Extra Inning Softball’s National Club Player & National Club Team of the Week – July 2, 2019

Our Extra Inning Softball National Club Player & National Club Team of the Week includes an injured ACC commit who excelled despite the pain and a powerhouse team that went 7-0 in a Nationals last weekend…

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National Club Player of the Week:

Erika Andal, the 2020 infielder for the Jersey Intensity – KOD 18U team, had a big week at Team NJ Summer Classic from June 26-29 as she went 8-for-14 (.571) with seven runs scored.

She’s now hitting .704 for the summer batting second in the order behind Joley Mitchell (2019, Notre Dame) and ahead of Jayda Kearney (2020, Georgia) and Karina Gaskins (2020, Notre Dame).

But that’s not what earned Erika, the Intensity’s starting second baseman, the Player of the Week honor as she helped her team finish 2^nd out of 66 teams in the event.

The current Boston College commit had a big tournament suffering from a calf muscle injury when she came up limping running to second on a hit during the initial game of the Team NJ Classic.

Erika thought it was a cramp, but the pain never went away despite getting therapy treatment on her leg. Missing the showcase games, the incoming senior insisted on playing the bracket games and did impressively well despite the injury.

Runners-Up for National Player of the Week:

* No surprise here: Maya Brady, the UCLA signee and a Top 5 player in the 2019 Extra Elite 100 as one of the top infielders in the country, came up big for her OC Batbusters – Stith team last weekend as she went 3-for-3 with two RBIs in the USA Elect Select 18U championship game.

Brady was the event’s Offensive MVP. To read more on her team’s title win last Saturday in Viera, Florida click HERE.

* Sadie Armstrong, a 2023 Extra Elite 100 player—a frequent blogger for Extra Inning Softball—had a week to remember as she led her Central Mass Voodoo – Asadoorian team to the Massachusetts States “A” Division Softball Tournament title.

She reached base safely in 14-of-16 at-bats hitting .857 with six home runs, five singles, a double and two walks. The incoming freshman also had 16 RBIs and was 2-0 in the circle as well.

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National Club Team of the Week:

Hard to go against Mike Stith’s OC Batbusters 18U team which won the USA Elite Select World Fastpitch Championship last Saturday beating the Texas Bombers Gold team 5-4.

The Batbusters went 7-0 for the week and also beat the Tampa Mustangs TJ team 5-4 in the semis after also topping good teams like the Texas Blaze United, Virginia Glory – Mertz and Firecrackers Gold – Todd teams to go undefeated for the week.

Runners-Up for National Player of the Week:

* The first-ever Alex Wilcox Classic was a big success and was capped off by the Jacksonville Storm and Birmingham Thunderbolts – Roberson teams going nine innings in the 18U title game before the Storm won 6-5.

Both teams were 8-1 on the week—the Storm’s one blemish was an earlier loss to the Bolts—but took the title behind the arm of Madisyn Davis (2019, Central Florida signee) who went 4-0.

* Aces Fastpitch 16U team led by Ryan Taylor and his wife Taylor won the Top Club National tournament in Norman, Oklahoma–playing on the Sooners’ home field–by beating the Iowa Premier. The win just didn’t get them a big trophy, it got them a $7,000 winner-take-all (by age division) check. Other champions included the A’s – Mercado/Smith at 18U and the Diamond Sports Hotshots at 14U.

* The Ohio Laser Gold Team has gone 12-2 over the last two weeks as a 15U team (2003) finishing 2^nd at the Team NJ Summer Classic and going undefeated at the Ohio Outlaws Summer Invite. Led by top 2021 pitcher Maya Johnson, who headlines a roster that has nine potential DI prospects and is followed by over two dozen schools.

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2019 Extra Inning Softball Club Players of the Week

• July 2: IF Erika Andal (Jersey Intensity 18U – KOD)
• June 25: IF Haidyn Sokoloski (Texas Glory 14U – Naudin)
• June 18: P Maddie Penta (PA Chaos 18U – Spina)

2019 Extra Inning Softball Club Teams of the Week

• July 2: OC Batbusters 18U – Mike Stith
• June 25: Tennessee Mojo 14U – Josh Fisher
• June 18: PA Chaos 18U – Joe Spina

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How to Submit Information:

Each week during the summer, Extra Inning Softball will recognize a National Club Player & National Club Team of the Week.

Those honored will typically be announced on Tuesdays.

The cutoff for submitting the nominations for Player & Team of the Week will be Mondays at 10 pm EST/7 pm PST.

NOTE: the player submitted does NOT have to be on the team submitted.

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National Club Player of the Week Criteria

Individually, we’re looking for standouts who excelled in the circle, at the plate or in the field so be sure to nominate your favorite performance(s) by submitting the following:

• Player Name
• Grad Year (example: Class of 2019 or Senior)
• Position(s)
• Club team name with city/state
• Stats for the week (be as detailed as possible!)
• Up-to-date season stats if possible
• Recruiting information if applicable
• Any interesting background on the player
• Action and/or head shots
• If possible, contact info if we’d like more info or quotes

National Club Team of the Week Criteria

Teams of all divisions–18U down to 10U–to be considered should include the following:

• Team name
• Age division
• Head coach
• Week’s record
• Where played (event/tournament)
• Key wins (championship win, for example)
• Standout player performances as applicable
• Team or key player photo (if available)

Email your info and photos (1-4 as available) by the cutoff of Mondays at 10 pm EST/ 7 pm PST to: [email protected].