Many of the top 14U, 16U & 18U teams in the country week at the Triple Crown Nationals July 10-13 in Alpharetta/Cumming, GA. Here are some of Thursday’s highlights:
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LADY DUKES TAKE DOWN OC BATBUSTERS IN 18U FINAL
Lady Dukes-Lamar/Burgess jumped on defending-champion OC Batbusters-Stith for eight runs in the top of the 1st and went on to a 10-2 victory in the 18U championship game of the Triple Crown Nationals on Thursday at Fowler Park in Forsyth County, GA.
It was a signature win for the Lady Dukes. The Batbusters, the defending 18U Alliance national champion, have already won the Top Club Nationals and Boulder IDT titles this summer.
Florida-bound RHP Keagan Rothrock had a three-run double and Arkansas-bound 3B/C/1B Kennedy Miller drilled a grand slam to center field as the Lady Dukes took an 8-0 lead over the Batbusters in the top of the 1st.
LSU-bound OF Jadyn Laneaux added a sacrifice fly in the top of the 4th and Rothrock had an RBI single in the top of the 5th for the Lady Dukes.
“My biggest thought about this whole tournament is that it was definitely a team win,” Rothrock said. “We started with 22 girls and this weekend we played with 13. Without each and every girl giving it their all every single at bat and every single pitch, the outcome may have been different than what it was. But kudos to every girl on our team because every girl left their all out on those fields this week and I couldn’t be more proud of the growth we have shown. ”
The Lady Dukes defeated Conklin Raiders Gold, 17-0, Atlanta Vipers-Tamborra, 8-0, Louisville Lady Sluggers-Huecker, 4-3, NW Bullets-Campos, 6-5, Top Gun National, 12-9, and OC Batbusters-Stith, , in bracket play.
“We are super excited about winning Triple Crown nationals!!” Lady Dukes coach James Burgess said. “It’s all for James Lamar. This is his team, his group. But it’s created in his image and they play his brand of softball. And you better believe he’s got his eye on what we are doing. The girls just want to honor their coach this season and they’re getting the job done. Taking 3rd at the Sparkler and now winning Triple Crown just goes to show you how dedicated this group is to doing something special for JD. All for JD brother. All for JD!!!!
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UNITY-JOHNSON/ROSS WINS 16U TITLE
Virginia Unity-Johnson/Ross pulled out a 6-1 victory over Arizona Storm National-Mathis in the 16U championship game of the Triple Crown Nationals on Thursday at Fowler Park in Forsyth County, GA.
It was the first Triple Crown Nationals title for the Unity organization.
2025 IF Kaidance Till drove in 2025 OF Destiny Harris with a groundout in the top of the 1st to give Unity-Johnson/Ross a 1-0 lead, but 2026 2B/UT Nina Montenegro tied it up for Arizona Storm with an RBI double in the bottom of the 1st.
The game remained tied until the top of the 5th until Unity-Johnson/Ross scored an unearned run and 2024 C Alexia Carrasquillo delivered a two-run homer for a 4-1 lead.
— Alexia Carrasquillo (@AlexiaCarrasq3) July 14, 2023
“The home run felt amazing!!” Carrasquillo said. “I’m so proud of myself for being able to contribute in a positive manner. This means everything for our team! This victory!!! So blessed!”
2025 OF McCall Sims added an RBI single in the top of the 6th to make it 5-1.
Till drew bases-loaded walk to force in another run and make it 6-1 in the top of the 7th.
North Carolina-committed 2024 RHP Lilly Parrish started and pitched six innings, allowing six hits and one earned run to get the win. LSU-committed 2024 LHP Jayden Heavener pitched one inning of scoreless relief to close out the game.
Unity-Johnson/Ross, which won the 16U National Power Pool at Triple Crown Colorado 4th of July this summer, defeated Atlanta Lady Braves-Lee, 9-0, Unity 2024-Bridger, 3-0, Tampa Mustangs-Seymour, 10-7, Louisville Lady Sluggers-Wathen, 2-1, Iowa Premier National, 9-4, Louisville Lady Sluggers-VanBoxmeer, 24-2, and Arizona Storm-National-Mathis, 6-1, in bracket play.
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IMG KNOCKS OFF UNITY-JOHNSON IN 14U FINAL
Indiana Magic Gold National-Bennett/Goddard took down Virginia Unity 2026-Johnson, 5-2, in the 14U championship game of the Triple Crown Nationals on Thursday at North Park in Alpharetta, GA.
It was the first Triple Crown Nationals title for IMG.
2026 C Haley Schatko went 2 for 3 with two homers and two RBIs and 2026 P Reese Molino allowed six hits, two runs and struck out five in 6.3 innings to get the win in the championship game for IMG.
2026 3B/OF/SS/UT Hadley West went 2 for 2 with two doubles, an RBI and a stolen base and 2026 RHP Grace Swedarsky pitched a four-hitter with eight strikeouts in seven innings to lead IMG to a 1-0 semifinal win over OC Batbusters-K. Stith. Swedarsky had 62 strikeouts and zero walks in 30.2 innings for the tournament.
“After coming off a 3rd place finish at IDT in Colorado, I knew we had a chance to win it all,” Swedarsky said. “We played for each other all tournament long and our hard work is starting to pay off! Our bats were on fire and our defense was outstanding! Everyone had each other’s backs. This means everything to my team! Winning the Triple Crown Nationals instilled so much confidence in us and we will continue to build on this.”
IMG beat Mojo-Lewis, 5-4, Athletics Mercado 08-RC, 6-4, Tampa Mustangs 26/27-Fowler, 4-2, Louisville Lady Sluggers 08-Tackett, 10-4, OC Batbusters-K. Stith, 1-0, and Virginia Unity-Johnson, 5-2, in bracket play.
“They had a great run at IDT and got 3rd place, but were a little flat on the championship Sunday,” IMG coach Jeff Goddard said. “(I) think that memory was fresh enough that they stayed focused on every pitch of every play this week. We’ve told them for quite a while that we believe in how great they are and they can play with anyone in the country — (I) think they are starting to believe us. Now, it’s back to work — still have a lot of development to do. But the future is bright.”
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TRIPLE CROWN NATIONALS
AT ALPHARETTA/CUMMING, GA
(Thursday, July 13, Results)
18U
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
QUARTERFINALS
- Tampa Mustangs-Rene 4, LLG DPS-Corn 2
- OC Batbusters-Stith 6, Georgia Impact Premier-Caymol 3
- Lady Dukes-Lamar/Burgess 6, NW Bullets-Campos 5
- Top Gun National 8, Nebraska Gold 05-Anderson 3
SEMIFINALS
- OC Batbusters-Stith 10, Tampa Mustangs-Rene 2
- Lady Dukes-Lamar/Burgess 12, Top Gun National 9
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Lady Dukes-Lamar/Burgess 10, OC Batbusters-Stith 2
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16U
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
QUARTERFINALS
- Arizona Storm National-Mathis 11, Mojo-Sherrill 3
- Tampa Mustangs-Seymour 9, Tennessee Mojo 2025-Gregory 7
- Virginia Unity-Johnson/Ross 9, Iowa Premier National 4
- Louisville Lady Sluggers-VanBoxmeer 9, Hotshots National ATL 8
SEMIFINALS
- Arizona Storm National-Mathis 7, Tampa Mustangs-Seymour 6
- Virginia Unity-Johnson/Ross 24, Louisville Lady Sluggers-VanBoxmeer 4
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Virginia Unity-Johnson/Ross 6, Arizona Storm National-Mathis 1
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14U
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
SEMIFINALS
- Indiana Magic Gold National-Bennett/Goddard 1, OC Batbusters-Stith/Black 0
- Virginia Unity 2026-Johnson 4, OC Batbusters-Fernandez 3
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Indiana Magic Gold National-Bennett/Goddard 5, Virginia Unity 2026-Johnson 2
— Carlos Arias, Dugout Chatter (Follow Carlos on Twitter @Los_Stuff and Threads @los_stuff)
