USA Softball JO Cup: Championship Day Recap from Friday’s Finals

Ninety teams battled throughout the week, narrowing the playing field to two final teams per division for the final day of the USA Softball Junior Olympic (JO) Cup.

After three intense Championship match-ups, a 14-Under, 16-Under and 18-Under Champion raised their trophies at Tyger River Park in Spartanburg, South Carolina on Friday…

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14U

In a 10 a.m. IF game against the Glory Adkins Gold, the Hotshots Platinum plated eight runs, outscoring the Glory 8-6 and landing them a spot in the 12:30 p.m. Championship match up against the FL Impact.

A strong first-inning from the Hotshots featuring a three-run homerun by Kelsie Jarret gave them an early three run lead that was soon cut to one as the FL Impact responded with a two-run home run by Megan Devilliers.

After three scoreless innings, Selynna Metcalfe broke the silence with a solo home run to centerfield that was followed by a single from Karli Quillin who would eventually steal home to extend their lead 5-2 in the fifth inning.

Two fly outs and a ground out from the Impact in the top of the sixth sent the Hotshots back to the plate where Metcalfe helped extend their lead one last time with a double to left field, scoring Devilliers from second base.

A 1,2,3 strong defensive seventh inning from the Hotshots sealed the deal as they won 6-2 and were crowned the 14-Under USA Softball JO Cup Champions.

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16U

The TN Mojo faced elimination early in the day as the IN Shockwaves defeated them 4-2 to force the IF-game to be played this morning.

The Mojo jumped on the board with a three run fourth inning and added another in the fifth inning, but one run was all they needed as they shut out the Shockwaves 4-0 to punch their ticket to the 16-Under JO Cup Championship.

Meeting the Mojo in the championship game was the Williamsburg Stars looking to finish off their perfect campaign through the Winner’s Bracket. The Stars jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Mojo answered by scoring two runs in the bottom of the second and one again in the third for a 3-1 lead.

The Stars pushed one across in the fifth, but the Mojo’s lead would hold before pushing two more across in the bottom of the sixth to secure the 5-2 victory and title of the 2019 USA Softball JO Cup 16-Under Champion.

Acelynn Sellers and McKenzie Vaughan were key contributors both going 2-3 at the plate for the Mojo each with a single and a double and combined for three RBIs.

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18U

Glory Adkins Gold and TN Fury both advanced out of the Winner’s Bracket with perfect 6-0 records.

The Fury scored in the second inning to break the 0-0 knot and pushed another run across in the fourth to make it a two-run game.

Glory Adkins Gold wasn’t finished though as they pushed one run across in the fifth to make it a 2-1 ballgame.

Dominant pitching from the Fury was key to the victory. The duo of Catelyn Riley and Anna Hazelwood gave up just one walk and five hits with five strikeouts and limited Glory Adkins Gold to just one extra base hit in the Fury’s 2-1 victory to claim the 2019 USA Softball JO Cup 18-Under Champion title.