PGF Nationals: One 18U Game Thursday Between Favorites & Underdog Had a Great Backstory!

 Yesterday, the action at PGF Nationals Premier and Platinum continued and Friday will see the crowing of the champions in the 18U and 16U Platinum divisions while Saturday will be action packed with the finals in Premier as well as the All-Star Games.

One of the great things about an event like PGF Nationals is the interesting matchups and talent on the field, but also the great stories off the field… for example:

Tennessee Mojo – Danley/Fisher

Take the 18U Premier winner’s bracket game on Thursday between the Tennessee Mojo 18U – Danley/Fisher team and the NW Vandals from Salem, Oregon.

The Mojo is a nationally known team with all players committed and some of the very best prospects in the country committed to programs like Florida State (four on the team!), Oklahoma State, Oklahoma State, North Carolina State and so on.

Coaches Josh Fisher and Michael Danley have done a great job with getting their team ready as one of the best in the country.

NW Vandals – Vasas/Scott

On the other side of the field we have the Vandals which, save for one player from California, has all its athletes from inside the borders of Oregon.

The Vandals had a great fun up to this game in the winner’s bracket shutting out perennial power Birmingham Thunderbolts 1-0, the Lady Lightning Gold – Corn team 4-0 and knocking off Wildcats – Weil 2-1.

Three games against three very strong teams and the pitching only gave up one run?!?

That was due in large part to Rowan Thompson, the 2024 grad who is righty headed to the Univ. of Oregon and she was very impressive in the games we saw her in with great location of her pitches and excellent mixing of speeds.

The Game

So on Thursday at 5 pm the two teams, with 3-0 records heading into the game, met on Field 2 of the Huntington Beach Sports Complex and it was, not surprisingly, a great game that came down to the last inning.

Thompson pitched well but a crucial play came with two outs and the Vandals ahead in the middle of the game. A fly ball that looked like a certain out was dropped by a fielder and the Mojo, taking advantage of it, would go on to score two runs on an infield hit.

But the Vandals weren’t out of it… they tied the game 4-4 in the top of the 6^th inning before the Mojo would score the eventual winning running after 2023 speedster Jace Jackson, headed to Pitt, walked and would score on a two out single by Ashtyn Danley, the 2023 pitcher/utility player going to Florida State, who always seems to come up clutch in the biggest moments.

She also pitched two innings and had two K’s and when asked after the game she commented: “I’ve been seeing the ball well and just tried to stay within myself.” That she did to help her team advance to Friday play.

In the first game of the day, the Mojo defeated a strong Georgia Impact – Sampson/Gusaeff team 4-0 as Oklahoma-bound Audrey Lowry pitched a four-hit shutout with five K’s and 2025 standout Ana Roman went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and 2023 grad Rose Davis headed to Oklahoma State was perfect at 3-for-3 with a double and RBI.

In the big matchup just described, Danley went 2-for-3 with a walk along with her big RBI that proved to be the difference and also recorded the save for the Mojo. Roman again went 1-for -3 with two RBIs just like the earlier contest and North Carolina State-bound pitcher Carly Maxton went the first five innings giving up three runs on five hits with seven K’s.

Off the field: the Wonderful Auvil Family

Some of the most rewarding aspects of softball are found in the bleachers around the games.

Sure, you see college coaches from every major program watching their incoming players in person while also looking to find the future prospects for their program, but sometimes the best time is had just talking to the parents, coaches or both!

Something caught my eye that you rarely see at a high-pressure game like this one and that was someone laying horizontally on the bleachers… asleep!

I had to go find out what was behind this and sat down next to the incredibly personable parents of the “young sleeper,” who was 11-year-old Delylah Auvil.

Seems the youngster is one of five girls who rode with her parents, Lena and Bobby Auvil, so the second oldest daughter of five girls—graduated senior and Kansas signee Abby Carsely— could compete behind the plate for the NW Vandals team.

The sleeping Delylah was in the stands along with two older sisters and her parents. Said Lena, the mother of the five girls:

“We go to a lot of softball games (note: the oldest daughter plays Junior College softball) so it’s not unusual for Delylah to just stretch out on the bleachers and get some sleep!”

The family intends to take their time headed back up to Oregon after Week 1 of PGF and, as a parent, you can only wish them the best making the drive home with four teenager-aged young girls in the car!

— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball