Amateur Softball Association: Gold National Championship

Gold National Down to the Final Eight Teams

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. --- Eight teams remain in the 2007 ASA Girls’ 18-Under Gold Fast Pitch National Championship at the Hall of Fame Complex as 16 teams saw their dreams of hoisting the championship trophy come to an end on Friday.

The OC Batbusters from Santa Ana, Calif. and the Worth Firecrackers from Huntington Beach, Calif. are the two lone teams remaining in the winner’s bracket and they are on track for a rematch of last year’s championship game where the Batbusters won their fifth ASA National Championship by a score of 9-4.

The Batbusters reached the final four by defeating the Texas Aces Gold of Pearland, Texas, 8-4 in eight innings. After surrendering three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the OC Batbusters came out with bats blazing to reclaim the lead. They scored five runs in the eighth, four of them unearned, to win the game. They beat the Shamrocks of Vienna, Va., the 2006 ASA National Champion, 7-3, to secure a place in the final four.

The Worth Firecrackers also used extra-inning heroics to reach the final four. After defeating the Corona Angels – Marty of Corona, Calif., 4-2, they faced the Gold Coast Hurricanes of Plantation, Fla. The scored was tied 2-2 when Lauren Schutzler of Monteray, Calif., hit a single into shallow left field to bring in the winning run.

The San Jose Sting of San Jose, Calif., and Southern Force of Johnson City, Ill., continue their amazing rise through the loser’s bracket after being sent there on the opening day. Both teams lost their first game of bracket play on Tuesday but since then, the teams have been battling back for a chance to be included in the final four of the 2007 Girl’s Gold National Championship. Both teams are currently 6-1, including three wins on Friday.

The San Jose Sting reached Saturday by exacting revenge on the team that put them in the loser’s bracket, the Washington Lady Hawks of Puyallup, Wash. The Lady Hawks won the initial game on Tuesday 6-2 but the tables were turned on Friday night. The Sting started strong scoring eight runs in four innings, including two RBI from Robyn Araujo (Campbell, Calif.). The Lady Hawks mounted a small rally, but couldn’t keep it going and were eliminated by a scored of 9-2.

Six games are on tap for Saturday plus if necessary two additional “if games.” Action begins at 9 a.m. as teams fight to qualify for the championship game. Box Scores and Play-by-Play of all the games can be found on the official tournament website gold.asasoftball.com. Also fans can listen to radio broadcasts of all games played on the stadium field by clicking on the radio link on the ASA Gold webpage.

Also don’t forget that the 2007 ASA Girls' 18-Under Gold Fast Pitch National Championship Game will be broadcasted “Live” via the internet on Sunday, August 12 at 2 p.m. CST. Fans will be able to log onto the ASA GOLD website and watch the action on their computer for free. The broadcast will feature a full scale production including multiple cameras, play-by-play, graphics and instant replay. The free online coverage of the ASA Gold is a first for any championship at this level of production.

RESULTS FROM DAY FOUR OF BRACKET PLAY

Texas Glory (McKinney, TX) 3 *So Cal Explosion (Cypress, CA) 2

So Cal Choppers (Valencia, CA) 14 *Beach Girls (Brooklyn, NY) 0

San Jose Sting (San Jose, CA) 5 *So Cal Athletics (Montclair, CA) 4

Atlanta Vipers (Marietta, GA) 2 *Texas Storm – Durham (Pearland, TX) 0

California Cruisers (La Palma, CA) 4 *Texas Storm-Dixon (Houston, TX) 1

So Cal Pumas (Ventura, CA) 7 *Ultimate Gold (Purcell, OK) 2

So Cal Breakers (Encinitas, CA) 5 *St. Louis Chaos (St. Louis, MO) 3

Southern Force (Johnson City, IL) 2 *Beverly Bandits (Orland Park, IL) 1

Shamrocks (Vienna, VA) 4 Washington Lady Hawks (Puyallup, WA) 1

OC Batbusters (Santa Ana, CA) 8 Texas Aces (Pearland, TX) 4 (8)

Gold Coast Hurricanes (Plantation, FL) 10 San Diego Renegades (San Diego, CA) 1 (6)

Worth Firecrackers (Huntington Beach, CA) 4 Corona Angels-Marty (Corona, CA) 2

So Cal Choppers (Valencia, CA) 1 *Texas Glory (McKinney, TX) 0

San Jose Sting (San Jose, CA) 8 *Atlanta Vipers (Marietta, GA) 0

California Cruisers (La Palma, CA) 5 *So Cal Pumas (Ventura, CA) 0

Southern Force (Johnson City, IL) 1 *So Cal Breakers (Encinitas, CA) 0

So Cal Choppers (Valencia, CA) 4 *Texas Aces (Pearland, TX) 0

San Jose Sting (San Jose, CA) 9 *Washington Lady Hawks (Puyallup, WA) 2

Corona Angels-Marty (Corona, CA) 3 *California Cruisers (La Palma, CA) 0

Southern Force (Johnson City, IL) 5 *San Diego Renegades (San Diego, CA) 1

OC Batbusters (Santa Ana, CA) 7 Shamrocks (Vienna, VA) 1

Worth Firecrackers (Huntington Beach, CA) 3 Gold Coast Hurricanes Plantation, FL 2 (8)