Arizona Storm National-Mathis beat Wildcats-Weil, 3-0, in the championship game of the So Cal A’s Invitational on Sunday at Harvard Park in Irvine, CA.
Storm-Mathis, which placed 7th at PGF 18U Premier Nationals last summer, claimed the 18U tournament title for the second consecutive year.
Storm-Mathis and Wildcats-Weil made it to one semifinal before the game was elevated to the championship game.
AASA-Merrida made it all the way to the other semifinal, including a 4-3 victory over Lady Magic-Boykin, before receiving a forfeit victory by Cal Cruisers-Sievers. AASA-Merrida chose to sit out the final.
“This title means to our team that no matter what happens, we can do it!!” UCLA-bound LHP/OF Kaitlyn Terry said. “it’s another accomplishment and many more to come! Moving forward is gonna be a fun ride … with all of our confidence and talent, it will be a fun one to watch! ”
Storm-Mathis beat Cal Cruisers-Sievers, 5-0, tied LTG Lions-Henderson, 0-0, and beat Lady Magic-Boykin, 6-0, and Breakers Labs-Bobby, 3-1, in pool-play games, then defeated Sorcerer-Gabales/Rodriguez, 3-2, Jersey Intensity-KOD, 7-0, and Wildcats-Weil, 3-0, in bracket play.
“Winning this tournament is a huge set up for (Triple Crown) Colorado (4th of July June 26-July 2) and the rest of the summer.” Alabama-bound RHP/1B Jocelyn Briski said. “Starting the summer off on a good note is just what we wanted and we feel more prepared going into the upcoming weeks. The entire team looked good and we were all connecting really well this weekend on both aspects of the ball, so it should be real exciting to see what we can accomplish as a team.”
Grand Canyon-bound SS/UT Savannah Groshong (.500 AVG), Michigan-committed 2024 OF Lauren Putz (.400 AVG) and uncommitted 2023 SS Salen Hawkins (.389 AVG) were the offensive standouts for Storm-Mathis throughout the tournament.
The pitching staff, which featured Terry (17 IP, 0 runs), New Mexico-committed 2024 RHP Natalie Fritz (9 IP, 0 runs) and Briski (14 IP, 3 runs), only gave up three runs all weekend.
“Our defense was stellar,” Storm coach Corey Mathis said, “leading the way up the middle with Salen Hawkins at SS and (LSU-bound MIF) Sierra Daniel.”
*****
SO CAL A’S INVITATIONAL
AT HARVARD PARK, IRVINE CA
(Saturday-Sunday, June 17-18, Results)
BRACKET PLAY
FIRST ROUND
- Cal Cruisers-Sievers 4, Ohana Tigers-Quarles
- Sorcerer-Gabales/Rodriguez 6, Breakers Labs-Bobby 0
SECOND ROUND
- Lady Magic-Boykin 2, So Cal Athletics-Richardson 0
- AASA-Merrida 11, Irvine Sting 4
- Cal Cruisers-Sievers 4, Beverly Bandits Premier-Conroy 1
- Explosion Premier 10, Cal Nuggets-Woods 2
- Jersey Intensity-KOD 5, BSC Bengals-Briggs 2
- Arizona Storm National-Mathis 3, Sorcerer-Gabales/Rodriguez 2
- Wildcats-Weil 4, LTG Lions-Henderson 1
- Firecrackers-TJ 4, So Cal Choppers-Fausett 3
QUARTERFINALS
- AASA-Merrida 4, Lady Magic-Boykin 3
- Cal Cruisers-Sievers 2, Explosion Premier 1
- Arizona Storm National-Mathis 7, Jersey Intensity-KOD 0
- Wildcats-Weil 4, Firecrackers-TJ 1
SEMIFINALS
- AASA-Merrida 7, Cal Cruisers-Sievers 0 (win by forfeiture)
- Arizona Storm National-Mathis, Wildcats-Weil (game moved to the championship)
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Arizona Storm National-Mathis 3, Wildcats-Weil 0
— Carlos Arias, Dugout Chatter (Follow Carlos on Twitter @Los_Stuff)
