The game action kicked off Thursday night at the Patriot Games as the 18U, 16U and 14U team played in Colorado started with 3 pm, 5 pm and 7 pm classes.

*** For the scores and pool standings, click HERE ***

The bulk of the day, however, was split up in two primary segments: data capture and team workouts.

Data Capture

Many of the top club organizations in the country took place in the Alliance Performance Center in Greeley, Colo. today, including programs such as the Batbusters, Bombers, Aces, Strykers, Athletics – Mercado, Impact Gold, Firecrackers, Top Gun and several others.

The facility was set up for hitting and pitching capture including the following:

• Exit velocity (hitting)
• Max distance (hitting)
• Velocity (pitching)
• Spin rate (pitching)

Riley Plogger, the lead instructor at the training complex and a former softball player at Utah State (2016-2020), oversaw the workouts today and hade this to say:

Here are several players who stood in the data testing:

• Two players—both 2009’s— for the Athletics – Mercado/Tidd team stood out in the hitting testing as Bree Carlson reached 78 max velocity and reached 208 feet in the calculated distance category while her teammate, Eva Bustamante, hit a max velocity 72 max velocity with a max distance total of 232 feet.
• There were several pitchers who came with the heat on Thursday including three who hit 66 mph or better:
  • Madelyn Doty of Texas Glory 16U – Shelton, a 2026 grad and 6-foot pitcher, hit a jaw-dropping 69 mph. She’s also a two-time Gold Medalist for the USA U15 team.
  • Caroline Stanton with Texas Bomber 18U – Smith, a 2026 pitcher, registered 68 mph.
  • Leila Diebert, a 2027 grad with Batbusters – Lara 18U squad, clocked 66 mph.

Team Workouts

Club teams worked out, basically getting ready for the start of the pool play games later in the day, and what one noticed pretty quickly was the many college scouts who were on hand… just to watch the workouts (and the games later in the day).

Continue below to read more from Thursday’s action at the Patriot Games…