July 2, 2024
WESTMINSTER — In a tournament as competitive as the Triple Crown 18U Sparkler, every play can feel like a pivotal moment. American Freedom Martin, based out of Colorado, tapped into one last burst of energy to take down El Paso’s Desert Gators in a 7-6 thriller at Tepper Fields on Tuesday morning.
American Freedom trailed 5-4 heading into the top of the final inning and wasted no time lighting their bats on fire. Kylee Humes hit a fly ball to left field, reaching second on an error to start things off. Aubrey Sugg sent her home on the next play.
Humes ended her day with two hits, two runs and an RBI. She leaned on her defensive acumen to guide her at the plate.
“I see it from my perspective because I'm also a pitcher, so I see the spin on the ball and I know where I'm going to take it, if I take it,” she said.
A bit later, with two outs down and two runners on, Callie Johnson ripped a ball down the center, giving AF a 7-5 lead heading into the bottom of the inning. The back and forth up to that point had played out throughout the entire game. No lead was ever safe, and El Paso demonstrated exactly why when it came up to bat for the last time.
Kianna Butler came in to close for American Freedom, and she began her performance in the circle with a smooth strikeout. The Desert Gators’ Mia Telles pressured Butler with a double to right field, then further made AF sweat when she scored on a wild pitch three at-bats later. Butler shut the Desert Gators down mere moments later, ending the game with a groundout to third and leaving a runner stranded.
“(My mindset was) just to be calm, because our third baseman (Natalie McCaghren) was really good and she did really well,” Butler said. “I felt like I could trust my D anywhere. I was really loose and everything was spinning today, so I didn't worry too much.”
Earlier in the day, American Freedom tied Georgia Trouble in a 4-4 showing. They’ll now prepare to face Batbusters Peinado at 2 p.m. at Carroll Butts Park on Wednesday.
“It was a battle the whole time,” head coach Sky Martin said. “It was a little bit back and forth. Both games we played today have been back and forth. Good pitching, timely hitting, lots of battles and some big plays.”
Diamond Dusters 18u out of Bremerton, WA, was the only team in this pool to go 2-0 on the day, scoring 24 runs and giving up a total of six.
