Memorial Day Global NIT

With over 240 teams competing all over Southern California, the Global NIT saw teams from multiples states competing for 1st Place on a weekend made possible by the sacrifice by our proud service men and women.  USSSA recognizes our  veterans and the fact that we get to play baseball every weekend due to what they have given.

10-Under AA:
We start off our recap with a truly unique team.  Baseball For All is comprised of all girls, from all over the country, playing their hearts out for the love of baseball.

Their road wasn't easy however.  Entering Sunday as the 4th Seed, they set out to upset all the boys that had beaten them in Pool Play.  With their arsenal of pitchers looking for payback, the three A's (Aubrey, Addison, and Ahriana), kept their team in the game, giving Baseball for All the 1-Run victory, and taking them into the Semifinals.  Ahriana pulled double duty against the 1st Seed Vegas Phenom, pitching four fantastic innings and giving up just 1-Run, allowing Baseball for All to move to the finals.

Once in the finals, the girls weren't going to give up.  Swinging the bats like they hadn't all weekend, they shut out their opponents and put up a whopping 18 runs in a testament to never giving up, and playing your hardest all the way to the end.

11-Under:
As one of the more active teams in the 2014 Season, the La Mirada Thunder took a few months off after an uncharacteristic 6th Place Finish in the President's Day NIT.  The few months off of tournaments to practice turned them into a top caliber team yet again.  Getting stellar pitching performances from seven different pitchers in Pool Play, they advanced to Sunday's playoffs as the 4th Seed with a 3-1 record.  After moving on from the quarterfinals, they faced the 1st Seed IE Wolves, the only team to have beaten them in the tournament thus far.  Getting lights out pitching from Joshua Castillo and Bryce Bernal, the Thunder held the hard hitting 1st Seeds to just 2 runs to advance to the finals.

Pumped up on adrenaline, the Thunder didn't slow down, scoring 11 runs and shutting down their opponents in the Championship game, holding them to just two runs, giving the Thunder and hard earned 1st Place finish in their first tournament back in almost 4 months.

12-Under:
Aside from winning, there's nothing better than getting payback on your rivals.  While it's hard to develop proper rivals over the course of a weekend, facing the team that beat you in Pool Play again always lights a fire in the dugout.  Cali Xtreme got their chance in Monday's playoffs.

Entering Monday as the 2nd Seed, they quickly advanced to the Championship game, putting them against the 1st Seed Trojans.  The Trojans handed the Xtreme their only loss of the tournament thus far in Pool Play, but the Xtreme weren't ready for a repeat of that game.  Both teams were very evenly matched, leading to a hard fought final.  The Xtreme learned from their previous mistakes, and were able to upset the 1st Seed with a 9-6 victory.

Thank you to all the teams that played in the Memorial Day Global NIT.  Here is a list of the Champions and Runner Ups.

See you on the fields

-AC

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