By Kevin Beese Contributor


Irvine, CA. --- For


the Southern California A's, this year's PGF Championship was all about validation. Although the squad also won the 2010 18 Premier Girls Fastpitch title, the team felt it did not get its proper due for the title run. With Junior World players not present at the tournament last year because of their commitment to Team USA, there was talk in some circles of the A's achievement being somewhat tainted, according to A's head coach Bruce Richardson. “We heard the rumblings,” Richardson said. “The


be,” Richardson said. “She gave up eight runs the game before … She did really good. In the seventh, she got three straight outs.” The A's, which have now won the PGF


national title three times, rolled through early round competition in the tournament. They topped the


Arizona Hotshots 12-0 with Kelly clubbing two homers and Allison Brown, Jessica Plaza and Aubree


Munro-


Steingraeber each hitting one. Delaine Gourley was


The 18U Ca. A's win their second straight Premier Girls Fastpitch National Championship. All Premier Girls Fastpitch Photos by Eric D. Danielson


tournament title. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh and down a


Junior World players were there (this year) and we still got this done. It is more special because of that.” Losing only three senior starters from last


year's squad, the A's came into the tournament as one of the favorites, but knew they would face tough competition from the OC Batbusters and the Worth Firecrackers. And that they did, with the Batbusters beating the


A's in the first semi-final game to force a second game for the right to face the Firecrackers for the national title. And in the championship, the Firecrackers closed to within one out of being champs themselves until a two-out, two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh gave the A's an 8-7 victory and their second consecutive tournament crown. “They are one of the top hitting teams in the


country,” Richardson said of the Firecrackers. “We knew that all along. We knew it would be a battle.” The A's did not get their first hit against the


Firecrackers until the third inning when Mo Mercado belted a three-run homer to erase a 1-0 deficit and give the Athletics a 3-1 lead. After the Firecrackers scored one in the fourth and one in the fifth to tie the game, they got a three-run homer in the sixth inning to take a commanding 6-3 lead. But the A's responded with a three-run sixth inning of their own. Jenna Kelly got the sixth-inning scoring started


8


with a homer, and when Jasmine Smithson-Willett doubled into a gap, she then took third on a ball in the dirt and scored on a passed ball, the team was back in business, only chasing one run. They pushed still another run across in the inning to tie the game heading into the seventh. The Firecrackers scored a run in the top of the seventh, leaving them just three outs away from the


run, Kelly wasn't given anything to hit and walked to keep the team's hopes alive. Aubree Munro-Steingraeber then hit a ball off the end of


her bat and was able to beat the throw to first from the second baseman. When Jasmine-Smithson-Willett was hit in the knee, the bases were loaded for lead-off hitter Danica Mercado, who had been 0-for-4 at that point, but she laced a 3-1 pitch up the middle for the walk-off victory. “Our seven, eight and nine hitters were fantastic,” Richardson said. “All three of them came through in that last inning. “There were doubts we deserved to win (last year's tournament),” Richardson added. “We were the best team. We won it and they did not give us the credit. That's why this was validation. We don't advertise it a lot, but these girls play hard and don't quit. They are the ultimate team. They are a talented bunch. They may not be the most known kids, but they are absolutely the best team.” In order to get to the PGF finals, the A's had to get past


the OC Batbusters, who had to beat the A's twice in order to advance. The Batbusters came out a team on a mission and hit


three homers off A's pitching in that first game en route to a 8-2 victory. “We were taken aback,” Richardson admitted. “Our pitching staff hadn't given up anything to that point.” But led by Mercado's 3-for-4 performance and Darian


Tautalafua's three-run homer in the second semi-final game, the A's took control early and were cruising until a Batbuster three-run homer in the sixth made it a 5-4 game. The A's hung on and moved on to the championship. “That was our big game,” Richardson said. “It was icing


on the cake to go to the championship.” Mariah Ramirez pitched the A's into the finals with a strong performance. “She gutted it out and was clutch when she needed to


the winning pitcher. Next up were the Washington Ladyhawks.


“We thought this would be a tough early game and it


was just that,” Richardson said. “They had two really good pitchers. We beat them 2-0 with the two runs scoring on a squeeze bunt.” The A's managed just four hits off of the Ladyhawks'


Madi Schreyer, who has committed to Stanford University. The game's only scoring occurred in the fifth inning when the A's Erin Ashby laid down a squeeze bunt and on the throw home the ball kicked away from the catcher allowing a second base-runner to scamper home. The A's Gourley, who will be heading to the University of


Florida, topped Schreyer in the pitchers' duel, allowing just one hit and striking out nine in the game. The A's recording their third consecutive shutout,


topping the KG Hitters 9-0. Megan Geer and Brown both had two hits in the route, and Mariah Ramirez equaled Gourley's pitching fete, also firing a one-hitter. The Beverly Bandits, who wound up tied for third in


the tournament with OC Batbusters, was the squad's next opponent. Plaza helped break open a close game with a homer;


and Darian Tautalafua's added a couple of hits, including a double, in the 5-1 victory. Gourley again went the distance in the pitching circle, allowing just four hits and striking out 12. The A's then topped Strike Zone 3-1, with sophomore


shortstop Mo Mercado and Plaza both homering in the contest. Gourley again dominated, giving up just one run and striking out eight in the seven-inning contest. Richardson credited his assistant coaches, Rob Weil


and Sean Nierman, with helping to create a winning attitude on the team. “They do an outstanding job with the kids,” Richardson


said. “That is a big part of our chemistry. One day one of us will be the bad guy. The next day it will be someone else. We have some special kids. Some coaches won't tell players how good they are. We are OK with telling them that … We don't try to hide that.”


Softball Today • August 2011


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