18U Bracket Play Round 1: USA Elite Select WFC Recap
The third day of the USA Elite Select World Championship at the Mid-America Sports Complex consisted of the beginning of bracket play just after pool play Wednesday afternoon and will continue until Saturday. Teams are broken up into their A-D Brackets for 18U until Friday, and then the top four teams from each bracket go into the championship round Saturday afternoon. Below we recap a few games that we were at from Wednesday and Thursday,
Iowa Premier 18U Gold vs. Fastpitch Futures 18U Gold
Iowa Premier 18U Gold took on the Fastpitch Futures 18U Gold on Wednesday. In a battle to see who would take on the OC Batbusters – Stith Thursday morning. Iowa came out on top 8-0. All three teams are fighting for a spot in the finals on Saturday. Iowa came out swinging and gained momentum early, and the Futures couldn’t stop them. They put up four quick runs to start the first and forced a very early pitching change. In the second inning, Iowa’s Mia Elliot started things off with a single and a stolen base. Directly after, Emma Richards drove in Elliot with an RBI double. With the Futures being very quiet at the plate, they found they had to dig themselves out of a hole in the field and managed to get out of a based loaded jam but were still down 7-0.
The last run came in the third inning when Elliot got aggressive on the bases and stole third on a throwback to the pitcher, later scored with a single by Richards. Iowa pitcher, Ashley Peters was dominating in the circle and didn’t give the Futures anything to hit hard. Though the Iowa Premier 18U Gold moved on, they were defeated Thursday morning by the OC Batbusters 7-0.
Kansas City Peppers Gold vs. Mississippi Glory 18U- Lewis
The Kansas City Peppers Gold had a close game against the Mississippi Glory – Lewis team on Thursday morning. The Peppers broke the game open in the fifth when Grace Banes crushed an RBI double to center and helped the Peppers start a scoring rally with two outs. Lauren Mills, Wichita State commit, followed suit with a hit to left scoring Banes and left herself in scoring position after the unsuccessful throw to the plate by the Glory. Mills was not only producing at the plate going 3-3 but also on the mound for the Peppers.
The Glory looked hopeful in the first inning with a single by Grace Dabbs. Glory starting pitcher Olivia Burns got five innings on the rubber while Kenley Hawk, committed to Mississippi State, came in to finish the game. Though they didn’t have many scoring opportunities, Kendall Gram stood out in the field, making some excellent diving plays at shortstop.
OC Batbusters -Stith vs. Ohio Outlaws Demarini
The Batbusters advanced past Iowa, 7-0, then faced the Ohio Outlaws Demarini Thursday afternoon. Starting in the circle for the Batbusters was Vanessa Foreman. Foreman allowed just one run before handing things off to Olivia Rains who came in and shut the door striking out four in two innings of work. Rains was outstanding showing off her exceptional control, location, and the use of her different speeds to keep batters off balance. Jasmine Perezchia held down the leadoff spot with a single in the first inning and a beautiful bunt for a base hit in the third. Maya Brady in the two spot didn’t have trouble moving her teammate Perezchia around with a double, single, and an RBI groundout in her at bats. Giulia Koutsoyanopulos and Colleen Sullivan also had great games, contributing hard hits up the middle and an RBI single each. The OC Batbusters managed to keep their perfect record, winning 8-1, and advancing to the championship.
The Outlaws started out getting the first run of the game, but couldn’t seem to find many gaps after that in the Batbusters defense. Sarah Seamans, SFU commit, started out the first inning with an RBI single to put a run up for the Outlaws. In the circle, Duke commit, Kylie Coffelt spun the first three innings, worked the zone, and was getting visibly stronger as the game went on. Penn State commit, Chelsea Bisi, also took a turn on the rubber coming in for the start of the fourth inning. Another Penn State commit, Kaitlyn Morrison, had a great over the shoulder catch at short while Pitt commit, Hannah Bach, held her ground at third with an outstanding line drive catch and an all-around solid glove in the field.
