Tournament Recap: AGSA-Firecracker USA Territory Qualifier
This weekend 80 teams gathered to play in the 18th Annual AGSA Firecracker US Territory Qualifier that took place in Arvada, Colorado. Though there usually are teams all the way up to 18U in this tournament, this year was a little different. Due to the lack of teams in that division and a team dropping out, the tournament was forced to drop that portion of the tournament. Luckily for us, there were still a bunch of 16U teams for us to follow!
Saturday Pool Play 16O
In the 16 Open division, there was a full day of pool play on Saturday. Everybody plays three games before starting the bracket play on Sunday. Three teams that came out on top and went 3-0 in pool play for the day were the Firecrackers – Bricker 14A, American Freedom – Prospects 03 14A, and Adrenaline Black 02.
The Firecrackers -Bricker 14A team fought their way to the top of the 16 open pool standings on Saturday. Janessa Esquibel took the mound for the Firecrackers – Bricker (14A) in the first game, striking out 12 and only allowing two hits in her 108 pitches. A home run from Aaliyah Arellano helped the Firecrackers gain momentum in the fourth inning. While Maycee Briker and Makena Geist split the second game on the rubber for a win, Makena Geist shut out the Prodigy Cortina team 8-0. The Firecrackers went the entire third game on Saturday without committing a single error.
American Freedom- Prospects 03 14A is another young group holding their own in the 16-open age bracket. Taking their first game by 5 and the second by 12, the American Freedom – Prospects 03 found hard in the pool play to earn their three wins. Madeleine Kuehl owned the mound for the third game and only allowed two hits, struck out 11, and walked none. Both Mariah Niday and Ayva McComas both smacked a ball across the fence to help their team on offense, while American Freedom Prospects defense stayed solid in the field committing zero errors. Jamie Rader, Cassidy Chvatal, Meredith Halweg, and Aliyah McComas also made an appearance on the mound for the Prospects.
Adrenaline Black 02 took matters into their own hands in the pool play by starting games strong and finishing early. Sydney King hit four RBI and helps her team score 13 runs in the first inning of the first game. Adrenaline Black 02 easily won their second game scoring ten in the first and managed to hold on to their undefeated pool play record in their final game of the day, thanks to a big six-run inning and two doubles in the fourth, one each by Sierra Carey and Savanah Howard. With a lot of depth in pitching, Paris Elsberry, Savanah Howard, and Ciara Williams shared the majority of the time on the mound with others to call for backup.
Sunday Bracket Schedule 16O
With single elimination starting with the bracket schedule, teams have been battling since this Sunday morning to get to that championship game. The American Freedom Prospects 03 faced tough teams on Sunday but eliminated them all to be crowned champion of the 18th Annual AGSA-Firecracker USA Territory Qualifier. Along with the Prospects team, Firecracker-Bricker 14A, Rocky Mountain Thunder (Iuma) and Prodigy-Cortina made it to the final four aiming for a championship spot.
Always keeping us on our toes, the American Freedom Prospects would keep games very close and even tied for a short time, so that we would have to wait to see what would happen. Luckily, that work in their favor and they ended up with walk-off hits in almost every game. Coming into the championship game, Cassidy Chvatal was a key contributor in the circle for the Prospects on Sunday. Chvatal was outstanding at keeping the hits to a minimum and even held the Firecrackers-Bricker to zero hits, runs, and walks over one and two-thirds inning before tagging in Aliyah McComas for help. In the first games of the tournament, Chvatal already racked up 17 K’s. Kailey Morales and Ayva McComas were big hitters for the Prospects with their multi-hit games. Alyssa Alvarez also deserves recognition as she finished the first elimination game 3-3, with a four-run home run in the fifth and another home run in the fourth.
Congrats to the American Freedom Prospects for winning the 16u open Firecracker! Came from behind in all 3 games to win it! pic.twitter.com/Ursf35aM37
— American Freedom Prospects CO 14u (@AFprospectsCO) June 25, 2018
