Amateur Softball Association: Gold National Championship

Day Three at ASA Gold National - Eliminations Begin

Oklahoma City, Okla.,---It was elimination day at the 2007 ASA Girls’ 18-Under Gold Fast Pitch National Championship as 24-teams were sent home after suffering two consecutive losses while 16-other teams had the day off after advancing into the Sweet 16 of the winner’s bracket a day earlier. A total of 40-teams remain in contention for the ultimate title in girl’s fast pitch softball.

All 24-games played on Tuesday were elimination games and despite a strong start in pool play for a few teams their hopes of winning a National Championship were dashed. JETS Gold of Agoura Hills, Calif., Miami Valley Express of Xenia, Ohio, Mustang Gold of Wichita, Kan., and the Virginia Legends of Virginia Beach, Va., won their two pool play games but then stumbled in bracket play and were tossed after two games.

Jets Gold dropped two heart breaking decisions by just a single run. They fell 3-2 in their opening game to Michigan Finesse of Sterling Heights, Mich., before being eliminated by Southern Force of Johnson City, Ill., by the same score. One of the biggest upsets of the day came when the Oklahoma Babes of Midwest City, Okla., a top 10 finisher in 2006, was bounced from the championship in 33rd place. The Babes dropped their opening game of the championship to the Georgia Xtreme of Stockbridge, Ga., 5-3, but managed to bounce back with a 9-0 run rule victory over the East Cobb Bullets of Kennesaw, Ga. But their hopes were crushed in the nightcap when the So Cal Choppers of Valenica, Calif., knocked them out of the tournament with a 5-2 win.

There are some familiar faces remaining in the “Sweet 16” of the winner’s bracket including 2006 National Champion - OC Batbusters of Santa Ana, Calif., and 2006 runner-up Worth Firecrackers of Huntington Beach, Calif. With these two powerhouses on the opposite side of the bracket, a repeat of the 2006 championship game is very possible.

Teams remaining on the left side of the winner’s bracket include Texas Storm-Dixon of Houston, Texas, Washington Lady Hawks of Puyallup, Wash., Ultimate Gold of Purcell, Okla., Shamrocks of Vienna, Va., So Cal Breakers of Encinitas, Calif., Texas Aces Gold of Pearland, Texas, Beverly Bandits of Orland Park, Ill., and OC Batbusters.

Teams on the right side of the winner’s bracket include Texas Glory Gold of McKinney, Texas, Gold Coast Hurricanes of Plantation, Fla., Beach Girls of Brooklyn, NY, San Diego Renegades of San Diego, Calif., Corona Angels-Marty of Corona, Calif., So Cal Athletics of Montclair, Calif., Atlanta Vipers of Marietta, Ga., and the Firecrackers.

The 24 teams who have been eliminated from the 2007 Gold National Championship include: Arizona Hot Shots Neuman of Gilbert, Ariz., Cal Raiders of Long Beach, Calif., Corona Angels-Tony of Corona, Calif., Georgia Xtreme of Stockbridge, Ga., Lady Gators Gold of Lake Worth, Fla., Oklahoma Babes, Omaha Quakes Gold of Papillion, Neb., Strike Zone-Ford of Hayward, Calif., All American Sports Academy of Woodland, Calif., Arizona Suncats of Glendale, Ariz., Colorado Stars of Boulder, Colo., East Cobb Bullets of Kennesaw, Ga., Houston Power Gold of Houston, Texas, Jets Gold, MC Elite South of Magnolia, Texas, Miami Valley Express, Minnesota Irish of Rosemont, Minn., Mustang Gold, Nor Cal Shockers of Martinez, Calif., NW Bullets of Portland, Ore., Polar Crush of Ashby, Mass., Sorcerer Gold of Concord, Calif., Tulsa Eagles of Tulsa, Okla., and the Virginia Legends.

Play continues on Thursday with elimination games beginning at 9 a.m. Box Scores and “Live” Play-by-Play of all the games can be found on the official tournament website at http://gold.asasoftball.com. Also fans can listen to all of the games being played on the stadium filed via internet radio. Just log on to the ASA Gold National Championship website and click on the link for the Radio Broadcast.