The Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series kicked off on Monday in Indiana; the first day of regional play in the 18U and 16U divisions took place in a few different locations centralized in the Hoosier State.
In Westfield, Indiana – outside Indianapolis – things kicked off at Grand Park, a 26-field complex with turf fields, lots of room, and, on Monday, some really quality softball.
While the facility itself could headline any list of impressive and noteworthy things, here instead are three on-field happenings that caught our attention.
1. The defense of EC Bullets-Cornett
The 16U club went 2-0 on opening day, including an extra-inning win over Texas Bombers Gold in their late game on Monday. In that game, the Bullets rallied late to take the lead and also took advantage of some mistakes by their opponent, but most impressive was the club’s defensive efforts. A highlight-reel diving catch in the outfield, slick infield play, and a pair of double plays were among the defensive achievements by the Bullets en route to the victory. The squad looked very solid in the field and took care of business when they needed to. The win was impressive and the defensive showing was even moreso.
2. The hitting of Firecrackers-Rico’s Addie Mettler
In her team’s opening game of the week, Addie started behind the plate for Tony Rico’s club. She was sturdy behind the plate, but her finest achievements happened in the batter’s box just to the right. Addie smoked a double early in the game, then added a long home run later in the game that added to the Firecrackers’ lead in a game that they would ultimately win. That home run, by the way? Not only did it clear the left field fence, folks watching the game from the outfield even turned to watch it land. And it did – deflecting off the outside of the fence on the next field down!
3. Warrior Academy’s undefeated start
One long home run of their own was part of Warrior Academy-McDonald’s 3-1 win in their 18U bracket opener, while Warrior Academy-Jimenez’s 16U club also recorded a tournament-opening victory on the day. Each team played just once, but once was enough to begin the week undefeated for both programs. That’s the same Warrior Academy team, by the way, that won the Tier 1 national championship at the inaugural AFCS in 2021 in Oklahoma City.
