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Game 2 of the 2022 PGF Nationals Championships on Sunday at Deanna Manning Stadium located at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, Calif. matched two strong teams from the 12U Premier Division: Lady Magic – Munoz, led by Ernie Munoz, versus Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2027, headed by Frederick Alford.
The Lady Magic came out on fire and didn’t let up ‘til the final out was made, scoring four runs in the 1st inning, added two more in the 3rd and reached double digits with five more runs in the top of the 7th to beat the Bolts 11-0 as the team had 10 hits and committed one error while the Bolts only had one hit, which came with two out in the 7th, and committed two errors.
A bit of a backstory that’s important to the story line:
- The Bolts came in via the Winner’s Bracket and were 6-0 with all the wins being at least six runs except for one 5-4 game.
- The Lady Magic, however, had lost Thursday to the CF Stars and had to come through the Loser’s Bracket, which entailed winning six games on Saturday—pretty much from sun-up to sundown—to get them to the championship game.
So who would you think would be the sharper team?
While the Bolts are definitely talented, on Sunday in the high 80-degree temps of Orange County, the Lady Magic looked more like an 18U team at times with sharp defense, decisive decisions and strong offensive skills.
And kudos to Magic catcher Regan Wise who played every inning on Saturday and Sunday, a total of 49 innings behind the plate in about a day and a half.
The visitors from Northern California didn’t waste any time in jumping on the scoreboard as leadoff hitter Caelyn Campos bunted her way on base, moved to second on a passed ball and went to third on a groundout.
A walk to Niayli “Yelli” Calvo and a hit-by-pitch to Catalina Medina loaded the bases but that didn’t last long as a wild pitch allowed Rampos to scoot home for the first run of the game
Five-hole hitter Kate McCartney drilled the ball down the right field line for a triple which brought in Calvo and Medina to make the score 3-0—all with one out—before many had a chance to get settled in their seats.
The damage wasn’t done, however, as Taylor “TJ” Jennings singled to plate McCartney to make the score 4-0, all on just three hits.
Meanwhile, the pitching was nearly perfect between the tandem of Cat Medina, who went three innings and just gave up one walk while Kam Brannon closed out the win with four innings and gave up only a two-out, bottom of the 7th single that fell just in front of leftfielder Caelyn Rampos for the only hit the Magic pitching would give up.
In the 3rd, Calvo walked and went to third base on a fielder’s choice/error which led her coming all the way around to score and putting McCartney on second. A wild pitch and an RBI groundout by Jennings added the second run of the inning to put the score at 6-0 after two and a half innings.
The Californians maintained that lead until the top of the 7th when it blew the game put five more on the board thanks to a single by Campos, a single by Vanessa Brunal, a hit-by-pitch to Calvo, a single to Medina, a single by McCartney, a sac fly from Takaiyah Haygood and a triple by Amanda Wettlend that all led to the final score of 11-0.
Kate McCarney led the offensive attack going 2-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored batting out of the 5-hole. Leadoff Caelyn Campos went 2-for-4 with two runs scored; Yelli Calvo in the three-spot had two walks and scored three runs total while TJ Jennings went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
And it was a good day for the Munoz family as Head coaches and married coouple Ernie and Lindsey Munoz got to enjoy the moment with their two sons, Matt and Nick, in attendance being watched by grandma:
Here’s the final play of the game as the Lady Magic sealed the win with a flyout to right:
And here’s what Head Coach Ernie Munoz and Co-Head Coach Lindsey Munoz, his wife, had to say about the team’s extraordinary performance(s) this weekend…
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball