RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
The Alliance Nationals are being held this week in Oklahoma City with the majority of 18U age Tier 1 teams playing on Tuesday at the USA Softball Hall of Fame complex.
On the team side, the field has been narrowed to the Elite 8… kind of.
Because of the format where it’s best 2-of-3, two of the 18U team match-ups were pushed back because of time constraints to where the games will be continued Wednesday morning.
Here’s a look at first-ever Alliance All-Star game plus the quarterfinal match-ups coming up on Wednesday and how the teams got there…
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The Alliance All-Star Game: Brianna Ellis Homers, Doubles and Drives in 5 to Lead the Nationals to the Win
Is it too late to use some of this prolific offensive firepower for Team USA in the Olympics?
In the first two innings alone, the two all-star teams in The Alliance All-Star Game combined for 10 runs and
The Nationals got on the board in the bottom of the 1st on an RBI double by infielder Brianna Ellis (Auburn, Impact Gold – Jackson). She drove in Mia Scott the third baseman for Texas Bombers – Smith and a Texas signee who had walked earlier in the inning.
The American team quickly evened the score in the Top of the 2nd as Baylea Brandon (LSU, Texas Glory – Shelton) hit a home run over the left field fence off new pitcher Stevie Henson (Oregon, Athletics – Mercado/Smith).
The Americans then loaded the bases on three singles with two outs before Kinsey Fiedler walked in a run and Ja’Naiya Thomas (Houston, Impact Gold – Jackson) singled in two more runs to make the score 4-1.
In the bottom of the second the Nationals bounced back with five runs including a three-run home run by Ellis who had two extra base hits and four RBIs in her first two at-bats. Score after two: 6-4 Nationals.
In the top of the 3rd Brandon singled and advanced to second on an error. A passed ball allowed her to move to third base but Emma Lemley (Virginia Tech, Williamsburg Starz) used her powerful riseball to strike out the side.
In the bottom of the inning Madilyn Giglio (LSU, East Cobb Bullets) led off the inning with a walk and then stole second before Mia Scott (Texas, Bombers – Smith) singled and a walk loaded the bases but pitcher Tatum Clopton (Oklahoma State, Aces – Taylor) was bailed out by a tremendous running catch in centerfield by Hannah Coor (Oklahoma, OC Batbusters – Stith) that meant for the first inning of the game an inning passed without a score on either side.
What started out as an offensive game turned to the pitchers’ advantage as Mac Morgan (Arizona State, Aces – Taylor) got out of the top of the 4th without giving up a run.
In the bottom of the 4th Ellis reached base for the third time as she was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a single by Korbe Otis (Lousiville, Corona Angels – Tyson) before being driven in by a two-run double to right field by Brooke Blankenship (Florida State, Wichita Mustangs) to make the score 8-4 National team.
Morgan continued to pitch and in the top of the 5th inning got a 1-2-3 inning, the first since top of the 1st.
In the bottom of the 5th the Nationals loaded the bases on an error and two hits batters by pitcher Rachel Gibson (Clemson, Fury Platinum) and Ellis hit a deep fly to left field that wasn’t a grand slam but did bring in a run via sac fly to give her five RBIs for the game.
Otis then hit a fly ball that fell in for an RBI single to push the lead to 10-4.
In the top of the 6th Fiedler cut the lead in half with a RBI double to center making the score 10-5 and came home on a ball slapped to center field by Ja’Naiya Thomas (Houston, Impact God – Jackson) who sped all the way to third on an errant throw past the catcher from centerfield.
In the top of the 7th, Cydney Sanders (Arizona State, Corona Angels – Tyson) of the American squad smashed a rainbow home run to right center to bring the score to 10-7 National team and a two-run home run smash over left field by McKenna Gibson (Tennessee, Athletics – Mercado) closed it to a 10-9 lead for the National team but that was the final score as Sophia Simpson (Texas, Texas Bombers – Smith) closed the door with a strikeout to make that the final score of the first-ever Alliance All-Star game.
The 2 hour 20 minute game saw 14 hits for the American team; 11 for National team in what was an entertaining game asking many in the stands and press box: “Why couldn’t the Olympic Games been this entertaining?”
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Here is how the day went for the 18U Tier 1 teams…
Game 1: Texas Bombers – Smith vs. Firecrackers – Rico
Highlights: The Texas Bombers won in two games over the Williamsburg Starz 1-0, 2-0 but Coach Scott Smith said he was blown away by Starz Emma Lemley pitcher (Virginia Tech) who threw in the upper 60’s (one game had her hitting 70 mph). Said Coach Smith: “This pitcher was one of the best I’ve seen in the last five years.” On the other side, Tony Rico’s team advanced in two low scoring games, 3-1, 3-0 highlighted by a strong pitching performance by Kylie Chung (Stanford).
Game 2: OC Batbusters – Stith vs. Impact Gold – Jackson
Highlights: The Batbusters won in two against the Wichita Mustangs as did the Impact Gold – Jackson team which knocked off the Louisville Lady Sluggers.
Game 3: Athletics – Mercado or TN Mojo vs. Firecrackers – Brashear vs. Texas Glory – Shelton
Highlights: The A’s and Mojo along with the Firecrackers and Texas Glory had their games tied 1-1 but because of the extended play and a lightning delay had to suspend their games with the finishes to be wrapped up in the morning.
Game 4: Aces – Taylor vs. Corona Angels – Tyson
Highlights: The Aces coached by Ryan Taylor lost the first game but came back to win the last two over the Texas Bombers – Burgess and on the other side of the bracket the Corona Angels did the same, losing the first game to the Iowa Premier Gold – Dickel in nine innings, but won the final two games by coming back late in the final innings to advance including a three-run home run by the Angels Makenna Dashiell (Cal Baptist, Corona Angels – Tyson) who talks about the home run here: