July 8, 2024
AURORA, Colo. -- Four games into play at the Colorado 4th of July Tournament, the Extreme Sports Rios 16u team had a 1-3 record and faced a potential quick end to its visit to Colorado.
But several days, a lot of grit and eight consecutive wins later, the California-based program celebrated the 16U Supplemental Power Pool championship in dramatic fashion Sunday afternoon at Kennedy Sports Complex.
On an 0-2 count in a tie ballgame in the bottom of the seventh inning, No. 9 hitter Leaira Robinson hit a chopper down the first base line that got through and brought home the winning run in an 11-10 walk-off victory over Alabama Sparks Elite Stewart to complete an improbable journey to the title given how the tournament started.
“We were 1-3 to start and we ran off eight straight games,” jubilant head coach Marcos Rios said. “We had some good runs in our past and we knew it was in there, so we just had to let the beast out a little bit. They were playing a little tight and we needed to loosen them up and realize this game is fun. Nobody’s dying and their parents still love them no matter what. At the end of the day, the preparation we put in made the difference.”
To win the title required four victories on the final day and Extreme Sports Rios — which finished last out of five teams in Pool D with its 1-3 mark — never gave in despite finding itself on the ropes several times.
A 14-12 win over the Ohio Stingrays opened the day, which led to a 4-2 victory over Empire State Huskies National Porcelli and then a 9-6 defeat of Premier Fastpitch National 16u Paulson (which Rios' team had lost to previously) before the nail-biting championship victory.
“I think we realized that we didn’t come all this way for nothing and we all wanted to play for each other,” said right fielder Sophie Giles, who was 3-for-4 with five RBI. “We weren’t working as a team at the beginning (of the week), but then we flipped the switch and it paid off.”
The task was difficult in the championship game, as Extreme Sports Rios faced off with an Alabama Sparks Elite Stewart team that opened the final day of the tournament with a 24-1 victory over Athletics Mercado Baltierra, followed by a 12-1 win over Hotshots Premier 16U Knight and a 6-2 defeat of OC Batbusters Delgado.
The Sparks kept rolling in the opening frame of the championship game with a four-run rally that included an Amaya Green RBI single and a three-run home run by Marleigh McWilliams.
Rios’ team scratched across a run in the first inning without benefit of a hit but didn’t really get going until the third inning when the deficit was 6-1. That’s when the bottom three hitters in the order — Marina Garcia, Olivia Mixco and Robinson — all began what would be a difference-making day.
The trio would finish a combined 8-for-11 with seven runs scored and three RBI.
Garcia and Mixco singled to start the third inning and came around to score on a base hit by Giles and bases loaded walk drawn by Jade Orta. In the fourth, all three singled and two scored on a hit by Giles to pull Extreme Sports Rios into a 6-6 tie.
“It’s a testament to the work the girls put in,” Rios said. “We grind, we hold each other accountable and I don’t think there’s a weak link in the lineup. You can’t have them to win a tournament like this.”
The Sparks responded with the go-ahead run on a bloop RBI double by Lily Lowery in the top of the fifth for a lead that lasted through a 30-minute lightning delay. The Alabama team tacked on three more runs in the top of the sixth with a home run by Green (who was 4-for-5) and an RBI groundout by Harsyn Mootz.
But the bottom of the order again came through for Extreme Sports Rios in the sixth inning as Garcia led off with a solo home run, while Mixco singled and Robinson reached on a fielders choice. She came around to score on another clutch hit by Giles, which also saw Andrea Tall reach home with aggressive baserunning.
“I was a little nervous, but I wanted to hit so my teammates could score,” Giles said. “It feels really good knowing you helped contribute to the victory.”
On her birthday, Katia Nesper gave her Extreme Sports Rios team a present with 4 2/3 innings of solid relief, which included a strikeout to prevent Alabama Sparks Elite Stewart from adding to a 10-9 lead in the top of the seventh. Sparks’ starting pitcher Hayden Traywick got the first two outs of the seventh inning, which included Abby Williams’ incredible catch as she leaped over the fence in left field to rob Sienna Rios of a tying home run.
Ava Chapman singled and Garcia walked to bring up Mixco, who grounded back to Traywick, who had trouble securing the ball and threw wide of first base as Chapman scored the tying run and Garcia advanced to third. With two outs and two strikes, the left-handed Robinson chopped a ball down the line and hustled in case there was a play, but the ball got under the glove of the first baseman to end the game.
“It was very scary hitting that one with two strikes, but I kind of knew the umpire was going to call anything at that point, so I had to swing and get it down,” Robinson said. “I was planning on diving into first (if the ball was fielded). I was going to be safe.”
When it was over, Rios basked in the achievement of his team, which displayed a lot of heart and acumen (helped by a team GPA of 3.875) as it came all the way back to win a Supplemental bracket that included a whopping 85 teams.
“We had to send a bunch of emails to get the invite to this tournament, but we had a good run at PGF last year and I think that helped,” he said. “Our girls kept winning and we got the invite. I think we proved we should be here.”
