By Manny Alvarez

Jessie Fontes was one out away from throwing a no-hitter before escaping with a two-hitter to lead So Cal Choppers-Fausett (Valencia, Calif.) to a 2-1 win over Texas Blaze-Bonola (San Antonio, Tex.), 2-1 in the second round of the winner's bracket at the PGF 14U Premier Nationals on Wednesday at the Fountain Valley Sports Complex in Fountain Valley, Calif.

Fontes walked one and struck out nine. With two outs in the seventh, Kamryn Caldwell broke up the no-hitter with a line drive past Fontes to center field.



"I had to keep the ball low," Fontes said. "I had to hit my spots. I didn't think that much about the no-hitter. I just thought of keeping their runners off the base. We just have to make sure we keep hitting the ball and that I hit my spots while I work together with my catcher to keep getting strikes."

After Caldwell got the first hit of the game for the Blaze, Aaliyah Ortiz followed with a single to left. Nicolette Ramirez hit a grounder to third, but while making the tag on Caldwell, the ball fell out of the glove of the third baseman to load the bases. Caldwell scored from third on a passed ball to put the Blaze on the board, but Fontes struck out Villa to end the threat and the game.

"We didn't make adjustments," Blaze coach Nathan Rodriguez said. "In order to be successful in this game, you have to make adjustments. It was the mental adjustments, not the physical. That's what it came down to. They scored two unearned runs and we scored one unearned run. We made more mistakes than them. That's all it comes down to, making the mental adjustments."

Isabella Dayton went 2 for 3, while McKenzie Barbara and Sophia Medellin both drove in a run each for the Choppers. That is all Fontes needed as she only let two runners get on base on a hit batter and a dropped ball by the second baseman before Caldwell got the hit in the seventh inning.

So Cal Choppers coach Gary Fausett said, "You have to win every game you play. You have to get to Friday and Saturday. You can't afford to play five or six games in a day. That's what it boils down to."   

Caldwell threw six innings, while only giving up five hits in the loss for the Blaze, which moves into the loser's bracket to play Dirt Dogs Team Mizuno-Heffley on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. as it is win out or go home for the Blaze. 

"We have to grind," Rodriguez said. "We've done it before. In the PGF Texas qualifier, we lost our first bracket game and we ended up winning seven straight. I have all the faith. If I was a betting man, I say we will play until Saturday. That's what I want to do. We just have to grind. That's all we have to do."

The Choppers advance to the next round of the winner's bracket to play Georgia Impact-Stewart, an 8-7 winner over Texas Team Mizuno Impulse at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday.

"Jessie will pitch her heart out," Fausett said. "We need to hit for her. Bottom line, we need to hit for her. We're not hitting. We can hit, but we need to hit to win."

East Cobb Bullets-Caldwell (Loganville, Ga.) 3, So Cal 3D-Hernandez (Sylmar, Calif.) 1

Emma Wilson went 2 for 3 with a two-run home run to center field in the fifth inning to lead EC Bullets to victory. Emily Buck threw a two-hitter with five strikeouts. Caroline Davis went 2 for 3 and Kam Caldwell drove in a run with a single in the first inning for the Bullets. The EC Bullets move on to the next round of the winner's bracket to take on Oklahoma Gametime Stars Gold 2020, a 4-3 winner over Beverly Bandits Futures-Stephens, on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. (Photo by Manny Alvarez)

"We just needed to hit the ball," Wilson said. "It was scattered, but we hit the ball. We didn't make that many errors. Emily did great pitching. We just have to keep on hitting, be disciplined at the plate and avoid making errors."

Melissa Pax and Sabrina Morales got the only hits for So Cal 3D. Morales drove in the only run with a double to left in the sixth inning. Ava Justman threw six innings, while striking out four in the loss for So Cal 3D.   

Birmingham Thunderbolts-Dorsett (Mobile, Ala.,) 7, Texas Glory-Naudin (Princetion) 3

Shelby Lowe threw a complete game with 12 strikeouts to lead the Bolts to victory. Caitlyn McCray went 1 for 4 with three RBI, Abby Allen went 3 for 4 with an RBI, Carlee McCondichie went 2 for 4 and Madison Majors went 2 for 4 with an RBI. The Bolts advance to the next round of the winner's bracket to face Team Seattle, a 4-3 winner over Illinois Chill Gold, on Thursday at 10:45 a.m. (Photo by Manny Alvarez)

"We just had to make routine outs," Lowe said. "Make them hit into groundouts or popups. That's all that you have to shoot for. I just have to keep throwing strikes. My teammates have to keep hitting the ball. We just have to keep winning."

Milee Jo Green and Carson Armijo each went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Chyanne Ellett threw 4.1 innings of relief work while striking out six for the Texas Glory.

So Cal A's-Mercado/Smith (Corona, Calif.) 13, Birmingham Thunderbolts-Roberson (Mobile, Ala.) 0 (4 innings)

Alyssa Garcia went 2 for 2 with a home run and five RBI to lead the So Cal A's, ranked No. 1 in the country by FloSoftball, to victory. Matalasi Faapito went 1 for 2 with two RBI and Kinzie Hansen walked four times as the A's play on Thursday in the winner's bracket against Firecrackers-Young at 1:00 p.m. Lillian Agan and Ansleigh Hollifield each got a hit for the Bolts, who were eliminated in their next game by Texas Impact Gold-Mata, 3-2.

Cal Breeze-Warren (Sacramento, Calif.) 3, Cal Grapettes-Cat (Manteca, Calif.) 2

Hannah Dardano drove in two runs and Sydney Littles went 4 for 4 to lead Cal Breeze to the win. They play on Thursday in the winner's bracket against Tampa Mustangs, a 3-0 winner over Southern Force-Martin, at 10:45 a.m. Mariah Rodriguez went 3 for 3 for the Grapettes. 

Firecrackers-Young (Santa Ana, Calif.) 7, Firecrackers-Ryono (Huntington Beach, Calif.) 5

Nyomi Jones went 2 for 4 with three RBI, Cydney Sanders went 2 for 3 with two RBI and Clareese Santiago went 2 for 2 with two RBI to lead Firecrackers-Young over Firecrackers-Ryono. Miranda Stoddard drove in two runs and Shayla Thomas went 4 for 4 with an RBI. 

Corona Angels-Marty (Corona, Calif.) 3, Universal Fastpitch-Garcia (Fairfield, Calif.) 1

Isabel Rocco drove in two runs and Tessa Magnanimo threw six innings, while giving up three hits to lead the Angels to victory. The Angels take on Jacksonville Storm-Davis on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Tehya Bird threw a complete game, while only giving up two earned runs for Universal, who were eliminated in their next game by OC Batbusters-Campbell, 7-3.

Jersey Intensity-Cipolloni (Farmingdale, N.J.) 7, Texas Sudden Impact (Spring, Tex.) 4

Karoly Walker threw a complete game, while seven different players got an RBI for Jersey Intensity. They advance in the winner's bracket and face So Cal Breakers-Labs on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Katie Cimusz had two RBI for Texas Sudden Impact, which faces Texas Bombers Gold on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. in the loser's bracket.