The Colorado 4th of July girls softball tournament — put on annually by Triple Crown Sports — wrapped up after a lengthy run in Aurora July 6.
Championship games in a variety of age groups and levels took place at the Aurora Sports Park to conclude a tournament that dominated venues around the city (Aurora Sports Park, Arapahoe Little League, Highline Park, Horseshoe Park and Olympic Park) and around the metro area from Denver to Westminster.
According to Triple Crown, the tournament — held in conjunction with the Sparkler tournament up north — featured more than 1,100 teams (with more than 16,000 combined players) from across the country that mixed games, showcases and camps and was held with the presence of more than 600 college coaches.
A variety of Aurora area prep softball players — some of which graduated in May and many of which will play for their schools in the upcoming fall season — competed with a large number of different club programs and found various levels of success.
Two Regis Jesuit athletes (Caitlin Fairchild and Kendal Craven, both juniors-to-be) and another from Cherokee Trail (junior-to-be Tayah Burton) played with the Colorado Batbusters National Smith team that made it into the 16-team championship bracket of the 70-team 16U Supplemental Power Pool. Riding a lot of power, the team that also included players from Cherry Creek, Columbine, Discovery Canyon, Forge Christian, Legend, Palmer Ridge, Ponderosa and Ralston Valley lost a 9-8 decision in the opening round and finished with a 6-2 record.
In the 18U Fireworks Division played at Riverwalk Fields in Brighton, the Colorado Angels had two teams that featured Aurora area players. The Colorado Angels Gold Quimby featured Grandview’s Sasha Kennedy and Madison Jaramillo, Cherokee Trail’s Izzy Becker and Eaglecrest’s Leila Kelliher, Chessa Reid and Kaitlyn Hendrian and finished 2-5, while the Colorado Angels Gold Waller — coach by current Vista PEAK Prep coach John Waller — went 1-5-1 with a roster that included Vista PEAK Prep’s Amara Herrera and Rylie Camarillo.
The Colorado Bombers Gold 16U Light team included Abby Anderson, Kate Kenney and Sydney Cobb of Cherokee Trail plus Nikiah Light and Kiley Snyder of Smoky Hill.
In the Sparkler 16U Open division — which featured 245 teams — a Colorado Angels 16U National team that includes Cherokee Trail’s Emma Rice, Kayla Kee and Kaylen Welch and Regis Jesuit’s Elsa Pedersen and Anna Najmulski finished 5-2-1 in play at Arvada’s Lutz Park.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
