Inside Pitch: Rhode Island Thunder’s Hannah Greer… “We Finished 5th at PGF 16U Nationals, Highest Ever for a Northeast Team!”

Hannah Greer is one of the fast-rising 2023 prospects in the Northeast and recently was honored as a selection in the Top 40 of the 2023 Extra Elite 100

The Rhode Island Thunder 16U National team star comes from a long line of softball standouts as she wrote about in a blog regarding her New Yorker’s family history and ties to Rhode Island… you can read about it HERE.

Today, Hannah chronicles the Thunder’s historic run at PGF Nationals, the highest finish ever for a Northeast team, and helps answer the question: “Where’s Rhode Island?”!!!

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My family and I flew from New York to California for the PGF Premier 16U Nationals on Friday, July 23rd.

It was my brother and I’s first time going to California, but my parents have been before. On the almost six-hour flight I watched Twilight for the first time because I’m uncultured haha, and I read my book “Mindset” by Carol S. Dweck.

After we landed and got our bags we headed to the hotel; by the time we got settled in the hotel it was around 11 pm.

The next day we started pool play games. We won 2-0 and 4-2 in our only two games that Saturday (July 24).

On Sunday we tied a great Atlanta Vipers team 0-0 and won our second game of the day 3-0.

Then, on Monday (July 26), elimination games began.

Our first game we played Georgia Impact and won 4-0 on a late comeback. My teammate Mackenzie got an awesome bunt down to score two runs and later that inning I scored her with a two-run home run to left center field!

Later that day we played another game and won 4-0.

On Tuesday (July 27) we won our only game of the day 7-1.

We played again Wednesday and won 5-2 in our only game of the day yet again, becoming one of the only four teams to still be undefeated.

Then came Thursday (July 29) we lost in our first game of the day to Beverly Bandits, knocking us into the loser’s bracket.

We then fought in the loser’s bracket winning 8-0 that afternoon. Just a few hours later we began our third game of the day.

To start off the game Ari Rodi (UNC Charlotte) hit a home run to give us the lead. As we went into the last inning, we were trailing 2-1 to Arizaon Storm.

With two outs, and the count 1-1, Ryanne Haynes (Providence) smacked one out to tie the game! It was so crazy and exciting that I started crying happy tears!

After a huge celebration, Mackenzie Waghorn came up to the plate. With a 3-1 count she hit one over to go back-to-back with Ryanne!

It was her first of the summer season and it was huge as we won the game 3-2 and lived to see another day.

Sadly, the next morning we lost and were knocked out of the bracket but on a happier note, we came in 5th place!

That’s the highest placing by a team from the Northeast in PGF history!

Our team fought through so much this summer including injuries, losses, weather, and much more, and we ended up in the top 5 in the country.

I’d say that’s pretty impressive from a team based in Rhode Island, considering multiple people we’ve played have asked “Where’s Rhode Island?”

During PGF, we collectively hit 15 home runs and, overall, for the summer we hit 62 home runs. As part of our team’s efforts to help others, we will be donating $6,200 to the For Kids’ Sake Foundation for Malia and other children battling neuroblastoma.

— Hannah Greer, Rhode Island Thunder