Texas Elite Easton Gold went 9-1 to capture the VTD 18U World Series.


By Dave Utnik "The VTD World Series opening ceremonies were


held at the Airhogs Stadium in Grand Prairie, TX. with about 10,000 in attendance." Said President of VTD Operations Allen Richardson. "Dot Richardson was our guest speaker and we had an all star game that included a couple of the players from the USA team."


18U VTD World Series


Championship McKinney, TX. --- Craig Ranch is one of their


favorite places to play softball. It's close to home for one thing and Texas Elite Easton Gold is backed by a sense of nostalgia every time they take the field. They have created rivalries and friendships there


that will always be remembered long after their careers are finished. Oh, and then there's that 18U VTD World Series Championship they won together back in July. That trophy is one to cherish for a couple of


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reasons: Texas Elite Easton Gold won it with a one-run victory over sister squad, Texas Elite-Baker, and, perhaps more importantly, nearly the entire squad returned home with college scholarship offers. "Our goal this past season was to put an emphasis


on getting our girls verbally committed," Texas Elite Easton Gold coach Don Mongillo said. "We began the year with two out of 15 girls verbally committed and after the completion of the VTD World Series, we had 12 of 15 completed." Even without four regular starters, Texas Elite Easton


Gold went 9-1 at Craig Ranch, avenging its only loss of the competition by sweeping Texas Elite-Baker 7-2 and 6-5 in the championship round. "When the pool schedule came out, I knew we were


going to have our hands full with Texas Glory and Texas Travelers. They are extremely well coached and full of quality players," Mongillo said. "But I liked our chances because I knew we would have to focus from the first pitch of that first pool game in order to move forward. I had high expectations and the girls delivered." Hannah Newcomb led the way with a .545 batting


average and eight RBI, while Lauren Bancroft hit .533 and drove in six runs. Paige Mongillo batted .460 and knocked in seven runs. JoJo Schaefer hit .425 and Julia Colman hit .420. "It was great to see everyone contribute," coach


Mongillo said. Texas Elite Easton Gold traditionally wins with power.


Five players hit at least 10 home runs during the season. But they have athleticism and depth as well. With four of their top six batters unavailable, Ashton


Atwell and Nici Starkey made things happen at the top of the lineup while Newcomb, Mongillo and Bancroft delivered most of the clutch hits. "The great thing about this team is how versatile our


lineup is. We played this entire tournament without our normal No. 1, 2, 4 and 6 hitters," coach Mongillo said. That enabled every player to accomplish something memorable. Brooke Puckett had one game-winning hit and drove in the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in the thrilling finale. Paige Mongillo, who helped Celina High capture the


3A state championship in the spring, caught nine games in the 100-plus Texas heat. Shortstop Brittany Gehle (.400) and second baseman Tyler Casada (.387) turned four double plays on defense, while Margo Beck hit .333. The pitching was exceptional, too. Katelyn Drummond (4-0), Hannah Newcomb (3-0) and another Celina High star, Victoria Brown, (2-1) combined for three shuts and 25 runs allowed in 10 games. "This team has been together for five years. When


[assistant coach] David Newcomb and myself put this team together we could not have envisioned the success that this team would have," coach Mongillo said. "The girls are dedicated to the game and are the ultimate ambassadors when representing Texas Elite."


Softball Today • August 2011


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