OKLAHOMA CITY – One team was etched in the record books tonight at the 2023 USA Softball GOLD National Championships in Oklahoma City as Heartbreakers Gold National became the event’s 30th 18-Under National Champion with a 10-2 (five innings) run-rule win over Louisiana Blazers Elite. Earlier in the evening, the 16-Under division National Championship was forced to an “if-necessary” game as Buzz 16u Gold defeated Epic 07 National, 2-1. The final game is set to take place Sunday, July 23, at 9 a.m. CT on the USA Softball Hall of Stadium – OGE Energy Field. Fans can follow along with live stats and streaming on USASoftball.com.
Entering the 16U final with an undefeated 7-0 record was Epic 07 National – defeating Texas Sudden Impact Zachry 3-2 in the winner’s bracket semi-final before suffering its first loss of the tournament in the 2-1 Championship battle. Meeting Epic in the final after a stretch of four-straight loser’s bracket gamea on Saturday, Buzz 16u Gold reigned victorious to improve to 7-3 on the tournament to keep their National Championship hopes alive.
A defensive duel on the dirt, the bats remained quiet on both sides of the field until the bottom of the fourth inning when Buzz struck first with a string of baserunners followed by a fielding miscue by the Epic defense – allowing two runners to cross the plate and break the 0-0 tie. A leadoff double from Epic in the top of the seventh followed by a one-out RBI single gave the squad some hope, but a pop out followed by a ground out would shut down the Epic offense as Buzz clinched the victory to force the winner-take-all game set for Sunday morning.
Punching its ticket to the 18-Under GOLD National Championship game, Heartbreakers Gold National defeated Rock Gold Waye, 4-3, to add to its six-game win streak while Louisiana Blazers Elite also took down the Rock with a 4-0 shutout win in the loser’s bracket semi-final to clinch a spot in the Championship.
Louisiana Blazers Elite kicked off the scoring in the bottom of the second with a pair of singles and two free passes – via hit by pitch and walk – followed by a fielder’s choice to put the Blazers up by two, after two. Instantly responding with two singles and a triple in the top of the third, Heartbreakers tied up the ballgame before breaking it open with another single and a two-run shot to center field to pull ahead, 5-2. The Heartbreaker defense took care of business in the bottom of the frame while keeping the foot on the gas offensively with three-straight singles in the fourth – setting the stage for a sac-fly to plate another. A hard ground ball up the middle forced chaos to ensue as a defensive error by the Blazers allowed runners to advance, with the score landing at 8-2 after the dust settled. Looking to get something going in the bottom of the fourth, the Blazers manufactured two base runners with a walk and a single, but a strikeout and fly out would snuff the light once again. Keeping things rolling — both with big swings and small ball — a solo home run followed by a double, sac bunt and a single gave the Heartbreakers two more runs as the game officially entered run-rule territory with a score of 10-2 heading to the bottom of the fifth. The Blazers would put a runner on with two outs, but a pop up to the short stop would record the third out of the inning as the Heartbreaker squad sealed the 10-2 run-rule victory and the 2023 18U GOLD National Championship title.
Heartbreakers Gold National reigns as the newest GOLD National Champion after mowing down the competition with eight-straight wins and 60 runs scored while allowing a low of only 15. Athletes from the Maryland squad pepper the leaderboard with Sydney Orndorff leading the tournament in both batting average and on-base percentage while Avery Neuman and Taylor Smith tied for second in home runs (2) with Smith also dominating in the circle with a a tournament-leading 46 strikeouts.
Totaling a 7-3 record with 66 runs scored, the Blazers squad from Louisiana finished in the runner-up position with standout players ranking among the top of all GOLD Nationals participants, including Taylor Douglas leading the pack with three home runs while recording four doubles and 13 hits alongside Brilee Ford, with Chloe Magee tallying 14 of her own. A two-way player for the Blazers, Douglas also posted impressive pitching stats throughout the tournament with a total of 28 strikeouts behind a team fielding percentage of over .900.
Opening in its inaugural 1994 season, the USA Softball GOLD National Championships has crowned a total of 39 National Champions in its prestigious 30-year history. To learn more about the GOLD National Championships, visit USASoftball.com.