The road to the PGF 14U, 12U and 10U Premier National Championships was decided on Saturday and what a fun ride it was!
At the start of the day there were eight teams still standing in each of the age groups and by the time the sun went down on Saturday’s softball action, only two had advanced to play at Bill Barber Stadium in Irvine, California for the right to be called a PGF National Champion.
We covered the 14U and 12U Premier divisions extensively… here are our thoughts on how the day went for the teams who advanced from these age groups…
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14U RECAP
One team was planning on being there and when the semi-final game finished there was no excited yells or jumping up and down. It was business as usual.
For the other team, the exciting walk-off win brought yelps of joy and even tears as the players and coaches were somewhat in shock that they made it to the championship game.
The first team, Tennessee Mojo – Fisher, was once again dominating in its two games on Saturday, beating the up-and-rising Oklahoma Hotshots Premier – Yeatts team 6-0 in the first game off the day and then run-ruling the Texas Bombers HTX – Burgess squad 7-1 in six innings.
In the initial win, star pitcher Keagan Rothrock (2023, Florida) once again put on a pitching clinic, spotting her rise-balls to the tune of just one hit allowed, 14 strikeouts and no walks.
In the second win, Taylor Hess stepped in to start and gave up just three hits in 3 2/3rd innings before handing the ball over to Rothrock who allowed just a hit in 2 1/3rd innings while striking out five.
“It’s what we came out here to do,” explained Head Coach Josh Fisher. “We knew there was going to be tough opponents, especially going into today, we had low-scoring games although we were able to get the sticks going there, but we feel fortunate to beat them (the Bombers) an inning early. It was payback from Kansas (World Fastpitch Championship) last week, they won it and we finished second, we have a lot of respect for them. They’re a good team.”
Along with the pitching, the 14 players who travelled have seemingly all had a role to play and have come up big when needed.
Seven different Mojo players got on base today and it started with leadoff hitter Jaydyn “Shorty” Goodwin (2022, Georgia) who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the win over the Bomers. Mia Williams (2023, Florida) who went 2-for-4 with an RBI double, Taylor Pannell (2022, Auburn), who batted 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks and Maci Bergeron (2022, LSU), who hit 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
“Typically, we’ll play 12 or 13 in a game,” Coach Fisher continued, “and sometimes get them all in there, but each part of the line-up one-through-nine, if I have them in there we have a lot of confidence in them.”
Ranked as the #1 club team in the 14U division by Extra Inning Sports before the summer, the parents and players admit there’s been a target on their backs, but the team has risen to the occasion and knows what it needs to do to win it all on Sunday.
The Mojo draws on elite players from all over the nation with players coming as far away as Indiana, Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia and Illinois.
Leading the way is Rothrock who is one of three on the team from the Hoosier State. She has thrown a perfect game this week and has overpowered hitters for most of the week.
“She’s been phenomenal, definitely a week to remember for her. She’s a stud, superb, and , literally a ‘stupid good’ performance this week.”
If Rothrock and team can close it out Sunday afternoon, her week could be mentioned in PGF Nationals lore along with other dominating pitching performances that have included Delaney Gourley (So Cal A’s-Richardson) and Megan Faraimo (Corona Angels) that brought their teams National Titles.
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While it wasn’t a surprise that the Mojo made it to the 14U title game, not many were picking the Arizona Storm heading into the week for one simple reason: Steve Appel’s team—while talented—is a first-year 14U team and rare are those who can play with teams more experienced to capture a title.
The Storm’s maturity, however, has been evident all week—not to mention the standout athleticism and pitching the team based in the Phoenix area brings.
On Saturday, the Storm won 11-5 to get to the semi-final game and as the undefeated winner in its bracket, just had to win one of two.
The team from the Southwest faced an outstanding Central Cal Dirtdogs-Pickering team led by fast-rising pitcher/hitter Ryan Maddox (2023, uncommitted) who has elevated her stock greatly this week.