For the complete game schedules, standings and brackets, click here.
Visit the 2018 PONY East Zone Nationals official website here.
Dates: July 14-22
Location: Sterling, Virginia
Mustang 10U
Highlights
Champion: Ashburn Shooting Stars (Ashburn, Virginia)
Bronco 12U
Highlights
Bronco 12U: Loudoun Liberty 4 Banshee's 12U Red 1
In the Bronco 12U Championship Game, it was the third time that the Loudoun Liberty and Banshee’s 12U Red team faced in the tournament. Both teams saved their best for the last game as the Liberty claimed the title with a 4-1 victory.
Scoring started in the bottom of the second inning with Loudoun Liberty’s pitcher, Abbey Lane scoring on an error. The Banshee’s answered in the next half inning and had a chance to add more runs with the bases loaded but Lane forced a ground ball to third to tame the Banshee’s.
The tied score of 1-1 would be short lived as the Liberty found the scoreboard again in the bottom of the third. Liberty’s Janey Winner scored thanks to a sacrifice fly by Lexi Schaaf to center field giving the home team a 2-1 lead. The score remained that way until the bottom of the fifth.
Loudoun’s Lindsay Bogle laid down a bunt right in front of home plate. As the ball was fielded and thrown to first Winner broke for home and scored the fourth run of the game, third for Liberty.
Loudoun sealed the victory with another run the bottom of the sixth and took home the championship after a 1-2-3 top of the seventh. With the 4-1 victory, Loudoun Liberty won their second PONY East Zone Softball National Championship as this team won the Mustang 10U title in 2016.
Lane picked the win as she went the full seven innings giving up seven hits, one run (earned) and two walks. Winner led the team in hitting as she went three-for-three while scoring twice including the game winning run.
STATS: CLICK HERE
Champion: Loudoun Liberty (Sterling, Virginia)
Pony 14U
Highlights
Pony 14U: Delaware Magic 10 Mass. Dynamites Red 4
In the second championship game of the day, the Delaware Magic faced the Massachusetts Dynamites Red team for the crown of the Pony 14U division at the PONY East Zone Softball Nationals. Through the first three innings, the difference between the Magic and Dynamites was one. From that point, the Magic pulled away to claim the Pony 14U title.
The Magic started the game in fashion, center fielder Peyton Pusey reached on a one-out single. First baseman, Regan Mendick singled and scored Pusey as she had moved to second on a passed ball. Mendick was moved up the third when third baseman, Juliana Paoli, reached on an error. Paoli then stole second and both her and Mendick were brought home by the two-RBI single by left fielder, Tori Liptka.
The Magic held a 3-0 lead as the game headed to the bottom of the first inning. However, the Dynamites answered in with a run in the bottom of the first. After holding the Magic scoreless in the second, the Dynamites added another run in the second to cut the lead down to one, 3-2 in favor of Delaware.
In third inning, Pusey reached on a single again and moved to second as right fielder, Jenna Troyer, walked in the very next at-bat. Both Troyer and Pusey scored and gave the Magic a 5-2 lead heading to the bottom of the third. Massachusetts responded with two runs of its own to make it a 5-4 game.
From that point, the Magic added five more runs the last three innings to take the Pony 14U championship with a 10-4 victory. Pusey led the offense for the Magic going a perfect, four-for-four from the plate while scoring three times. Delaware only had one loss for the whole tournament and that was by hand of the same Dynamites team earlier in the bracket.
Champion: Delaware Magic
Colt 16U
Highlights
Colt 16U: New York Inferno 11 Electric City Bombers 1
Unlike most softball games, time was of the essence as the East Zone Softball Nationals were coming to a close for the Colt 16U division. The night before championship Sunday, Sterling Virginia, received about five inches of rain and with more in the forecast for Sunday afternoon. In preparation, all games were set for an hour and 20-minute time limit.
After fighting through a rain delay during the championship game, the New York Inferno kept up their high scoring pace. The team out of Buffalo, New York took home the championship for the second-straight year by a 11-1 victory.
The Inferno started the high scoring affair in the first inning as Sydney Bielicki scored on a single to left field. Iris Kahris added another run thanks to the sacrifice fly by Leah Victor driven to centerfield. Cianna Braymiller capped off the scoring in first inning with a RBI single to right field. The Bombers responded in the bottom of the first to cut the lead down.
As they headed into the second inning up 3-1, the Inferno added fourth run as Madison Niedbalski drove a ball into left-center bringing home Bielicki for the second time in as many innings. Before the start of the third inning, the 16U had the same fate as the 18U and entered a rain delay.
Once, the 18U game ended, it was time for the 16U to finish their contest. To start the third, the Inferno picked up right where they left off adding five runs. The Inferno finished the game in the fourth with two more runs to repeat as 16U East Zone Softball National Champions with the 11-1 win.
Bielicki officially did not have an at-bat as she reached base all four innings via walk and scoring three times. Kahris tied for the team lead with three runs batted in, going one-for-two with a single and two walks. Olivia Anderson went the full distance, allowing two hits and the lone run in four innings of work. Anderson also punched out six batters while only allowing one walk.
STATS: CLICK HERE
Champion: New York Inferno (Buffalo, New York)
Palomino 18U
Highlights
Palomino 18U: Keystone Stingers 13 New York Inferno 1
The Keystone Stingers reached their way to the Palomino 18U Championship Game with comeback wins in the quarter and semifinals by taking leads in the sixth inning in both games. The championship game, however, was a different story for the Stingers as they took an early lead and never looked back against the New York Inferno. Stingers took the final, 13-1.
The Stingers broke the ice in the second inning as Atlanta Milliron reached on a bunt single as Brooke Colledge scored from third base. Milliron came around to score later in the inning as Brooke Bollman drove a ball into right field for a single.
In the next inning, Keystone added to its lead with run scoring hits by Colledge and Milliron. As the rain began to fall as the game headed to the bottom of the third, the Stingers increased their lead to five.
Before the teams took the field to start the fourth inning, the game was delayed due to the rain increasing and making the surface unsafe. After about an hour of waiting, the Loudoun County Parks and Recs crew pulled off its magic and we were ready to go.
In the fifth inning, Keystone opened the flood gates and added eight more runs capped off by a grand slam hit to right field by Cameryn Feathers. The Inferno got on the board in the bottom half of the fifth but that’s where the game would end.
In the Stingers’ 13-1 victory, starting pitcher Alexa Young went all five innings, giving up five hits, the lone run with two strikeouts. Feathers led the offense by going two-for-four with four RBI, all coming from the grand slam in the fifth. Milliron was second on the team with three runs batted in on two hits.
STATS: CLICK HERE
Champion: Keystone Stingers (Claysburg, Pennsylvania)