closely. Some teams like the Bandits listed in No. 4 have every player committed but most teams have standout talent that is still available. Also, a new wrinkle we’re starting to see more and more is college coaches are watching the live streamed games for two purposes: 1) to evaluate uncommitted players, yes, but also to 2) keep tabs on their committed players. It’s a nice feeling when an athlete committed to her school of choice hears, “Hey, great hit in that third game Saturday… our staff was watching and we loved how you battled and hung in there!” Ah, the beauty of streaming games live! And a new feature is FloSports is archiving games now so the players, families and coaches (club and college) can watch the games live.
This weekend many top 18U and 16U teams from across the Midwest will competing in the King of the Hill Tournament being played in St. Charles and Downer’s Grove, Ill.
FloSoftball will be streaming the 18U games, which start Saturday at 9 am CST with pool play action and then began single elimination Sunday morning through the Championship Game which starts at 4:30 pm.
To make sure you see all the 18U games streamed live this weekend at King of the Hill, Join Now!
FloSoftball previewed the King of the Hill on Wednesday and the day before spotlighted the St. Louis Esprit teams headlined by two standout pitchers, Savanna Copeland (2017, Florida State) and Lauren Boyd (2020, uncommitted but with several offers).
In today’s focus on the 32-team tournament, we present five key reasons why this tournament is one you won’t want to miss…
***
1. The King of the Hill Tournament Means Something!
Unlike most other Fall events, which are showcases to allow college coaches to get to see prospective recruits, the King of the Hill Tournament is a championship and has PGF Nationals implications. As we explained in the Event Preview, the winners will position themselves nicely to be considered for inclusion go the Nationals next summer. Many of those in this 16-team field has played at the PGF 18U Premier Nationals, the most coveted ticket in club softball. The quality of the teams this weekend is so good, don’t be surprised if many of these teams do end up at PGF Nationals but winning it all at the King of the Hill will not only get the victors bragging rights, it will also get them notice that they can play with the big boys.
2. Champions Are Crowned
Tied into it the concept of the event having relevance in the PGF Nationals space, the fact that two participating teams will have won titles by Sunday afternoon is also key because it increases the intensity and effort of the play on the field. Players won’t just be going half-speed if they are already committed or because the games “don’t count,” they will be playing as hard as possible because the games aren’t showcases, they’re playoffs! College coaches love this format because, with the pressure on, you will see how players step up and perform when they’re in the spotlight and there’s something on the line. As we saw with the PGF Labor Day Showcase run by Conroy earlier this month, when teams are battling to make it to a title game, the effort and attitude go up to a whole new level.
3. Tons of Talent
There are dozens of Hot 100 players in this event and you will see future college players who are headed to the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. Let’s look at just a couple of teams, shall we? The Illinois Chill has top players like power-hitting catcher Kayla Konwent (2016, Wisconsin), fast-rising pitcher Caroline Hedgcock (2016, Arkansas) and slick-fielding infielder Alex Martens (2016, Kentucky), to name a few. Moving over a state, the Indiana Gold has players like outfielder Kristina Burkhardt (2016, North Carolina) and Halle Hixenbaugh (2016, Boston College) heading East while infielder Issy Hoty (2016, Purdue) and shortstop Gabby Jenkins (2016, Indiana) will be playing in the Big Ten. And one more state represented… the Michigan Finesse, which has pitcher Nicole Bauer (2016, Stanford) heading West while outfielder Haley Hoogenraad (2016, Michigan), catcher Abby Skvarce (2016, Michigan) and middle infielder Summer Callahan (2016, Michigan State) will all stay in-state to play Big Ten ball. That’s just a quick summary—every 18U team has talent including one that could be a favorite at the PGF Nationals next summer… which takes us to reason No. 4!
4. Could the Bandits-Tyrrell Team Be The Nation’s Best?
In an interesting twist of coaching responsibilities, Bill Conroy is taking over leading the Bandits’ Premier 16U team while Jen Tyrrell will now be the head coach for the 18U team, which last year won the prestigious Boulder Independence Day Tournament and tied for 5th at PGF Nationals. Coach JT has won a National Championship before, in 2013, with the Bandits 16U team lead by Oregon-bound pitcher Miranda Elish, who is one of two aces on this team. The other is Notre Dame commit Alexis Holloway who FloSports has as the No. 1 player in the 2017 Hot 100 (Miranda is top 3 in the 2016 class). It’s all about pitching and this duo makes the Bandits teams one of the best in the country, not to mention position players like catcher/UT Lauren Burke (2017, Oregon), infielder Lea Thompson (2016, Iowa) and infielder/outfielder Cambry Arnold (2016, James Madison) among others. The coaching and pitching will have this team as one of the favorites heading into 2016’s nationals run as most every other top team has to replace at least one front-line pitcher including the OC Batbusters (Taylor McQuillin, Arizona), So Cal A’s-Richardson (Matty Moss, Tennessee), Birmingham Thunderbolts (T Statman, Arizona), Firecrackers-Rico (Kourtney Shaw, Cal) and Explosion-Denio (Brittaney Finney, Oklahoma). Not saying these teams won’t reload or have great talent already, but the Bandits are comparable right now with any!
5. Recruiting
As we mentioned in the intro, there are still some elite players like Lauren Boyd of St. Louis Esprit who will be playing that coaches will watch closely. Some teams like the Bandits listed in No. 4 have every player committed but most teams have standout talent that is still available. Also, a new wrinkle we’re starting to see more and more is college coaches are watching the live streamed games for two purposes: 1) to evaluate uncommitted players, yes, but also to 2) keep tabs on their committed players. It’s a nice feeling when an athlete committed to her school of choice hears, “Hey, great hit in that third game Saturday… our staff was watching and we loved how you battled and hung in there!” Ah, the beauty of streaming games live! And a new feature is FloSports is archiving games now so the players, families and coaches (club and college) can watch the games live.