Many of the top 18U, 16U & 14U teams in the country were at the Independence Day Tournament (IDT) from June 28-July 2 in Boulder, CO. Here are some of Sunday’s highlights:
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OC BATBUSTERS-STITH RULES 18U BOULDER IDT
Stanford-bound 3B Jade Berry went 2 for 3 with two homers, including a grand slam, and six RBIs to help OC Batbusters-Stith defeat Impact Gold Jackson in the 18U Boulder championship game of the Independence Day Tournament on Sunday at Stazio Field in Boulder, CO.
Florida-committed 2024 CF Taylor Shumaker, Berry and Oklahoma-bound OF/P/1B Ella Parker all homered in the first inning to give Batbusters-Stith a 6-0 lead.
Mike Stith’s Batbusters, the reigning 18U Alliance national champion, last won the IDT title in 2018.
“Jade Berry is an Alliance All-Star and she was really phenomenal defensively and offensively,” Stith said. “Taylor Shumaker is quite a special player. She hits as good as anyone we’ve ever had.”
Batbusters-Stith beat NJ Nightmare, 19-2, Indiana Magic Gold, 12-0, FL Rock Gold, 6-1, Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier, 9-5, Illinois Chill Gold, 14-2, and Impact Gold-Jackson, 11-0, in bracket play.
Stith said his team was strong in the circle.
“(Arizona-bound LHP) Ryan Maddox did her thing,” Stith said. “(BYU-committed 2024 LHP) Jada Villegas really had a great two weeks and stepped up a little bit. She was real strong.
“The whole team played well. It was a real good week of production.”
MN MAGIC BEATS OHIO HAWKS-JOSEFORSKY IN 18U LOUISVILLE FINAL
Minnesota Magic National-Pickett defeated Ohio Hawks National 2024/2025-Joseforsky, 5-2, in the 18U Louisville final to win its first IDT title on Sunday at Stazio Field in Boulder, CO.
“It was great to be able to represent Minnesota and compete and beat high-level teams in the nation,” Minnesota Magic coach Rick Pickett said. “We are very grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a great tournament. All of our kids competed at a high level and did their part to win as a team.”
Minnesota Magic beat Hawaii Kamikaze, 3-1, PA Strikers 16U, 3-1, Nebraska Gold, 8-5. NW Vandals, 4-0, and Ohio Hawks-Joseforsky, 5-2, in bracket play.
SUDDEN IMPACT-JONES UPSETS BOLTS-KAPLAN IN 16U LONGMONT FINAL
2025 RHP Keira Crosby pitched a shutout as Texas Sudden Impact-Jones upset Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2024-Kaplan, 2-0, in the Longmont final of the IDT on Sunday at Stazio Field in Boulder, CO.
Crosby had a 1.23 ERA in bracket play and hit .500 once Sudden Impact got into bracket games.
“Winning the Boulder IDT is a dream come true!” Crosby said. “To make a deep run in a tournament like this, so many things have to fall in place at the right time. Coach Bill Jones carries a small roster because he wants to build and develop each of us to be our best. I knew we had the talent and coaching, but to do it with a roster of 12 and two arms just shows the great coaching and grit we have. Coach Lisa Norris is a great pitching mentor, who helped us pitchers trust what we were doing in the circle all week. During every game, our team did what they were supposed to do, we had solid defense and hit the ball. It was the definition of a total team effort. The bats stayed hot, pitchers focused on spots and spinning the ball with the Colorado air and every single player did their job to make it happen. I’m so proud of my girls and how hard they worked all week! It’s an honor to be a part of this national championship team.”
2024 UT Raenna Liscano (.482 AVG), Texas Tech-committed 2024 IF/OF/UT Haley Toney (.571 AVG), 2025 2B/P/IF/3B Valeria Feeney (.583 AVG), 2024 OG/P/1B Leilaniz Nieves (.600 AVG) led Sudden Impact throughout the tournament. Nieves had a 7th-inning, walk-off home run to get Sudden Impact into the Final 4.
Sudden Impact defeated Beverly Bandits Premier-Page, 7-2, Wildcats, 6-3, Oklahoma Athletics National, 7-6, Fury Premier 2024-Sewell, 8-3, and Bolts-Kaplan, 2-0, in bracket play.
BEVERLY BANDITS-CHOW/HARDIN CLAIM 14U BROOMFIELD TITLE
Beverly Bandits Premier-Chow/Hardin knocked off Atlanta Vipers 08-Tamborra, 3-2, in the 14U Broomfield championship game of the IDT on Sunday at Stazio Field in Boulder, CO.
It was the eighth IDT title for the Beverly Bandits organization and first in the 14U age group.
The pitching staff featured 2026 RHP Piper Cavanaugh (5-1) and 2026 RHP Nevaeh Rangel (3-0) all week.
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INDEPENDENCE DAY TOURNAMENT
AT BOULDER, CO
(Sunday, July 2, Results)
BRACKET PLAY
18U BOULDER
QUARTERFINALS
- Illinois Chill Gold 5, Georgia Impact Premier-Caymol 3
- OC Batbusters-Stith 9, Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 5
- Impact Gold-Jackson 1, USA Athletics Gold-Rogers 0
- MW Bullets Gold-Campos 6, BSC Bengals-Briggs 0
SEMIFINALS
- OC Batbusters-Stith 14, Illinois Chill Gold 2
- Impact Gold-Jackson 4, NW Bullets Gold-Campos 1
CHAMPIONSHIP
- OC Batbusters-Stith 11, Impact Gold-Jackson 0
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18U LOUISVILLE
SEMIFINALS
- Minnesota Magic National-Pickett 4, NW Vandals 0
- Ohio Hawks National 2024/2025-Joseforsky 6, OC Batbusters-Sasaki 5
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Minnesota Magic National-Pickett 5, Ohio Hawks National 2024/2025-Joseforsky 2
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16U LONGMONT
SEMIFINALS
- Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2024-Kaplan 3, Illinois Chill Gold 2
- Texas Sudden Impact-Jones 8, Fury Premier 2024-Sewell 3
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Texas Sudden Impact-Jones 2, Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2024-Kaplan 0
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14U BROOMFIELD
SEMIFINALS
- Atlanta Vipers 08-Tamborra 4, Cal Nuggets-Woods 1
- Beverly Bandits Premier-Chow/Hardin 4, Indiana Magic Gold-Bennett/Goddard 0
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Beverly Bandits Premier-Chow/Hardin 3, Atlanta Vipers 08-Tamborra 2
— Carlos Arias, Dugout Chatter (Follow Carlos on Twitter @Los_Stuff)
