PGF Nationals 2023 Primer: The Two-Week “Softball Extravaganza” Kicks Off Today in Sunny SoCal

Has it really been 14 years of softball play at PGF Nationals?

I was at the very first one and have been to them all since and it is, along with the Women’s College World Series, one of the highlights of the year for not just great action between the lines, but also great things to do for players and their families off the field.

Do we mention this is in beautiful sunny Southern California?

The two-weeks of wall-to-wall fastpitch softball starts today and runs through August 6^th in Southern California with great play from ages 10U up through 18U with the All-American Game and the Futures All-American Game scheduled for Saturday, July 29.

That, however, is just the halfway point between Weeks 1 and 2 and for what is sure to be a lot of great fastpitch play with talent from all over the nation.

Here’s a look at both weeks, but first—to get you pumped up—is this great highlight preview video produced by PGF and narrated by the great play-by-play announcer Daron Sutton:

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WEEK 1: 18U & 16U Premier & Platinum (July 21-29, 2023)

To kick it all off, a coaches’ draw will be held TONIGHT (Friday, July 21) with complimentary dinner for coaches and, tomorrow, Saturday, July 22, pool play games begin at 8 am and run through the weekend.

Bracket play starts Monday, July 24 and will through Friday, July 28 when the first set of championships will be held at the Platinum Division:

• The 18U & 16U Platinum Championships will be played that afternoon/evening (times TBD) with both contests being national streamed live on the FloSoftball Channel (whoever set up that deal is a genius… sorry, in-joke).

The Premier Championships from the Week 1 round of play will then take place at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine, Calif. on Saturday, July 29^th with tickets being $10 each.

Here is the complete schedule for that day which will have great softball from sunup to sundown (note that all times are PST):

• The PGF 16U Premier Championship contest will begin at 8:30 am and be nationally televised on Fox Sports West.
• The PGF 18U Premier Championship finale will be played at noon that day and will be aired live on ESPNU and then reshown the next day, Sunday, July 30^th again on ESPN (time TBD).
• The PGF High School (Futures) All-American Game will begin at 3 pm and will be televised live on ESPN3 with a re-airing taking place on ESPNU that night at 9:30 pm and then Sunday again on ESPNU.
• The PGF High School (Senior) All-American Game will wrap up the action that Saturday with the game starting at 7 pm and being aired live on ESPN and re-aired on Sunday.

And then, to wrap up WEEK 1, the PGF College Recruiting Camp will be held in Sunday, July 30 at 9 am PST Irvine’s Harvard Park.

*** Click HERE to see the teams attending WEEK 1.

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WEEK 2: 14U & 12U Premier & Platinum and 10U Premier (July 30-August 6, 2023)

The action concluding WEEK 1 will segue into what will be a high-energy, high-volume of softball action when the youngsters shine up for WEEK 2.

Sunday, July 30^th (the same day as the PGF College Recruiting Camp) will see the coaches draw at 6 pm for the 14U, 12U and 10U age divisions again with a complimentary dinner for each team’s coaches.

Check in for the will be Monday, July 31 through Wednesday, August 2 at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex with pool games kicking off on Monday morning but ending in time for a huge Extravaganza to be held from 2 pm to 4:30 pm in Huntington Beach’s Central Park.

The HB Park Extravaganza for the younger divisions is always a big hit and will include everything from clowns, face painting and pin trading to food trucks and live music by DJ Sparks

Then, at 4:45 pm the Opening Ceremonies will begin also in Central Park and include everything from Tahitian Polynesian Dancers to guest speakers including Anita Wayne-Swift and Ethan Wayne of the John Wayne Institute, a long-time sponsor of the PGF Nationals.

After a good night’s sleep Monday night, the action begins on Tuesday, August 1 with pool games and then bracket action will run from Wednesday, August 2 through Saturday, August 5.

The weekend will kick off on Saturday with the 14U & 12U Platinum Championship Games (times TBD) and then on the final day of the two weeks—Sunday, August 6, there will be three consecutive PGF Premier Championship Games which will ALL be televised on Fox Sports West, tape delayed on Prime Ticket and Comcast and web streamed live on FloSoftball.

Here is the schedule for the Closing Day of the two weeks at PGF Nationals, the 2023 edition (all times PST), with the trio of games being held at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine, Calif.

• The PGF 10U Premier Championship will kick off the day’s action at 9 am
• The PGF 12U Premier Championship will be the middle game of the day and will start at noon
• The PGF 14U Premier Championship Game will begin at 3:30 pm

*** Click HERE to see the teams attending WEEK 2.

Like the 13 years of action that proceeded this summer’s event, the PGF Nationals once again promises to be a highlight of the year on and off the fields and Extra Inning Softball will be there to cover the competition of both weeks.

For those hitting Orange County over the next two weeks… see ya there and let’s all have a great time!

— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball