The summer of softball is entering its middle-to-late innings, as travel teams of all types spread out across the country for high level play and exposure.
One of the biggest stops is in Colorado, where the Colorado Fireworks/Sprinkler tournaments — which see hundreds of games played in the Aurora area as well as other stops along the Front Range — draw hundreds of college coaches to see rosters packed with committed or unsigned talent.
Included in the thousands of players split between 16U and 18U classifications for the Fireworks tournament, which is put on annually by Triple Crown Sports, is a healthy contingent of players from Aurora area schools. While some of the area’s other stars were competing with teams that were in other states, a heavy concentration played on home diamonds.
Bracket play ended quickly for most Colorado teams, however, the Colorado Angels Waller team made itself known as it finished a competitive week in the Fireworks 18U Supplemental Power Pool with a second round loss July 4.
Headed by John Waller — head coach for Vista PEAK Prep in Aurora — the Angels Waller team had plenty of local representation on the roster mixed with other top talent from nearby prep programs.
Two of the regulars from Waller’s Bison team last fall were on the roster in utility player Amara Herrera, who is headed to play at North Platte Community College, plus senior-to-be Rylie Camarillo. A trio of Cherokee Trail players — seniors-to-be Emma Rice on the mound and Rylee Holsten at first base and junior-to-be Kayla Kee in center field — also were regulars, while the roster also included Regis Jesuit junior-to-be Elsa Pedersen.
Rice logged significant innings and picked up her 1,500th career strikeout along the way.
The Waller team finished 3-2-1 in pool play and then opened bracket play with an in-state matchup against Littleton-based Colorado Bombers 18U, which also had its share of Aurora area players.
Graduates from three local programs (Abby Anderson and Kate Kenney of Cherokee Trail, Kiley Snyder of Smoky Hill and Sybella Trevino of Eaglecrest) were part of a Bombers team that went 2-4 in pool play.
The Angels Waller team prevailed 9-5 to advance to a matchup with I-5 Softball Snyder/Acevedo, which had finished second in its pool. In the first of what would be three straight one-run victories in bracket play, I-5 edged Angels Waller 9-8 in extra innings despite a huge three-run home run from Holston late.
The I-5 team would go on to win its next three games and took the pool championship with a 17-1 rout of WA Ladyhawks 18u Seeley.
In the same Supplemental Power Pool was the Colorado Angels Quimby team that at times resembled an Aurora area all-star team.
In a pool play game against the Washington Lady Redhawks (a 6-1 victory in a game played at the Riverwalk Park), the infield included Eaglecrest senior-to-be Ryleigh Stufft at third base, Grandview graduate and Grand Canyon University-bound Sasha Kennedy at shortstop, Eaglecrest senior-to-be Lelia Kelliher at second base and Grandview grad Madison Jaramillo at first base, while Grandview senior-to-be Monroe Donaldson played catcher and Cherokee Trail grad Izzy Becker (who earlier helped the Canada team to a runner-up finish at the International Challenge, see story, here) patrolled center field.
Also on the roster is Grandview grad Maddie Donaldson, while a variety of area coaches guided the team.
The Angels Quimby team started pool play 1-4, but won its last two games to earn a spot in bracket play, where it came up against Firecrackers Chavez Moreno, which went 2-2-2 in pool play. The Angels Quimby team dropped a 9-1 decision, however, which brought its tournament to a close just short of the final day.
In the 18U National Power Pool, Batbusters Smith 18U — which featured Cherokee Trail senior-to-be-Sydney Cobb and Regis Jesuit junior-to-be Caitlin Fairchild — ended up a potent pool. Batbusters Smith had trouble keeping down opposing offenses (which managed double figures in three of six pool play games), while it earned a lone win with an 11-1 defeat of Louisville Lady Sluggers Huecker M/B. A 6-5 loss to Impact Caymol July 4 kept it from advancing to the final day.
The 16U Fireworks Power Pool featured another Batbusters squad in Batbusters Smith-Joiner, which included two Cherokee Trail juniors-to-be Leera Davis and Taylen Shaver. That squad went 1-5 in pool play and fell to Hustle National 28/29 — Zapien/Ramon 8-3 in the first game of bracket play.
After pool play all over Aurora and at multiple nearby areas, the whole Fireworks tournament came to a conclusion on July 5 at Aurora Sports Park with championship games in a variety of pools and age divisions.
The 18U National Power Pool title went to Oklahoma Athletics National – Madden/Brown 26/27 in dramatic fashion with a 7-5 win in eight innings over Tennessee Mojo Ramsey. On a deep smash by London Hoffmaster, Athletics’ center fielder Nadia Jeffries leaped over the fence and made a home run-saving catch to end the game. The win on the mound went to Keegan Baker, the 18th-rated prospect in the country who is committed to Oklahoma. No. 9 Lyla Morici was in the circle for Mojo.
The aforementioned I-5 Softball Snyder/Acevedo won the 18U Supplemental Power Pool, while the 16U Supplemental Power Pool crown went to ROI Midwest-Kessler with an 8-6 over Wisconsin Lightning 15U Eichholz.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
