On the Ground at Tulsa Elite!
The 9th Annual Tulsa Elite Tournament is underway and, before the rain washed out Thursday’s competition a number of teams and players caught our eye. Find out who below and enjoy the rest of our coverage below as well!
14U Standouts
16U Standouts
Photos!
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Stop #1:
The first game we stopped by was the 10am contest between the Texas Bombers 16Gold and Impact Gold OKC 16U Lyons teams. As we walked up to the field 2022 Leighann Goode blasted a home run which she would follow up with a fantastic reaction play the following inning; fielding a deflected ball off of her teammate at third and firing across to put out the Impact runner. Goode is a talented athlete who’s presence and poise on the field is hard to miss.
Nicole Bodeux (2022) was in the circle for the Bombers and I was most impressed with her pose and ability to keep her mental game “in-check” as it seemed the zone was being squeezed and could have been quite frustrating.
In the circle for Lyon’s squad was 2021 Emersen Heron, who had a nasty little change that caused the Bombers some problems. She also moved the ball well. I’m looking forward to watching more of these teams over the weekend.
Stop #2:
Heading over to the Texas Bombers 16G Futures versus the OK A’s Premier 16U Madden squad a few athletes caught my eye.
For the Bombers, Hailey Neira (2020) put up a good and hard fought at-bat versus Madden’s pitcher, Janie Worthington who is a North Texas commit. She ultimately was rung up on a questionable call and but locked into a good battle none the less.
Catcher Alina Salazar (2021 C/3B) caught my attention behind the plate. She was consistently vocal and commanded her field and pitcher well. She has a great, calm energy and confidence behind the plate and moves around the ball well when receiving the pitch. She seems to be very athletic and agile.
For the OK A’s, Worthington brought good speed and a rise ball with a lot of movement. She kept her catcher busy but with some more control that pitch is going to continue to be devastating.
Sidney McLaughlin, a 2022 C/1B, stepped into the box and blasted a solo-shot to dead center towards the end of game. Her presence in the box, smoothness in her swing, and power in her swing was noticeable instantly. I want to see more of her in the box this weekend!
Stop #3:
Next up we ventured to Florida Power 16U Kaser versus Tulsa Elite OKC 2021 Talley.
At first blush, the Power can really swing it. Analyse Jimenez sent a home run just over the center field fence and the Power kept the scoring going.
For Tulsa Talley, I was impressed with them continuing to fight even after surrendering a handful of runs right off the top.
Stop #4:
When stopping by Tulsa Elite 16 Cain I was blown away by the talent, speed, and shear athletic ability of this team. Tyauna Reector’s (2020) elite speed caught my attention immediately, surely she wrecks havoc on the base paths for any opponent. Reector managed to tag up on a ball to mid right field and reach third without any attempt from the outfield to throw her out; this wasn’t necessarily a super deep ball either, she’s just that fast.
Abbie Cain, a 2020 Arkansas Tech commit, was extremely impressive as well. A bit of a power slapper with great control as the plate who is also a shortstop that is just as smooth in the field as she is at the plate. She is just fun to watch compete.
All and all, Tulsa Elite’s team and plate discipline as well as patience was impressive and instantly noticeable.
Stop #5:
As the rain and storms began to move, Texas Glory 14U Naudin made the most of the time they had, and wow, they can swing it! They jumped on a Tulsa Elite team and did not look back. They chased the Elite’s pitcher in the first inning and batted around before heading into the field.
In the circle, Emily Jonte (2022), worked fast and had Tulsa swinging at balls out of the zone. She was effective and strong in her short outing.
At the plate, Alexis Nava (2022), stroked an absolute “bomb” over the left field fence. The shear power and swing quality was extremely impressive. Nava has been tested through AthPro360 this past January and most impressively holds a exit speed of 65 mph, good for the 82nd percentile as well as grip strengths of 096 (right) and 097 (left) psi which puts her in the top 98%. Just only a freshman, it will be exciting to watch her continue improving.
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