Many of the top 14U, 12U & 10U teams in the country are at PGF Nationals July 31-Aug. 6 in Orange County, CA. Here are some of Saturday’s highlights:
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In 14U Premier games:
Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2026-Thompson defeated Beverly Bandits Premier-Norwood, 3-1, on Saturday in the semifinals of the PGF 14U Premier Nationals on Saturday at Huntington Beach Sports Complex.
2026 3B Katie Norgard hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 4th to break a 1-1 tie.
2027 SS Aspen Boulware scored on an inside-the-park homer in the bottom of the 6th to give the Bolts some 3-1 insurance.
2026 P Boo Herber went the distance for the Bolts, holding the Bandits to a run, allowing seven hits and striking out four to record the victory.
“Pitching was extremely effective on both sides, keeping hitters off balanced,” Bolts coach Ryan Thompson said. “Boo did a great job with command of locations and trusting her defense! Timely-hitting and big-hit moments pushed us ahead of a tough Bandits’ team. 2026 Katie Norgard came in huge with a solo HR and 2027 Aspen Boulware helped ease the stress adding an in-the-park solo HR in the bottom of the 6th!”
The Bolts face Atlanta Vipers 08-Tamborra for the championship on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, CA.
“We’ve squared off with the Vipers a handful of times this summer and it’s always been a battle,” Thompson said. “They are fast, have power and great pitching. We will need our defense to play well and our offensive tools that have gotten us here to be successful. Looking forward to a great match up tomorrow!”
Atlanta Vipers 08-Tamborra picked up a 2-1 victory over Tampa Mustangs 26/27-Fowler in the semifinals to earn a spot in the PGF 14U Premier national-title game.
2026 P Jordynn Parnell went the distance, throwing eight innings and only allowing two hits.
2026 OF Laci Martinez, who went 2 for 3, doubled in 2026 SS/P Leah Byrd in the bottom of the 1st.
2026 3B Mia Johnson drove in 2026 SS Jordynn Lewis with a two-out drive to right field to give the Vipers a walk-off win in the bottom of the 8th in ITB.
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In 12U Premier games:
Arizona Storm National-Kobasew came out of the loser’s bracket and beat Beverly Bandits Premier-Mrozak, 2-1, to force a decisive “if” game in the semifinals.
2028 C Bella Mora had a game-tying single and 2028 OF Alicia Benites drove in the walk-off run with a chopper that was misplayed in the bottom of the 7th for the Storm in the first game against Bandits-Mrozek.
In the second game against Bandits-Mrozek, The Storm loaded the bases in the top of the 9th and 10th and couldn’t score, but the Storm came through in the top of the 11th as 2029 LF Ameliana Mendez drove in a run to give them a 2-1 advantage.
Bandits-Mrozek loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th, but 2028 P Sydney Root got a strikeout and a groundout to end the game, 2-1. Root pitched all 11 innings, allowing seven hits, five walks, zero earned runs and striking out five to record the victory.
“We played really good defense this whole tournament, we haven’t hit well, pitching has been real good,” Storm coach Chuck Kobasew said. “These girls have played in a lot of tight situations their whole careers. Now, if only we can get our hitting going.” …
BSC Bengals-CKM defeated Athletics Mercado-Walker, 9-3, in the semifinals to win its 100th game of the season and are headed to the PGF 12U Premier Nationals championship game. It is the first time in the BSC Bengals organization history for a team to reach a PGF national-title game.
2029 P Erica Martin started the game for the Bengals against Athletics Mercado-Walker and threw well, allowing only two hits. 2028 P Emily Yoon came on in relief and shut the door with her 40th win of the year. She pitched a solid 4.2 innings with zero earned runs allowed and five strikeouts.
The Bengals collected 13 hits on the day led by 2028 RF Quinn Kearney with four hits, 2028 3B Guiles Vega with three hits, 2028 P/OF Janelle Monzon with two hits and two RBIs, 2028 C Eliana Corona with two hits and two RBIs and 2029 P/CF Erica Martin with two hits and two RBIs.
BSC Bengals-CKM faces Arizona Storm National-Kobasew for the PGF 14U Premier national championship on Sunday at noon at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, CA. …
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In 10U Premier games:
Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2030-Wilkerson cruised to the PGF 10U Premier national championship game, beating Athletics Mercado-Martinez, 15-5, in the semifinals.
The Bolts allowed four runs to Athletics Mercado to start the game on some solid hits. The pitching settled down along with some outstanding defense and didn’t allow another run.
2030 CF Marg Taylor went 4 for 4, 2030 OF AC Oxford went 4 for 4, 2031 C Rylei Rogers went 3 for 4, 2030 2B Ansley Wilkerson went 2 for 3, 2030 OF Rosie Wilson went 2 for 3 and 2030 P Aaliyah Hayes struck out seven of the 11 batters she faced and went 2 for 3 at the plate to lead the Bolts.
“Our bats were on fire and really put the pressure on the opposing team,” Bolts coach Jeff Wilkerson said. “The hitting was so good we started each inning with our leadoff and scored 4, 4, 4 and 3 runs. We created great momentum and that really propelled us for the win. Tomorrow, we need the same mental approach. We will need solid pitching and the bats need to continue to be hot. Defense has to step up, flush any mistakes and play the next play. We can’t let the moment be too big and we can’t be content just getting to the championship. Eliminate the distractions and only focus on the controlables. We’ve played well all week long and need to continue to do what got us here.” …
The SoCal FireByrds defeated Lady Magic-Warney, 8-0, in the other semifinal to earn a spot in Sunday’s championship game at 9 a.m. at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, CA. The FireByrds are 5-0 on the week and have outscored their opponents, 42-1. …
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PGF NATIONALS
AT ORANGE COUNTY, CA
(Saturday, Aug. 5, Results)
14U PREMIER
BRACKET A
WINNER’S BRACKET
SIXTH ROUND
- Atlanta Vipers 08-Tamborra 6, Rhode Island Thunder National-Lotti 0
LOSER’S BRACKET
SEVENTH ROUND
- Beverly Bandits Premier-Norwood 4, Virginia Unity 2026-Johnson 0
- So Cal Athletics-Kim/Adame 6, Power Surge Premier-Worley 3
EIGHTH ROUND
- Beverly Bandits Premier-Norwood 6, So Cal Athletics-Kim/Adame 1
NINTH ROUND
- Beverly Bandits Premier-Norwood 8, Rhode Island Thunder National-Lotti 0
SEMIFINAL
- Atlanta Vipers 08-Tamborra 2, Tampa Mustangs 26/27-Fowler 1
- Atlanta Vipers 08-Tamborra 2, Tampa Mustangs 26/27-Fowler 1
BRACKET B
WINNER’S BRACKET
SIXTH ROUND
- Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2026-Thompson, Firecrackers Premier 2026-TJ
LOSER’S BRACKET
SEVENTH ROUND
- Tampa Mustangs 26/27-Fowler 6, Extreme-Rios 4
- I-5 Ventura-Banbrook/Shea 3, Power Surge-Berndes/Mujica 2
EIGHTH ROUND
- Tampa Mustangs 26/27-Fowler 5, I-5 Ventura-Nambrook/Shea 0
NINTH ROUND
- Tampa Mustangs 26/27-Fowler 13, Firecrackers Premier 2026-TJ 4
SEMIFINAL
- Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2026-Thompson 3, Beverly Bandits Premier-Norwood 1
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12U PREMIER
BRACKET A
LOSER’S BRACKET
EIGHT ROUND
- Athletics Mercado-Walker 11, So Cal Athletics 2K10-Kimk/Saunders 3
SEMIFINAL
- Arizona Storm National-Kobasew 2, Beverly Bandits Premier-Mrozak 1
- Arizona Storm National-Kobasew 2, Beverly Bandits Premier-Mrozak 1 (11 innings)
BRACKET B
LOSER’S BRACKET
EIGHTH ROUND
- Arizona Storm National-Kobasew 1, Wildcats-Holcomb/Knight 0
SEMIFINAL
- BSC Bengals-CKM 9, Athletics Mercado-Walker 3
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10U PREMIER
BRACKET A
WINNER’S BRACKET
FIFTH ROUND
- SoCal FireByrds 5, Athletics Mercado-Martinez 0
LOSER’S BRACKET
SEVENTH ROUND
- Athletics Mercado-Martinez 5, Chasing Dreams 2012 1
SEMIFINAL
- SoCal FireByrds 8, Lady Magic-Warney 0
BRACKET B
WINNER’S BRACKET
FIFTH ROUND
- Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2030-Wilkerson 13, So Cal Athletics 2030-Kim 4
LOSER’S BRACKET
SEVENTH ROUND
- Lady Magic-Warney 13, So Cal Athletics 2030-Kim 0
SEMIFINAL
- Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2030-Wilkerson 15, Athletics Mercado-Martinez 5
— Carlos Arias, Dugout Chatter (Follow Carlos on Twitter @Los_Stuff and Threads @los_stuff)
