Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 18U and Beverly Bandits Premier 18U-Conroy decided not to play the final and finished as co-champions of the Easton Rawlings Invitational on Sunday in Glen Ellyn, IL.
The tournament combined 18U, 16U and 14U teams in the same bracket.
Birmingham Thunderbolts is the defending PGF 18U Premier national champion and Bandits-Conry was the runner-up at PGF 16U Premier Nationals last summer, so the two teams could very well meet up at PGF 18U Premier Nationals this summer.
Auburn-committed 2024 3B/UT AnnaLea Adams delivered a walk-off single to give the Bandits-Conroy a 3-2 victory over Illinois Chill Gold 18U in the semifinals earlier in the day.
“(South Carolina-bound RHP) Sage (Mardjetko) pitched an amazing game to allow us to be that close and really kept us in the ball game,” Adams said. “My teammates (Virginia Tech-bound OF) Lyla (Blackwell), (Florida International-bound OF) Kally (Meredith) and (Florida-committed 2024 MIF) Gabi (Comia) really put (Illinois-bound 1/B/RF) Eileen (Donahue) and I in a great situation to do what power hitters do. Eileen hitting a hard groundball, I thought would win the game, but put me in a situation that I have been in many times before. It was about staying relaxed, short and having faith in what I know I can do. My goal was a hard grounder or deep flyball to allow our speed to win. It was an all-around team win and everyone did what they needed to.”
The Bolts beat Nebraska Gold National 18U-Singleton, 3-0, in the other semifinal. The Bolts have been on the road the past 19 days, so both teams decided not to play the final.
Oregon-bound IF Katie Flannery (.533 AVG, 8 hits, 3 HRs, 5 runs, 12 RBIs), Purdue-bound MIF Ashlynn Campbell (.526 AVG, .526 OBP, 10 hits, 7 runs, 3 RBIs, 5 SBs) and Alabama-committed 2024 IF Mariami “Mari” Hubbard (.476 AVG, 9 hits, 3 doubles, 7 runs, 5 RBIs) were the Bolts’ offensive leaders for the tournament. Kentucky-bound RHP Sydney Langdon (0.00 ERA, 11 IP, 22 Ks) and Georgia-bound RHP Makayla Coffield (0.99 ERA, 8 IP, 12 Ks) led the pitching staff.
The Bolts beat Bandits-Conroy, 4-0, Rhode Island Thunder Gold National 18U-Lotti, 13-0, Select Fastpitch 18U-Jones, 4-3, NJ Pride 18U, 6-4, and St. Louis Chaos, 8-0, in pool play and Beverly Bandits Futures 16U-Page, 9-0, Beverly Bandits Premier 14U-Chow/Hardin, 6-1, and Nebraska Gold, 3-0, in bracket play.
“As a team, it was an honor to represent the Birmingham Thunderbolts 18U Premier team in Chicago,” Flannery said. “I had the honor of witnessing our team progress and grow closer as a team. The overall tournament was very competitive with great competition.”
Bandits-Conroy, which won the Easton Rawlings Invitational last summer, lost to Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 18U, 4-0, and beat St. Louis Chaos, 18U, 8-0, NJ Pride 18U, 6-4, Select Fastpitch 18U-Jones, 2-0, and Rhode Island Thunder Gold National 18U-Lotti, 8-0, in pool play and defeated Illinois Chill Gold 15U, 6-5, Beverly Bandits Premier 16U-Holloway/Mack, 8-2, and Illinois Chill Gold 18U, 3-2, in bracket play.
“(It was a) total team effort, but standouts would be Sage Mardjetko in the circle, but got a lot of help from both (Louisville-bound RHP) Lindsay Mullen and (Tennessee Tech-bound RHP) Emily York,” Bandits coach Bill Conroy said. “All three pitched fantastic. Offensively, my Lefty slappers, Lyla Blackwell, (Dayton-bound MIF/3B) Kieran Bailey and Kally Meredith were outstanding as always. Gabi Comia and Annalea Adams were rock stars with power. It was a total team effort, but (Central Michigan-bound OF) Emma Lotus would get my vote for Offensive Player of Elimination, going 6 for 7 with three doubles and three RBIs.”
Adams hopes to carry the momentum to PGF Nationals.
“When we were younger, the tournament was about getting seen by college coaches and competing,” Adams said. “Now, to our team, it means preparing us for our PGF Nationals in two weeks. It’s all about competing and getting in the right mindset before one of the biggest tournaments of the year. This tournaments was full of great competition, which also helped us prepare.”
*****
EASTON RAWLINGS INVITATIONAL
AT GLEN ELLYN, IL
(Saturday-Sunday, June 8-9, Results)
FIRST ROUND
- Beverly Bandits Futures 16U-Page 4, Sparks Premier 16U-Harvey 0
- Newtown Rock Gold 18U-Garvey 5, Beverly Bandits Premier 16U-Moran 2
- Select Fastpitch 18U-Jones 12, New Lenox Lightning Gold 18U-Abbott 1
- Jersey Intensity 18U-KOD 10, Sparks Premier Red 14U 2
- Rhode Island Thunder Gold National 18U-Lotti 2, So Cal Choppers 18U-Fausett 1
- Illinois Chill Gold 16U 6, Finesse 16U-Langlois/DePaulis 2
- Select Fastpitch 16U-Salazar 9, Arizona Storm National 18U-Mathis 4
- Beverly Bandits Premier 14U-Norwood 9, PA Strikers National 16U-King 1
SECOND ROUND
- Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 18U 9, Beverly Bandits Futures 16U-Page 0
- Beverly Bandits Premier 14U-Chow/Hardin 6, Newtown Rock Gold 18U-Garvey 5
- Select Fastpitch 18U-Jones 10, Beverly Bandits Premier 16U-Freeland 2
- Nebraska Gold National 18U-Singleton 1, Jersey Intensity 18U-KOD 0
- Beverly Bandits Premier 16U-Holloway/Mack 4, Rhode Island Thunder Gold National 18U-Lotti 1
- Beverly Bandits Premier 18U-Conroy 6, Illinois Chill Gold 16U 5
- Illinois Chill Gold 18U 5, Select Fastpitch 16U-Salazar 2
- Arizona Storm National 16U-Appel 2, Beverly Bandits Premier 14U-Norwood 1
QUARTERFINALS
- Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 18U 6, Beverly Bandits Premier 14U-Chow/Hardin 1
- Nebraska Gold National 18U-Singleton 3, Select Fastpitch 18U-Jones 2
- Beverly Bandits Premier 18U-Conroy 8, Beverly Bandits Premier 16U-Holloway/Mack 2
- Illinois Chill Gold 18U 8, Arizona Storm National 16U-Appel 2
SEMIFINALS
- Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 18U 3, Nebraska Gold National 18U-Singleton 0
- Beverly Bandits Premier 18U-Conroy 3, Illinois Chill Gold 18U 2
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Beverly Bandits Premier 18U-Conroy and Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier co-champions (Both teams decided not to play final)
— Carlos Arias, Dugout Chatter (Follow Carlos on Twitter @Los_Stuff and Threads @los_stuff)
