PGF Nationals: Day 2 of Bracket Play Narrows Down to Sweet 16 (14U) & Elite 8 (12U & 10U) In Winner’s Brackets

Thursday was a big day in each age division this week at PGF Nationals – 14U, 12U and 10U – as the winners moved on to play on tomorrow, Friday, in the Sweet 16 (at 14’s) and Elite 8 (12U’s and 10U’s) and the losers, well, they may play as many as four games over the next 24 hours.

We were once again at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex to watch the 14U Premier games and there were some GREAT performances today… here are some highlights:

*** The Game of the Day had to be two powerhouse teams who met mid-day: the Beverly Bandits – Norwood team vs. Virginia Unity – Johnson.

Not coincidentally, these two teams were in our Top 10 teams that fellow 14U coaches in an informal pool we did this week mentioned as ones they thought had a chance to go deep into the playoffs this week… click HERE to see the article.

The star for this talent-filled game had to be lefty pitcher/hitter Maggie Krause, who hit a home run and also pitched a whale of a game.

Here’s her closing out the win for her Bandits team:

The Unity fell behind 1-0 on that homer but came back to tie it 1-1. The Bandits loaded the bases several times but great defense kept it even.

Props have to go out to the middle infielders for Josh Johnson’s squad—Dekya Harris (2026) at second and Kylie Holden (2028) at shortstop. One of the best plays we’ve seen all summer was when a ball was hit to Harris at second, who fluidly flipped the ball over second base leading Holden across the bag as she touched second and threw to first for the double play.

Also impressive was left fielder Mylie McCoy (2026) who made a great play to nail a runner at home.

The Unity had a great chance to move ahead in the 6^th winning when they got runners at second and third base with no outs; however, Krause got two strikeouts and an infield popup to extinguish the threat.

In the 7^th, the Unity had a runner at third with one out but Krause was once again able to work out of the jam.

The difference in the game, ironically, was a misplay on an infield pop out as the ball was missed and rolled into foul ground allowing the Bandits hitter to go to second and eventually come around for what was the eventual winning run.

Here’s an interview with Maggie Krause after the game:

*** Yesterday, we watched the Firecrackers – TJ team and interviewed Coach TJ Houshmandzadeh and standout 2026 player Ava Tapia after the impressive win over Lady Magic.

In today’s game against Arizona Strom, the Firecrackers trailed 1-0 going into the bottom of the 4^th before exploding for six runs in the inning as Tapia kicked off with an infield single followed by RBI singles by Juju Franco (2026 P/IF), Cali Howe (2026 1B/OF), Aliyah Garcia (2026, SS/PF) and a big two-run single to left field by Jasmin Cole (2026 P/SS).

The Firecrackers would score another run in the top of the 7^th to finish off the win by a score of 7-1 to advance to the Sweet 16 on Friday.

*** The Vipers 14U team has won two games in bracket play and it’s been a true team effort.

In its first win yesterday, a 9-1 victory over AASA, Shea Chatham (2026 C) was on fire at the plate going 3-for-4 with a double driving in three runs. Jordyn Lewis (2026 SS) proved dangerous on the bases going 2-for-3 with two steals scoring two runs.

Leah Byrd (2026 SS/P) was lights out on the mound going four innings with six K’s, just one hit and no runs allowed. Mia Johnson (2026 3B), Madi Sanders (2026 IF), Payton Tamborra (2027 P/1B) and Kylee Lawrence (2026 2B/P) all drove the ball well in the first bracket win.

Today, in a 1-0 victory over the Cal Nuggets, Lacy Martinez (2026 OF) homered in the bottom of the 6^th inning and once again the pitching was impressive as Byrd went the distance and didn’t allow a runner to get to second base as she had six K’s, no walks with four hits given up.

Coach Stacy Tamborra commented after the win:

“Having coached in the Vipers for 10 years,” she began, “I would say this team is the most powerful mix of speed, power and athleticism from top to bottom. Every pitcher (Kylee Lawrence, Leah Byrd, Payton Tamborra and Aubrey Moore) has an elite strikeout pitch with speeds 61-66mph and is also an everyday starting infielder when not on the mound.”

“Every player on this team has long ball potential at any given moment…hitting 64 home runs as a team (Mia Johnson 21, Aubrey Moore 18, Laci Martinez 7) add 265 stolen bases to create a very powerful offense.”

“These girls have practiced with the highly-talented 18U Gold team since Day 1… they had great mentors and know they have big shoes to fill. Their grit and passion is second to none. The future is big and bright for these talented young ladies.”

*** Yesterday, we mentioned the brutal flights the Rhode Island Thunder had to get to So Cal but they’ve shown no effects of the trip as they’re now 2-0 in bracket play with a 9-1 win on Wednesday over Texas Riptide and an impressive 5-2 victory win today over Georgia Impact – Taylor.

Ali Gill (2026 MIF) went 2-for-4 today and had two runs scored and, looking over both games, is now 4-for-6 in the two bracket games. Outfielder

Pitcher Addison Deroche got the win in the circle and also helped her own cause with a big three-run hit.

Rhode Island Thunder Head Coach Manny Moitoso said after the game:

“Our girls are battle tested after Top Gun IDT, TC Nationals and Legacy Invitational and we are probably playing as good as we have all season. Of course, everything needs to fall into place out here and you need a little luck along the way.”

Assistant Coach Ames Kaiser added:

“Our 14 National team is built on every player accepting their roles, everyone buying in on the team concept, doing their best when their best is needed, no matter their role.”

*****

Below we have the complete game results from today but first, let’s look at the Winner’s Bracket games on Friday for the undefeated so far this, Week 2, in Southern California:

14U Premier (12:30 pm)

* Athletics – Mercado/RTN vs. Power Surge – Worley

* Rhode Island Thunder – Lotti vs. USA Athletics – RML

* Beverly Bandits – Norwood vs. Hotshots National – Galloway

* So Cal Athletics – Kim/Adame vs. Atlanta Vipers – Tamborra

* Clutch Up Softball vs. Power Surge – Berndes/Mujica

* Firecrackers Premier – TJ vs. LTG Lions – Buck

* Tampa Mustangs – Fowler vs. Sorcerer – Dean/Kimura

* Birmingham Thunderbolts – Thompson vs. Lil Rebels – Vern/Koenig

14U Platinum (8 am)

* CTW – JT vs. Valley Waves – Platt

* Mound Time – Rethwill vs. Mafia Athletics- Bateman

* Tampa Mustangs – Pynes vs. Team Hustle – LaDrigue

* Sparks Premier Red vs. So Cal Athletics – Kim/ZTS

* Central Cal Dirtdogs – Hernandez vs. California Grapettes – DePerio

* So Cal A’s – Kim/Hernandez vs. Wildcats – Laukat

* Utah Heat vs. Birmingham Thunderbolts – Alford

* OC Flames vs. Impact Gold – Siegel

 12U Premier (8 am)

* Beverly Bandits – Mrozek vs. So Cal Athletics – Kim/Saunders

* Athletics – Mercado/Walker vs. So Cal Choppers – Fausett

* BSC Bengals – CKM vs. Birmingham Thunderbolts – Brashears

* Arizona Storm – Kobasew vs. Wildcats – Holcomb/Knight

12U Platinum (10:15 pm)

* Corona Angels – Tyson vs. Mafia – Loutherback

* ‘Merica – FP vs. Firecrackers – Medina/Martinez

* So Cal Athletics – Romero 2k11 vs. Sorcerer – Marks

* So Cal Connecion vs. Warrior Academy – Smith

10U Premier (2:45 pm)

* Athletics – Mercado/Martinez vs. CA Riptide

* Athletics – Mercado/HR vs. So Cal FireByrds

* Lady Magic – Warner vs. Birmingham Thunderbolts – 2030

* Wildcats – Laukat vs. So Cal Athletics – Kim

*****

Here are the complete results from Wednesday action: