The Heart of America Fall Fastpitch League (HFL)’s West Fall Championships continued Saturday in College Station, Texas on the march to Sunday’s title games and the nine bids to The Alliance Fastpitch National Championships next summer.
The top three finishers in each age group will get bids and by the end of Saturday four bids were already finalized, at 18U the Aces Fastpitch and Iowa Premier Gold teams qualified and at 16U Aces Fastpitch and Tulsa Elite locked in their trips to Oklahoma City in July 2021.
Looking ahead to Sunday, the semi-finals and finals will be live streamed with a five-camera production with play-by-play provided by Tori Vidales, the former two-time Texas A&M All-American.
Click HERE to find the results of games and schedules for Sunday action
Here are some thoughts and observations….
* The bat of catcher Jesse Blaine of Iowa Premier set the tone for the start of the day as she had five RBIs in her team’s 12-1 win at 8 am.
Blaine, ranked in the Top 20 of the 2021 Extra Elite 100, hit a grand slam that not only cleared the 220-foot fence at Texas A&M’s beautiful Davis Diamond stadium, it also cleared the camera tower behind the wall in left centerfield.
That came in a tight game between the Oklahoma Bombers and the Iowa Premier as the Bombers jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to Maveryck Lightfoot, the third baseman/shortstop, who drew a walk, took second on a throwdown to first, then stole third and came home when the throw went into left field.
Talk about instant offense. More on Lightfoot: she helped her team win its opening game against FFS 11-3 with a couple RBIs and several plays at third base, taking some line drives down the line and making them outs. Really impressive day on offense and defense for the junior.
Back to the action: Iowa Premier scored a run in the top of the second and the score remained 2-1 until the top of the 5th when Premier tied the game and went ahead on a Blaine flair to right field that fell in and plated the go-ahead run.
Here’s video of the play:
* Aces & Iowa Premier Battle for 18U Supremacy: As mentioned earlier, both the 18U Aces and Iowa Premier teams had earned bids thanks to unbeaten bracket play heading into the 5 pm game at Davis Diamond, but there was a lot of pride on the line as two of the premier teams in the Midwest faced off.
It’s not like they haven’t played recently: Iowa Premier topped the Aces last week in the championship game of the Team 1 Showcase.
As Aces head coach Ryan Taylor said later in the evening regarding his relationship with fellow HFL administrator and coach Greg Dickel of Iowa Premier, “We can get into it on the field and be really competitive and then shake hands afterwards and walk away.”
At Davis Diamond Stadium, where Texas A&M competes, two Extra Elite100 pitchers faced off as Mac Morgan (2021, #4 overall, Arizona State) faced off against Josey Marron (2022, #96, Mississippi State).
Unlike last week, when Marron led the Iowa Premier to the6-3 win over the Aces, Morgan and her team got the big lead early and never looked back at the HFL Championship.
The Aces scored four in the bottom of the 1st highlighted by a three-run home run by Macy Miles, the 2022 pitcher/infielder who is the daughter of current Kansas football head coach Les Miles, Macy’s homer smacked off the left field scoreboard beyond the left field fall to give Taylor’s team the lead and she pitched quickly and aggressively, as she staked her team to a 7-2 win as she struck out seven and was clocked in the 67-68 mph range.
On the offensive side, Kinsey Fiedler, the outstanding infielder ranked #2 in the 2021 Extra Elite 100 and the #1 infielder (tied with Julie Crenshaw of St. Louis Chaos, the Mizzou commit also at this weekend’s event), showcased her big bat in this game.
The Washington commit led off the bottom of the 1st with a single and came around to score the game’s first run and then, in the 2nd inning, stroked a homer to left center in the bottom of the second to chase Marron. For the night, Fiedler had three hits and scored three runs.
* Game of the Night: the Aces and Iowa Premier faced off yet again at 7:15, only this time it was the 16U teams who battled and it was a thriller.
Just like the previous 18U matchup, two of the best pitchers at this younger age division went head-to-head in Cierra Harrison for the Aces and Teagan Kavan for Iowa Premier and both pitchers were on their “A” game Saturday night.
The game was scoreless through the bottom of the 6th inning as Harrison only game up two hits and three walks while striking out six and Kavan gave up three hits and two walks while striking out 10.
In the bottom of the 6th, however, Kavan walked the first two batters when the first of those baserunners, leadoff hitter Anyslee Linduff, noticing an opening and took it, sprinting to 3rd base and making it ahead of the third baseman.
Illinois commit Sydney Malott hit a deep fly ball to right field and Linduff was able to come home for the game’s only run.
Harrison closed the door on Iowa Premier by getting the final out by strikeout and, like at the 18U age division, the Aces Fastpitch 16U team had locked in its bid to Nationals as did a strong Tulsa Elite 2023 program.
Here’s the final pitch by Harrison:
Linduff talked about that key play in this interview with Extra Inning Softball’s Brentt Eads after the game:
The final games will be Sunday at 5 pm Davis Diamond Stadium for 18U, 2:45 pm at Davis Diamond Stadium for 16U and 3:15 pm at Old Aggie Field for 14U.
In the 14U age division, the Iowa Premier National team is set for one of the spots in finale with a record of 4-0 and having outscored opponents 31 to 12.
*****
SATURDAY RESULTS
18U
Game | Time | Location | Team | Score | Team | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B7 | 8:00 AM | Davis Diamond Stadium | Iowa Premier GOLD- Dickel(83) | 12 | 1 | [1] St. Louis Chaos 18u – Beatty(21) | |
B10 | 8:00 AM | OLD AGGIE Softball Field | ACES FP 18U-Taylor(64) | 4 | 1 | Gametime 18u Premier – Self(19) | |
B11 | 8:00 AM | Bee Creek Park – Field 1 | ACES FP 18U- Black(15) | 0 | 7 | Midwest Speed 18U Nat’l Beedle(23) | |
B13 | 8:00 AM | Bee Creek Park – Field 2 | OK Exclusive 18U Premier(27) | 1 | 8 | OK A’s 18U Premier Madden(26) | |
B8 | 10:15 AM | Davis Diamond Stadium | OK Bombers Gold 18U -Aud(29) | 10 | 3 | FFS 18U National TJ/Prieto(31) | |
B9 | 10:15 AM | Bee Creek Park – Field 2 | NM Suncats Gold 18u-Gandert(0) | 8 | 9 | [2] Iowa Premier Gold 03(17) | |
B12 | 10:15 AM | OLD AGGIE Softball Field | EPIC FP 18U National- Smith(43) | 2 | 8 | Gametime 18u Premier – Self(19) | |
B18 | 10:15 AM | Bee Creek Park – Field 1 | Midwest Speed 18U Nat’l Beedle(23) | 1 | 3 | OK A’s 18U Premier Madden(26) | |
B14 | 12:30 PM | OLD AGGIE Softball Field | Originals ’22/’23(17) | 2 | 9 | St. Louis Chaos 18u – Beatty(21) | |
B15 | 12:30 PM | Bee Creek Park – Field 1 | ACES FP 18U- Black(15) | 0 | 7 | OK Exclusive 18U Premier(27) | |
B21 | 12:30 PM | Davis Diamond Stadium | Iowa Premier GOLD- Dickel(83) | 5 | 2 | OK Bombers Gold 18U -Aud(29) | |
B22 | 12:30 PM | Bee Creek Park – Field 2 | Iowa Premier Gold 03(17) | 0 | 6 | ACES FP 18U-Taylor(64) | |
B16 | 2:45 PM | Davis Diamond Stadium | Originals ’22/’23(17) | 2 | 9 | EPIC FP 18U National- Smith(43) | |
B17 | 2:45 PM | Bee Creek Park – Field 1 | FFS 18U National TJ/Prieto(31) | 11 | 3 | OK Exclusive 18U Premier(27) | |
B19 | 2:45 PM | OLD AGGIE Softball Field | Gametime 18u Premier – Self(19) | 13 | 6 | St. Louis Chaos 18u – Beatty(21) | |
B20 | 5:00 PM | OLD AGGIE Softball Field | NM Suncats Gold 18u-Gandert(0) | 6 | 10 | EPIC FP 18U National- Smith(43) | |
B23 | 5:00 PM | Bee Creek Park – Field 1 | OK A’s 18U Premier Madden(26) | 6 | 3 | FFS 18U National TJ/Prieto(31) | |
B27 | 5:00 PM | Davis Diamond Stadium | Iowa Premier GOLD- Dickel(83) | 0 | 1 | ACES FP 18U-Taylor(64) | |
B24 | 7:15 PM | OLD AGGIE Softball Field | Gametime 18u Premier – Self(19) | 5 | 0 | EPIC FP 18U National- Smith(43) | |
B25 | 7:15 PM | Bee Creek Park – Field 1 | Iowa Premier Gold 03(17) | 3 | 15 | OK A’s 18U Premier Madden(26) |
16U
Game | Time | Location | Team | Score | Team | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B11 | 8:00 AM | Veterans Park – Field 1 | Lady Magic-Jaquez(0) | 0 | 7 | Aces FP 16U Black(50) | |
B12 | 8:00 AM | Veterans Park – Field 2 | Midwest Speed 15U National Holt(0) | 9 | 10 | St. Louis Chaos ‘04-2022(29) | |
B13 | 8:00 AM | Veterans Park – Field 4 | Illinois Force 16U Moll(30) | 4 | 5 | St. Louis Chaos 05 – Alvarado(11) | |
B14 | 8:00 AM | Veterans Park – Field 5 | Ok Athletics 05 Premier – Madden(35) | 0 | 7 | Midwest Speed 16U National Chell(15) | |
B15 | 8:00 AM | Veterans Park – Field 3 | Oklahoma Epic 16U Premier Smith/Cronic(28) | 12 | 2 | HSA 2K5 Linder(28) | |
B16 | 10:15 AM | Veterans Park – Field 2 | Midwest Speed 15U National Holt(0) | 0 | 9 | Aces FP 16U Black(50) | |
B17 | 10:15 AM | Veterans Park – Field 1 | St. Louis Chaos ‘04-2022(29) | 7 | 0 | Lady Magic-Jaquez(0) | |
B19 | 10:15 AM | Veterans Park – Field 5 | Illinois Force 16U Moll(30) | 8 | 7 | Midwest Speed 16U National Chell(15) | |
B20 | 10:15 AM | Veterans Park – Field 4 | Ok Athletics 05 Premier – Madden(35) | 0 | 7 | St. Louis Chaos 05 – Alvarado(11) | |
B22 | 10:15 AM | Veterans Park – Field 3 | Epic FP 04-Smith(28) | 4 | 3 | OK A’s 16u Platinum-Linsenmeyer(41) | |
B18 | 12:30 PM | Veterans Park – Field 1 | Oklahoma Epic 16U Premier Smith/Cronic(28) | 13 | 7 | St. Louis Chaos ‘04-2022(29) | |
B21 | 12:30 PM | Veterans Park – Field 2 | Lady Magic-Jaquez(0) | 0 | 7 | Aces FP 16U Black(50) | |
B23 | 12:30 PM | Veterans Park – Field 5 | Tulsa Elite 2023 National(64) | 12 | 5 | Iowa Premier 16U Gold(36) | |
B24 | 12:30 PM | Veterans Park – Field 3 | OK A’s 16U Premier-Madden(36) | 0 | 10 | Iowa Premier 16U National(61) | |
B25 | 12:30 PM | Veterans Park – Field 4 | OK Exclusive 16U National-Hughes(37) | 1 | 3 | Aces FP 16U Premier(59) | |
B26 | 2:45 PM | Veterans Park – Field 2 | Aces FP 16U Black(50) | 3 | 1 | OK A’s 16U Premier-Madden(36) | |
B28 | 2:45 PM | Veterans Park – Field 3 | Illinois Force 16U Moll(30) | 7 | 2 | OK A’s 16u Platinum-Linsenmeyer(41) | |
B30 | 2:45 PM | Veterans Park – Field 5 | Epic FP 04-Smith(28) | 0 | 10 | Tulsa Elite 2023 National(64) | |
B42 | 2:45 PM | Veterans Park – Field 1 | Midwest Speed 15U National Holt(0) | 2 | 6 | Iowa Premier 16U Gold(36) | |
B43 | 2:45 PM | Veterans Park – Field 4 | OK Exclusive 16U National-Hughes(37) | 10 | 2 | HSA 2K5 Linder(28) | |
B27 | 5:00 PM | Veterans Park – Field 4 | St. Louis Chaos 05 – Alvarado(11) | 2 | 0 | OK Exclusive 16U National-Hughes(37) | |
B29 | 5:00 PM | Veterans Park – Field 1 | Oklahoma Epic 16U Premier Smith/Cronic(28) | 9 | 10 | Iowa Premier 16U Gold(36) | |
B31 | 7:15 PM | Veterans Park – Field 2 | Iowa Premier 16U National(61) | 0 | 1 | Aces FP 16U Premier(59) | |
B32 | 7:15 PM | Veterans Park – Field 4 | Aces FP 16U Black(50) | 11 | 10 | St. Louis Chaos 05 – Alvarado(11) | |
B33 | 7:15 PM | Veterans Park – Field 1 | Illinois Force 16U Moll(30) | 1 | 5 | Iowa Premier 16U Gold(36) |
14U
Game | Time | Location | Team | Score | Team | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B9 | 8:00 AM | Central Park – Field 2 | OK Exclusive 14U Gold(18) | 5 | 18 | Epic National 2024 – Smith(48) | |
B10 | 8:00 AM | Central Park – Field 3 | Iowa Premier 14U National(49) | 4 | 2 | [2] TULSA ELITE OKC 24/25 WAMSLEY(44) | |
B11 | 8:00 AM | Central Park – Field 4 | OK A’s National 2024 – Madden/Clemmer(25) | 11 | 1 | New Mexico Suncats – 14u Gold(0) | |
B12 | 8:00 AM | Central Park – Field 1 | Heartland Havoc 07’(41) | 13 | 3 | Midwest Speed 14U National Hall(0) | |
B13 | 10:15 AM | Central Park – Field 3 | Iowa Premier 13U National(42) | 6 | 4 | St. Louis Chaos ‘06 Beatty/Carr(27) | |
B14 | 10:15 AM | Central Park – Field 1 | OK Exclusive 14U Premier(45) | 12 | 8 | Gametime Stars Premier 2024 Spain(16) | |
B23 | 10:15 AM | Central Park – Field 2 | ACES FP 14U(56) | 1 | 2 | Epic National 2024 – Smith(48) | |
B24 | 10:15 AM | Central Park – Field 4 | Iowa Premier 14U National(49) | 8 | 6 | OK A’s National 2024 – Madden/Clemmer(25) | |
B15 | 12:30 PM | Central Park – Field 1 | St. Louis Chaos 07(23) | 0 | 2 | OK A’s 14U Premier- Madden(50) | |
B16 | 12:30 PM | Central Park – Field 3 | Heartland Havoc 07’(41) | 11 | 6 | St. Louis Chaos ‘06 Beatty/Carr(27) | |
B17 | 12:30 PM | Central Park – Field 2 | Iowa Premier 13U National(42) | 13 | 5 | Gametime Stars Premier 2024 Spain(16) | |
B29 | 12:30 PM | Central Park – Field 4 | Epic National 2024 – Smith(48) | 4 | 11 | Iowa Premier 14U National(49) | |
B18 | 2:45 PM | Central Park – Field 1 | OK Exclusive 14U Premier(45) | 11 | 15 | St. Louis Chaos 07(23) | |
B20 | 2:45 PM | Central Park – Field 3 | OK Exclusive 14U Gold(18) | 0 | 8 | Heartland Havoc 07’(41) | |
B21 | 2:45 PM | Central Park – Field 2 | TULSA ELITE OKC 24/25 WAMSLEY(44) | 13 | 6 | Iowa Premier 13U National(42) | |
B19 | 5:00 PM | Central Park – Field 2 | Midwest Speed 14U National Hall(0) | 4 | 5 | OK A’s 14U Premier- Madden(50) | |
B22 | 5:00 PM | Central Park – Field 1 | New Mexico Suncats – 14u Gold(0) | 6 | 7 | St. Louis Chaos 07(23) | |
B25 | 5:00 PM | Central Park – Field 3 | Heartland Havoc 07’(41) | 7 | 4 | TULSA ELITE OKC 24/25 WAMSLEY(44) | |
B26 | 7:15 PM | Central Park – Field 1 | St. Louis Chaos 07(23) | 7 | 14 | OK A’s 14U Premier- Madden(50) |