July 4, 2024
WESTMINSTER, Colo. -- When Goose gets the call, there's not much egg-laying going on.
Juliana "Goose" Hutchens, a sophomore-to-be playing up in a sea of D-I softball prospects, unloaded a massive, cosmetic and game-sealing grand slam for Iowa Premier-Dickel on Wednesday at the Colorado 4th of July 18u TV Power Pool game, cementing a 7-1 victory over Strykers National-Esparza at the Christopher Fields Complex.
That exclamation point, alongside the determined work of starting pitcher Brinkley Moreton, pushed Iowa Premier to the top in this showcase moment at the Triple Crown Colorado 4th of July event. Moreton, who is committed to play college softball at Mississippi State, scattered four hits and struck out three.
Hutchens' nickname is a story of evolution – she had a previous teammate also named Juliana, and both were known as "Juju" which meant someone had to come up with another handle. Iowa Premier certainly handled the moment well Wednesday, making the most of some walks, hit batters and a key error in the seventh ahead of Hutchens' finishing touch.
"Stuff like that, you've got to take advantage of it," said Hutchens, who also had two walks. "If they're going to give it to you, definitely take it. I was pretty confident (before the home run), I know my team had my back and there weren't any outs. No pressure up there, just get up there and have fun, and be me. And it's easy to go out there knowing your pitcher is dealing."
Iowa Premier coach Greg Dickel said his team has more offensive capacity than a year ago, especially with Mataia Lawson (Texas) and Hutchens hitting 3-4 in the order. All eyes are pointing to an Alliance national championship run later this summer in Indiana.
"It's a senior-laden squad, all D-I commits except a 15-year-old who everyone knows is probably the best 2027 (grad) in the country ... They just get the job done," said Dickel. "We just try to take advantage of what opponents give us. We've played some tough opponents our last four games and played very well, but now it's a whole new slate and time to get back to work."
Iowa Premier scored twice in the second inning thanks to two walks, a single from Whitney Holcomb (Tulsa) and a groundout from Chaney Helton. Paige Rummans (Illinois State) was hit by a pitch to start the third and later scored on a single from Gracie King (Georgia Tech).
Charleigh Esparza (Baylor) hit a two-out homer for Strykers in the sixth to make it 3-1, but Moreton immediately responded with a strikeout to end the frame. She followed it with a three-up, three-down seventh, displaying her impressive mix of fastballs (she throws exceptionally hard for a 5-foot-7 athlete) and a change-up that regularly baffled batters.
"That's definitely been one of my most successful pitches this season," Moreton said about her change. "Around age 14, a lot of us stop and by 16, can't get over the hump and throw about 60, 61 (mph). I think working hard there is important, doing things for your arm to get stronger, faster, is important. I knew my teammates had my back the whole game, so I wasn't worried about it."
"The changeup in her best pitch. She can put it on different planes, has command, can throw it for a strike when she needs to or can waste it and get a kid to chase," Dickel said. "In my opinion, we use the hard spins and hard pitches to set up the change-up. That's the out pitch, high percentage of the time."
