LTG Lions, Lady Magic Take Home PGF Ultimate Challenge Titles

The PGF Ultimate Challenge is officially in the books for 2022. The Lady Magic organization took home titles in the 14U and 16U age groups, while LTG Lions-Henderson were crowned champions in the 18U age bracket.

On Sunday, a 9-inning battle between NW Bullets-Campos and Sorcerers Gabales/Rodriguez made for an instant thriller of a semifinal game. Bullets pitcher Sarah Wright and Sorcerers pitcher Meike Lauppe went head-to-head for seven innings. A second-inning two-run home run from the Sorcerers was the only offense for 6.5 inning; in the bottom of the 7th, the Bullets rallied to tie the ball game and send things into extra innings.

In the eighth inning, neither team scored, although Bullets catcher Karen Spadafora – a Seattle University commit – did execute a pickoff throw down to second base to nail the runner at second base for an out, eliminating the potential effects of the international tiebreaker for the Sorcerers’ offense in that frame.

When the time came for the championship game, LTG sent pitcher Jaylee Ojo to the circle. Ojo had a good case for tournament MVP, had such an award been given, after she was a difference-maker with her arm, bat, and legs at separate times in the tournament.

Ojo hit a pair of home runs in the tournament and made a trio of pitching appearances, helping lead LTG to an undefeated weekend showing. In the Lions’ semifinal game against the So Cal A’s, Ojo also executed an excellent base-running play that scored the winning run for her time. Starting at second base in a bases-loaded situation, Ojo moved to third as a run scored on a bases-loaded walk. When the defense was not paying attention and the ball was still live, Ojo darted home and scored right behind her teammate, giving the Lions two runs on the play – the only scoring they would need in an eventual 2-1 win.

The championship game was another solid matchup, an eventual 2-1 win for the LTG squad that made them the tournament’s champions.

After the championship, LTG head coach Joe Henderson complimented his team’s execution and effort on the weekend. The Lions were undefeated in pool play and outscored opponents 21-7 on the weekend as a whole.

In the 16U division, Lady Magic-Walling made an impressive run on Sunday. Already the winners of their pool in the first two days of the weekend, the squad won three straight games on Sunday en route to their own tournament title. A 3-0 win over Cal Nuggets Woods started the day for the Magic team, followed by a dominating 17-4 victory over the 16U NW Bullets-Muir squad. The championship game, a victory over AASA Nelson/Mortimer, ended in a 7-4 final score.

Not to be missed on the 16U side of things, that same AASA team made quite a run in bracket play. After finishing last in their pool with a 1-2 record, the squad won three straight games en route to playing in the tournament championship game. The AASA team knocked off a pair of 1-seeds along the way, including a 6-5 win over Wildcats Holcomb/Knight/Kingery and a shutout 3-0 victory against LTG Lions Henderson’ 16U squad in the semifinals.

14U players may not yet be of recruiting age, but there was still some good softball played there this weekend, as well. This time, it was the Lady Magic-Munoz team that finished on top of their age group.

The Lady Magic were 2-1 in pool play, finishing in a 3-way tie but earning the top spot with a 13 run differential. In bracket play on Sunday, the squad dominated opponents, winning their bracket opener by a 12-4 final score before coasting through a semifinal matchup against fellow 1-seed SC Choppers-Fausett. That game ended in a 10-1 final score in favor of the Munoz team and set up championship matchup against Cal Nuggets Woods, a game that the Lady Magic and their high-scoring offense again took home, this time in a 9-3 final.

The same Munoz squad won the 12U championship at PGF nationals in the summer and brought the vast majority of that team with them to the 14U level beginning this fall.

Again not to be missed amidst the fray was the run in bracket play by the Cal Nuggets team that wound up on the losing end of the championship game; after finishing 0-3 with a -9 run differential in pool play, the Nuggets won their first bracket game by a 1-0 score on Saturday night. On Sunday, the Nuggets won back-to-back games against higher-seeded teams, first taking down 1-seed Universal 2027 in the quarterfinals before topping LTG Lions-Buck in the semifinals en route to playing in the championship game.

Winners in each age division received prize money and championship rings. Tournament director Armando Barragan said that nearly 20 college programs were represented on the weekend, across multiple levels and from five different states.

“Some of the schools that were here this weekend included San Francisco State, Saint Mary’s, Sacramento State, Montana, UC Santa Barbara, San Jose State, Pacific, Nevada, Iowa, Cal Poly, Santa Clara, Boise State, UC Davis, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Monterey Bay, and West Valley College,” Barragan said.

(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article misstated the final score of the 18U championship game. The correct final score was 2-1 in favor of LTG.)