Lopsided Wins, Magic(al) Defense Highlight Day One of Alliance Championship Series in Chino Hills

The first day of the regional round of the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series is officially in the books.

Monday’s games saw the AFCS debuts for every team in the field, as some teams played once and others took the field twice to begin their attempts at a championship run.

With games taking place at six parks in and around Chino Hills and the surrounding areas, the action at Big League Dreams Chino Hills was what I took in first-hand.

Indiana Magic Gold 18U-Green was a team that impressed me, with their bats but also with their defense. The squad was really solid defensively, making some nifty plays look routine and keeping their opponents at bay thanks to their defense and heads-up attention on that side of the ball.

Samantha Bolding knocked a two-run shot that gave the Magic a 3-1 lead in what had been a tied ballgame, with Indiana-committed Ella Carter knocking a solo shot later in the ballgame to extend the lead to 4-1. That’s where the game would finish, the second win of the day for the Magic as they now move on to a face-off with the Texas Bombers Gold squad.

The Bombers played a fairly tight one, score-wise, with Florida Gold Lopez, beating the team from the Sunshine State 3-0. It was the only game of the day for the Bombers, who now need just one more win to advance to Tier 1 Super Regionals.

Elsewhere in Chino, Tony Rico’s Firecrackers picked up a dominant win over Tx Threat Gold, a 14-1 final score that now sets up an all-Firecrackers matchup with a Tier 1 Super Regional berth on the line. Rico’s squad will take on Firecrackers Brashear/Hicks Gold. 2025 Melody Acevedo had one of the big hits for Rico’s squad, a grand slam one day after she won the throwing competition at the All-Star Skills Challenge on Sunday.

Day 1 of alliance down ! Rest of the week to go! Started off with a Grand slam ☝🏽 pic.twitter.com/vmRtfSoYaL

— Melody Acevedo (@meloace6) July 25, 2023

Fury Platinum X Higdon used a balanced pitching plan and rode the momentum offensively en route to a 5-0 win over San Jose Sting-Gron.

Upsets weren’t too plentiful on opening day, though Oklahoma Athletics 18 National Madden did pick up a 4-0 shutout win over Warrior Academy McDonald in region #12. That victory, the second of the day for the Athletics, sent Warrior Academy to have to fight their way out of the loser’s bracket and now puts the Athletics one win from a 3-0 start and a Tier 1 Super Regional berth.