The first-ever PGF Shootout wrapped up Sunday with the 18U and 16U Championships taking place Sunday at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, Calif.

The 18U division was won by the Corona Angels and right after that game the younger Angels 16U team would compete to make it two titles for the day, but standing in its way would be another high-profile organization, the So Cal Athletics.

Here’s a report of that game by Martin Henderson...

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Things could not have gone better for Kayla Green on Sunday. And the way the pitching has been going for the SoCal Athletics-Tidd/Ornelas, Green’s day could not have gone better for Bree Vasquez and Payton Tidd.

Green drove in five runs to lead the A’s to a 5-1 victory over the Corona Angels-Slye in the inaugural PGF Fall Shootout at Barber Park in Irvine.

Green was red hot. She finished with three hits and a walk. No hit was bigger than her homer in the first inning, but she added a two-run single in the sixth that provided more than enough offense for her teammates inside the circle.

Vasquez and Tidd made Green’s offense hold up as they collectively scattered 10 hits. Vasquez has committed to Central Florida and Tidd to Notre Dame. They are among the 13 committed players to college on a roster of 15.



​Kayla Green had three hits, five RBI and a walk to spark the A's offense.

Once Green made her imprint on the first inning, Coach Brian Tidd thought the game was in the bag. “I thought two or three runs would be enough,” he said. “That’s the first run we’ve allowed in bracket play.”

That would include the four games played on Saturday, when the Athletics outscored opponents 1-0, 6-0, 7-0, and 8-0. In four pool play games, the team allowed only one run, too.

Yet it would be hard to point the spotlight Sunday anywhere but first base, where Green was getting the start. She normally is a catcher.

“She’s a stud, a very consistent hitter, one of the top 17s coming out of that age group, especially as a catcher,” said Brian Tidd, who benefits from combining two teams from last season into one this season. Those teams were the Athletics Tidd-Ornelas-Mercado, and the A’s Mercado-Jendro.  

Green had a three-run home run on Saturday, too, and she said a five-RBI game was not a rarity. “When I’m on,” she said, “it happens a lot.

She’s on.

That much was evident in the first when she dropped a bomb over the left field fence. “The ball looked pretty big,” she said.

But not for long as it disappeared beyond the outfield.

The inning began with singles by Sara Mejia and Tera Testa. Then Green delivered, and it knocked pitcher Brenna Smith out of the game.  She was replaced by Analise De La Roca, who got out of the inning.

It remained 3-0 until the fourth inning when the Angels finally forged a small rally against A’s starter Vasquez.  Peyton Cody singled to right and scored from second base on Brooke Marquez’s single off the glove of diving center fielder Testa.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Athletics added insurance. Consecutive infield hits by Sam Torres and Mejia and a sac bunt by Testa moved runners into scoring position for Green. Rather than issuing a one-out intentional walk, the Angels pitched to Green, who scored both runners with a single to center field.

Vasquez pitched four innings and was charged with one earned run on five hits; she struck out five. Tidd, who gave up three hits in the seventh inning and got a force out with an assist from the right fielders, pitched three innings. She was charged with five hits and four strikeouts. Neither pitcher walked a batter.

Even though the Angels loaded the bases in the seventh, which brought the tying run to the plate with No. 3 hitter Peyton Cody at the plate, Green said she wasn’t worried.

“Our defense is good,” she said, “and I’m confident in our pitching.”

Tidd struck out Cody on a called third strike.

As for winning the very first PGF Shootout, Green said it meant a lot, she said. ““It makes me feel we can go to Nationals and win it all.”