OKLAHOMA CITY – A tenth 16-Under GOLD National Champion was crowned today as Buzz 16u Gold claimed the title in the winner-take-all game against Epic 07 National. The 16-8 (five innings) run-rule victory came on Sunday morning after Buzz forced the “if-necessary” game with a 2-1 victory over Epic in Saturday night’s first Championship contest. Buzz 16u Gold entered the final contest with a 7-3 overall record – climbing out of the loser’s bracket to win five-straight elimination games en route to the 2023 GOLD National Championship title.
Contrary to last night’s defensive battle, Sunday’s Championship contest was full of offensive action with the two squads combining for 24 runs off 29 hits. Epic 07 National jumped out to a quick start with a single and a stolen base followed by a line drive to left field to score a run in the first. Extending its lead in the top of the second, Epic strung together three base hits before forcing an error to plate two more with a 3-0 score heading to the bottom of the frame. Buzz answered with four baserunners and two runs of its own before Epic struck again in the third – opening the floodgates with seven singles and five runs to move ahead 8-2. Both sides remained quiet until the bottom of the fourth inning when a leadoff single followed by a walk sparked a rally for Buzz Gold, scoring three runs before a slick double play from the Epic third baseman looked to shut things down. Refusing to quit, though, Buzz responded with a single to left field to take back the momentum. Continuing to pressure the Epic defense, Buzz collected an additional base hit while drawing four walks – scoring four more runs to take the lead, 9-8.
A leadoff walk and a two-out single in the top of the fifth gave Epic a chance to score, but the inning ended on the base paths before the squad could plate a run. With high energy and hot bats, Buzz Gold continued its scoring streak in the bottom of the fifth with a walk and a leadoff double to make it 10-8 before another double play from the Epic defense put two outs on the board. Remaining unfazed, Buzz came back with five runs on five-straight singles to put them within one of the run rule. A hard ground ball up the middle would force an error, allowing the winning run to cross the plate for Buzz Gold as they sealed the 16-8 victory and the 16-Under GOLD National Championship title.
Buzz 16u Gold finished the tournament with an 8-3 overall record and five-straight wins in the loser’s bracket after getting off to a 1-2 start through its first three games. The squad tallied 79 runs while blasting 21 doubles and four triples in its 103 hits with the Buzz pitching staff combining for 26 strikeouts in the circle. Ranking atop the leaderboard in quality at-bats, the Buzz lineup was highlighted by Journey Denton and Harper Haas – each with 13 RBI apiece – with Haas also recording one of the tournament’s highest batting averages while Lexi Rosillo led all athletes in doubles, reaching second seven times over the last week.
With a 7-2 record through the tournament, Epic 07 National’s only losses came in Championship play. Scoring a total of 61 runs through nine games, the Epic offense slugged 90 hits while the pitching staff recorded 27 outs in the circle via strikeout. Saige Bacon led the squad – and the tournament – in batting average and hits (17) while Taylor Clay followed closely with 13 of her own.
Opening in its inaugural 1994 season, the USA Softball GOLD National Championships has crowned a total of 40 National Champions across two age divisions in its prestigious 30-year history. To learn more about the GOLD National Championships, visit USASoftball.com.