USA Softball JO Cup: Day 5 Action Sets the Field for Championship Friday

The fight to stay in Spartanburg, South Carolina continued during Day Five of the USA Softball Junior Olympic (JO) Cup as the eight remaining teams from each division battled for a spot in the Championship games on Friday.

Two 10 a.m. EST IF games will determine the 14U and 16U Championship teams while the 18U Championship face-off is set for 12:30 p.m. EST.

Here’s a closer look at how the field was whittled down on Thursday to eight teams total…

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14U

Lady Lightning Gold fought its way through two elimination games to eliminate the LA Blazers 3-1 and the St. Louis Chaos 6-3 to land a spot in the semifinals against the FL Impact which beat the Lightning 4-3.

On the other side of the bracket, Glory Adkins fell 2-1 to Hotshots Platinum in a winner’s bracket match up, sending them to an elimination game against the PA Strikers who earlier defeated the EC Bullets 7-5.

After a 14-3 victory over the Strikers, Glory Adkins advanced to the semifinals for a chance at redemption against the Hotshots Platinum – which is exactly what they got as they recorded a 7-4 victory, forcing an IF Game at 10 a.m. EST Friday.

14U Final: FL Impact vs. Glory Adkins / Hotshots Platinum  @ 12:30 pm EST

16U

In 16U winner’s bracket, TN Mojo beat the IN Shockwaves, forcing the Shockwaves into an elimination game against the Tampa Mustangs who earlier eliminated the OK Bombers in a 7-0 shutout.

After beating the Mustangs 4-0 win, the IN Shockwaves advanced to the semifinals for another chance at TN Mojo and scored four runs in the 2nd inning to win 4-2 to force a 10 a.m. EST IF game Friday to determine who will advance to the Championship game.

On the other side of the bracket, the Williamsburg Starz advanced to the semifinals from the winner’s bracket after a 10-0 shutout against the SC Elite.

From the loser’s bracket, Glory Adkins-Berkhiser advanced to the semifinals with victories over Turnin2 and SC Elite. In the semifinals match up, the Williamsburg Starz recorded their second shutout of the day, earning a trip to the Championship.

16U Final: Williamsburg Starz vs. TN Mojo/IN Shockwaves winner @ 12:30 pm EST

18U

After a winner’s bracket victory over GA Power, Glory Adkins claimed a spot in the semifinals with an undefeated record.

In the loser’s bracket, Carolina Elite shut out the Gametime Stars 2-0 before being eliminated by the GA Power, which advanced to the semifinals for a rematch against Glory Adkins.

The hot bats of the Glory Adkins eliminated GA Power 10-5 and pushed the Glory to the semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, Scrap Yard won six consecutive games in the loser’s bracket after suffering a first-game loss in the tournament including Thursday victories against FL Impact and Rock Gold to advance to the semifinals.

The undefeated TN Fury continued in the winner’s bracket beating Rock Gold and advancing to a semifinal match up against the Scrap Yard. In an offensive battle, TN Fury ended Scrap Yard’s six-game win streak in a 6-5 victory, sending the Fury to the Championship face off against Glory Adkins.

18U Final: TN Fury vs. Glory Adkins @ 12:30 pm EST

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Live stats and coverage will be available at USASoftball.com.