Softball
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
U10 Softball State Winners
Sweet Home’s U10 tournament softball team shows off their hardware after winning the USA Softball state “C” tournament June 27-29. The team will not move on to a national tournament on Jamboree Weekend, Aug. 1-3, in Newberg.
At the state C-level tournament, Sweet Home beat SC Crush 20-4, Grants Pass 14-0, Fireballs Thomas 15-5, Oregon Blaze 10-2, Wilsonville Wildcats 15-8 and Oregon Blaze once again in the final, 16-4.
Coach Emily Marchbanks said she “expected us to do pretty well” at the C-level, but she added that her team would have been “competitive” at the B level as well.
Team members pictured are, from left, Annalee Hansen, Kaylee Sevier, Madison Kropf, Bristol McCutcheon, Makenna Miller, Avery Bondesen, Brooklynne Zehneer, Paityn Larsen and Natalie Dargis. In the rear are coaches Emily Marchbanks, Dakota Albrecht, Mackenzie Kropf and Josh Dargs. Team members not pictured are Raegan King and Sophia Valdenegro.
Abbotsford softball teams crowned provincial champs
The Abbotsford Outlaws ’12 team finished their 59-3 season by winning the division title at the 2025 Softball BC U13B Girls Provincials. The Abbot’s Fireballs are the defending champions of Softball Canada’s U15 Women’s Canadian Championship title. The U13 Girls Western Canadian Championships take place at Exhibition Park from Aug. 7 to 10. For tickets and more information about the upcoming WesternCanadian Championships, visit amfa.ca/western_championship_2025. The Outlaws 2009A team earned a spot at the national competition in Manitoba, despite not being able to secure a podium spot.
The Abbotsford Outlaws ’12 team finished their 59-3 season by winning the division title at the 2025 Softball BC U13B Girls Provincials.
1 / 1 The Abbotsford Outlaws ’12 team finished their 59-3 season by winning the division title at the 2025 Softball BC U13B Girls Provincials. Advertisement
A couple of Abbotsford softball teams had the perfect end to their seasons, bringing home some gold medals from the recent provincial championships.
The younger local team to emerge victorious was the Abbotsford Outlaws ’12, whose spectacular regular season put them in a strong position to shine at the Softball BC U13B Girls Provincials, which were held in Langford from July 11 to 13.
Outlaws coach Daniel Goertz explained that this was the culmination of incredible determination from the athletes, resulting in a 59-3 record.
“During an offseason goal-setting session, the players set an audacious goal of playing for a gold medal in every tournament they entered,” Goertz said.
“I thought about pointing them towards a more realistic goal, but we decided we would roll with it. Not only did they play for gold, but they won every tournament we entered all season – six gold in total, including provincials.”
In the gold-medal match against the Langford Lightning host team, there was a lot of back-and-forth action, but the Outlaws managed to emerge victorious in the end with a final score of 6-4.
“Our athletes are spectacular representatives of their team and association,” Goertz said.
“I received several texts from other coaches following our win, all noting that our players have carried themselves with class and sportsmanship from the very start of the season.”
The other local winners were the Abbotsford Fireballs, who took the Women’s D division title at provincials, beating out the Richmond Bulldogs and Fleetwood Saints.
A team that didn’t happen to win a medal at provincials, but still has a shot at earning some new hardware at nationals is the Abbotsford Outlaws 2009A team.
As the defending champions of Softball Canada’s U15 Women’s Canadian Championship title, this Abbotsford squad earned a spot at the national competition in Manitoba, despite not being able to secure a podium spot at the recent U15 provincials.
Although provincials are now done, there is still plenty of softball action left to be seen in Abbotsford, with the U13 Girls Western Canadian Championships set to take place at Exhibition Park from Aug. 7 to 10.
For tickets and more information about the upcoming Western Canadian Championships, visit amfa.ca/western_championship_2025.
‘Remember this moment’: Toms River Little League softball beats Maryland 5-4 with walk-off
The Toms River Little League softball team came from behind to beat Maryland 5-4. Jaelyn Brown delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth. The team has conceded 10 runs in two games at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals. The New Jersey state champion has as much talent as any team at the regionals, coach Bob D’Ambrosio says. “Just to be here, you almost feel like a winner and then to win a game like that when you are here is like icing on the cake,” he says.”To even have a 10-year-old, she’s a league age 10, is really unheard of,” D’ Ambrosio said of Brown’s pitching performance. “She’s one of our pitchers. She’s our clean up hitter, she has been on fire,” he said of the team’s youngest player, Cecelia Herits, who started at pitcher in the fourth inning. “We went from feeling like we blew our chance to win this whole thing to almost like the game yesterday was worth it,” he adds.
On the heels of an error-ridden finish in their first game at the Little League softball regionals, the Toms River All-Stars were eager to put that result behind them. Instead, lapses continued to haunt them in the opening inning of their second game as they allowed four runs to Maryland on just one official hit. But in the bottom half of both those innings, the defining grit of the Toms River girls was evident in their response.
They answered with runs of their own both times, including two in the bottom of the first against the Delmar squad from Maryland on Tuesday afternoon. They rode the momentum of that response as they mounted a comeback over five innings and capped it off with a walk-off single in the bottom of the sixth to beat Maryland 5-4 and stave off elimination for one more day at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals in Connecticut.
“Especially after yesterday I felt like, I mean, what a difference 24 hours makes,” Toms River manager Bob D’Ambrosio said. “We went from feeling like we blew our chance to win this whole thing to almost like the game yesterday was worth it, because we got to be in this game today and that was probably one of the most exciting games I’ve ever been apart of.”
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
It was appropriate that Jaelyn Brown delivered the game-winning hit into right field. The team’s youngest player started at pitcher and navigated the turbulent first few innings as the defense settled down. With that in the rearview, she saw her pitch in the bottom of the sixth and drilled it past the second baseman to cement the comeback victory.
“To even have a 10-year-old, she’s a league age 10, is really unheard of,” D’Ambrosio said. “She’s one of our pitchers. She’s our clean up hitter, she’s been on fire.”
Brown’s highlight was the finishing touch on the team’s laborious comeback. Toms River got on the board in the bottom of the first with an RBI double by Cecelia Herits and an infield RBI single by a hustling Briella Bognar.
Toms River cut the deficit to one run the following inning thanks to astute base-running by Hailey Cohen, who capitalized on an errant pick-off throw by the Maryland catcher and scored from third.
The tying score came in the top of the fourth as Ella O’Neill scored Bognar on an RBI single. But the team’s momentum threatened to stall in the following inning.
Herits, who further exemplified the team’s toughness as she has played through injuries this summer, was sublime after coming in to relieve Brown at pitcher in the fourth inning. She struck out two in her first inning of work. Then in the fifth, she navigated a no-out jam with a runner on third with three straight outs — punctuated by a strikeout to end the inning.
She added two more strikeouts in the top of the sixth, at one point earning the moniker of the “Beast from the East” from the ESPN broadcast crew. Her strong pitching performance set the stage for an unforgettable finale.
After a single by Mischa Koeppen, there was a prolonged stoppage as officials reviewed a subsequent bunt for interference. The hot bats of Toms River were not iced by the pause as Tessa D’Ambrosio added another single to advance Koeppen to second. With runners on first and second and one out, Brown wasted no time swinging her bat and creating a memory that would last forever.
“This whole experience from start to finish has been just absolutely unbelievable,” Bob D’Ambrosio said. “Just to be here, you almost feel like a winner and then to win a game like that when you are here — it really is like icing on the cake.”
Toms River has conceded 10 runs in two games at regionals, but just one of those was earned. Inversely, they have scored nine runs with just one being unearned. The takeaway is clear: the New Jersey state champion has as much ability and talent as any team at the Mid-Atlantic Regional. If Toms River can clean up the mistakes, they’re certainly capable of clawing their way out of the losers bracket and into the regional final on Friday.
But as the stage gets bigger, Coach D’Ambrosio wanted to emphasize the challenge of the pressure his group of young athletes are undertaking as they represent the state of New Jersey in nationally televised games. There simply isn’t an straightforward solution for how the girls respond to pressure, but he knows they’ve got the talent to persevere through any challenge.
“If you’re not here in this environment with all the cameras and ESPN and all the fans, it really is something that can’t be duplicated through either travel ball or school ball,” D’Ambrosio said. “It’s tough for these kids, they’re 12-years-old (and) 11-years old and they’re gonna make mistakes that are uncharacteristic because of that environment.”
As they live to fight another day, Toms River will face the winner of Washington D.C. and New York in another elimination game on Wednesday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. But the clutch victory on Tuesday was a reminder that the experience is about more than wins and losses.
“I almost feel like everything we do from now is gravy,” D’Ambrosio said. “These kids are gonna remember this moment for the rest of their lives.
World Baseball Softball Confederation president observes practice match in N. Korea
The president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is currently visiting Pyongyang. Riccardo Fraccari observed a practice match and met with North Korea’s sports minister. The move is seen as efforts to promote baseball and softball in the North. The WBSC executive board recently approved new members for North Korea and Luxembourg. The confederation’s Congress will be held in Bangkok in October.
A WBSC delegation headed by Riccardo Fraccari observed a five-member practice baseball match the previous day, according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), in what is seen as efforts to promote baseball and softball in the North.
The move came after an article posted on the WBSC website recently showed the confederation’s executive board approved new members — North Korea’s Baseball Association and the Baseball and Softball Federation of Luxembourg.
All new memberships are subject to final endorsement at the upcoming WBSC Congress to be held in Bangkok in October, it said.
Fraccari, who arrived in Pyongyang on Saturday, also held talks with the North’s Olympic Committee Chairman and Sports Minister Kim Il-guk the previous day, the KCNA said.
While the state media outlet did not provide further details, they are widely viewed to have discussed sports cooperation during Tuesday’s meeting.
During a visit to South Korea in 2014, Fraccari expressed his openness to visiting North Korea to promote baseball.
The WBSC delegation also visited major landmarks and sports facilities in Pyongyang, including the Mangyongdae, the birthplace of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung, according to the KCNA.
World Baseball Softball Confederation President Riccardo Fraccari (L) shakes hands with Park Chon-jong, North Korea’s vice minister of physical culture and sports, after arriving at Pyongyang International Airport on July 19, 2025, in this photo carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
Prep Team of the Century #20: 2016 Benton softball
This year we’re celebrating the best of the best from the sports world in Eastern Iowa over the last 25 years. The over-arcing theme of this series will be “The Stories of the Century” Every Monday we’ll be releasing two more prep athletes, and every Wednesday we’ll announce two college athletes.
In 2016, behind three future Division I players, the Bobcats went 44-2, with their only losses coming by one run each.
The Bobcats won the 3A State title, and outscored teams at the State tournament by a combined 30-1.
This year we’re celebrating the best of the best from the sports world in Eastern Iowa over the last 25 years. The over-arcing theme of this series will be “The Stories of the Century”. During this year, we’ll count down the top 25 athletes, coaches, and teams from the past 25 years.
The year will be divided up into fourths, with the first portion of the year being dedicated to the best athletes (both high school and college) from the last 25 years.
Every Monday we’ll be releasing two more prep athletes, and every Wednesday we’ll announce two college athletes who will be added to the list.
Source: https://themw.com/sports/softball/