Club Spotlight: Florida Gold – John Trio of Arms Highlight Pitching Standouts at Scenic City

Off to a 4-0 start in pool play in the Super 16U Division at the Scenic City Summer Showcase in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Florida Gold – John team has itself sitting in a good position for not only the rest of the weekend, but for the rest of the summer.

While John Bridges’ group – mostly made up of central Florida talent – has been hitting the ball extremely well (25 runs in four pool play games), they’ve allowed just four runs, thanks to rock solid pitching in the circle.

“We want to make a name for ourselves, a lot of people don’t know who we are,” said 2023 righty Alex Wright. “We’ve been giving teams a nice surprise.”

Wright, fellow 2023 pitcher Ryleigh Bennett and 2025 righty Morgen Talley have given Florida Gold a mix in the circle that’s helped propel them to their undefeated start in Tennessee.

“I’m more up-and-down, they’re more side-to-side and up…we’re such different looks,” Bennett said.

In her first two months with the Florida Gold organization, Bennett has showcased an extremely effective drop ball that’s had hitters fooled time and time again. Add in an effective change up and that leaves only a rise as one of the major things she needs to tack on to be really good down the line. She struck out six on 26 pitches against Ohio Outlaws 16U Premier – Young on Friday morning.

Wright worked two innings of hitless, scoreless softball in both of her appearances on Thursday, as the staff combined for a shutout of Lady Lightning Gold – McGowan and Indiana Shockwaves ’05 to get the weekend started.

“When I first got here, Alex took me under her wing and taught me about different pitches and different situations,” said Talley of Wright, who’s been the longest-rostered of the three for Bridges.

As the most recognizable of the group – Talley is ranked 11th in the 2025 class by Extra Inning Softball – the two-way star has been dangerous in the circle and at this dish over the weekend. She blasted a home run against Ohio Thunderbolts – Correll on Friday and a grand slam against the Shockwaves on Thursday.

In the circle, she allowed all four of the runs given up by Florida Gold, thus far (the unearned), but she made up for that by striking out 12 in seven innings of work.

“I gained a lot of confidence hitting against the best pitchers in our state [during high school season],” Talley said.

Talley, Bennett and Wright all pitched into May as a part of their high school seasons and have kept the momentum rolling.

Bennett stepped up when Sarasota’s ace went down with an injury late in the year. Wright was banged up for Lake Region but shined at times when she needed to. Talley was an instrumental part in the first month-plus (when another pitcher was hurt) for Canterbury on the road to their state championship.

For each of them, the high school season really helped one thing click: hit your spots, and you’ll be successful.

“Hitting my spots, trusting my defense,” Wright said. “Facing good batters helped me a lot to realize that I can’t miss pitches, too.”

“If I hit my spots, that’s less pitches for me,” Bennett added.

*****

With the Friday theme being pitching, we thought we’d point out some other standouts that caught our eyes across Scenic City. There’s several so make sure that you keep reading to find out just who we thought was good on Day 2 of Pool Play.

Opposite the three arms from Florida Gold – John, Ohio Outlaws 16U Premier – Young’s Mackenzie Krafcik had plenty of eyes on her to begin the morning, including Coastal Carolina and Army. The righty showcased some good velocity and some swing-and-miss stuff, but did get knocked around a bit later on against a hot lineup. Regardless, she should be a name to watch going forward in the 2022 class.

Watched the first two innings of work from Madilyn Byrd of Birmingham Thunderbolts 2025 – Kemp.

Madilyn Byrd, a rising freshman, stood out by sitting at 60-61 mph on her hard stuff. She filled the strike zone up in the first inning, then got in trouble with a walk or two in the second. I liked her ability to battle back and still make competitive pitches to get soft contact when she got behind in the count.

As mentioned, Florida Gold – John’s Ryleigh Bennett had a great morning game against Ohio Outlaws. Six strikeouts on six record outs, nearly all of them coming on a wicked drop ball.

To round it out, Tennessee Elite Gold 18U’s Rylee Veron, a Trevecca Nazarene University commit looked good as a 2021 graduate. Excellent rise ball and mixed her pitches well in the inning of work we saw against Carolina Flames Elite on Friday evening. She also got help on a great diving catch in right field from uncommitted 2022 Jaylee Lopez.

— Will Turner, Extra Inning Softball Correspondent