HUNTINGTON BEACH – The Corona Angels and OC Batbusters have been the best 18U Gold softball travel teams this summer, which made them heavy favorites to reach the Premier Girls Fastpitch National Championships final.
Both have lived up to those high expectations.
The Angels and the Batbusters each won a pair of games Friday afternoon at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex to finish unbeaten in bracket play. The teams will play for the biggest prize on the travel ball circuit at 3 p.m. Saturday at Bill Barber Park in Irvine.
“A lot was expected of us, but our team is used to playing with that kind of pressure,” said Angels third baseman Ashley Goodwin, a recent graduate of Norco High. “It feels great to rise up to the challenge.”
“I don’t believe we felt that much pressure,” said Batbusters infielder Sydney Romero, a standout at Vista Murrieta High. “We just went out there and played to win.”
The Angels won their fifth-round contest against the Birmingham Thunderbolts of Alabama in dramatic fashion, as Shay Knighten (Sunny Hills High) crushed a three-run homer to the opposite field in the seventh inning to give her team a 4-1 lead.
Angels coach Marty Tyson thought about a squeeze bunt for a moment, but he changed signs and allowed Knighten to swing away.
“She put a very good swing on the first ball but fouled it off,” Tyson said. “She looked pretty confident and ready to win the game.”
Knighten rewarded her coach’s faith and drove the 0-1 pitch over the fence in right. She made a mad dash around the bases.
“I couldn’t wait to get to my teammates,” said Knighten, who will be starting her college career, at Oklahomas, in the fall. “I was just looking to hit something hard the other way. I really didn’t expect to hit one over the fence.”
Rachel Garcia retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning. She tossed a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts.
The Angels got another strong effort in the pitching circle later in the day, this one from Alexis Osorio. She threw a two-hitter and struck out nine as the Angels posted a 3-0 win over the Beverly Bandits of Illinois to advance to Saturday’s title game.
“It felt great to come through when my team needed it,” Osorio said. “They had my back out on defense and got me some early runs.”
The Anaheim-based Batbusters opened the afternoon with a 3-0 victory over the East Cobb Bullets of Georgia. Taylor McQuillin (Mission Viejo High) and Mariah Lopez combined to throw a five-hitter, while Tannon Snow and Morganne Flores (Mater Dei High) each hit a solo home run.
The Los Alamitos-based So Cal Athletics won four consecutive elimination games to reach the Final Four, but the quest for a fifth straight PGF crown ended with a 5-3 loss to the Batbusters.
Lopez scattered nine hits and struck out six to earn the win. Maddy Jelenicki drove in a pair of runs for the Batbusters, who took advantage of six errors by the Athletics.
The Angels and Batbusters squared off in the semifinals of the Boulder Independence Day Tournament in Colorado last month. The Angels pulled out a 5-4 victory and went on to capture the tournament championship.
Contact the writer: ejohnson@pressenterprise.com
