The 9^th annual PGF Ultimate Challenge wrapped up Sunday in Salinas, Calif. as championships were won in the 18U, 16U and 14U age divisions by three different organizations.

The skies were cloudless, the temperatures perfect and the softball was excellent in bracket play held at the Salinas Sports Complex.

It was a “one (loss) and done” day as each of the team advanced to the championship finals held at 2 pm California time.

*** Click HERE to see our previous article including past winners of the PGF Ultimate Challenge

Line Drive Softball will have much, much more on the event in the coming days including video interviews and scouting reports of players who really raised their stock through their play this first weekend in November!

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball

Here are recaps of the three championship games with each title-winning team awarded a $5,500 check from the host organization, the California Storm….

*****

DAY 3 RESULTS (Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024)

18U Championship: NW Bullets – Campos 3, Firecrackers – Wallace 2

Maybe that old adage: “Great pitching wins championships” is pretty accurate after all.

It sure was on Sunday in the 18U division at the PGF Ultimate Challenge as two outstanding hurlers recently ranked in the 2025 Line Drive Softball HOT 100 Top 10 led their teams to the title game and an exciting extra-inning affair.

The two teams were tied 1-1 at the end of the 7^th but the Bullets were able to put two on the board in the top of the 8^th and hold on to defeat the Firecrackers 3-2.

You could make a case that the 2025 pitchers for each team—Maddie Milhorn (signed with Oregon) of the NW Bullets – Campos team and Kaitlynn Pallozzi (Alabama-bound) with Firecrackers – Wallace—were the two best at the event and, not surprisingly, Sunday’s championship at 18U was a tight one.

Both had pitched a lot of innings to get their teams to the finale but in an interesting twist, Milhorn did not start for the Bullets. She came in with one out in the third inning while Pallozzi went the entire game for the Firecrackers.

What a great team effort to win the PGF Ultimate challenge in Salinas this weekend! We earned this one and won it for Coach Hall. @PGFnetwork @LineDsoftball @los_stuff @NWBulletsSB pic.twitter.com/E5luULkZPT

— Maddie Milhorn 🦆 (@MaddieMilhorn) November 4, 2024

The Firecrackers broke a scoreless tie and put the game’s first run on the board when Ashlyn Chatfield, a 2026 catcher, stroked an RBI single in the bottom of the 4^th but the Bullets tied it in the top of the sixth courtesy of home run from Myleigh Cooper (2025 pitcher/infielder headed to Cal Poly).

The long ball was once again the friend to the Bullets when Bobbi Cambra, a 2026 catcher, hit a two-run blast in the top of the 8^th that proved to be the difference.

Pitcher Ella Ferguson, a 2025 right-hander headed to Nevada, started and was effective for the victors as she didn’t give up a run in her 2 1/3^rd innings pitched before Milhorn came in to earn the win by giving up just three hits and the one run prior to the 8^th inning. The future Ducks pitcher also had three strikeouts against one walk.

Pallozzi went the distance for the Firecrackers and scattered six hits and two earned runs over eight innings while striking out nine and walking just two.

Kate Braukus, the mother of Bullets standout infielder Anna Braukus, who is a senior and headed to Nevada, noted after the game:

“Every single one of the girls on the team earned the championship as there were so many amazing plays by all.

Most importantly, they dedicated the win to their late Coach Warren Hall who just passed this last week. It was an emotional win for the organization.”

*****

16U Champion: Extreme – Rios 11, Suncats – Jimenez/Gutierez 0

After two close wins earlier in the day, 5-4 over NW Bullets -Muir/Hornback and 5-3 against Cal Nuggets, Woods, the Extreme made the championship game a no-doubter as Marcos Rios’s squad scored six runs in the first inning, another in the second and four more in the bottom of the 3^rd to put the game quickly out of reach.

Katia Nesper, a 2026 pitcher who we spotlighted yesterday as being a 4.3 GPA-carrying student-athlete who is deciding between Stanford and Northwestern, was untouchable as she didn’t give up a hit and was just one walk away from a perfect game in her four innings pitched.

Proud of this team. We played together and brought home the rings and a little cash by winning the PGF Ultimate Challenge 16U. Was fun to really get the bats rolling while still scratching runs with aggressive baserunning. pic.twitter.com/LNjE0IguUv

— Katia Nesper 2026 (@KatiaNesper2026) November 4, 2024

Nesper had six strikeouts and benefited from her explosive offense which had 11 hits led by 2026 catcher Jade Orta and 2027 middle infielder Gianna Wilies having two each while driving in a pair of runs.

Wilies had a run-scoring single in the first and had another RBI in the second thanks to a double to center.

*****

14U Champion: Lady Magic – Munoz/Asia 8, NW Bullets Campos/Jackson 4

Reminiscent of this year’s World Series, in which the Dodgers came back from a 5-run deficit to win Game 5 and the championship over the Yankees, the 14U Lady Magic squad coached by Larry Asia trailed 4-0 in the 3^rd inning on Sunday, but came back with a flourish to double up the Bullets by a final score of 8-4.

In our Friday Day 1 recap, we wrote:

“… the 14U age division looks like could be a two-horse race between the Lady Magic Munoz/Asia team and the NW Bullets – Campos/Jackson team” 

… and that’s exactly how it played out.

The Lady Magic went 6-0 in this weekend’s tournament and outscored opponents 27-15 in the half dozen victories and today’s hero was 2029 infielder Kendrick Jobe who was just a home run away from hitting for the cycle with a single in the 2^nd inning, a triple in the 4^th and a double in the 5^th from her leadoff hitter spot.

She also drew a walk and knocked in three runs while scoring two herself.

The key inning was the bottom of the 4^th, when the Lady Magic scored five times before adding three more in the 5^th to complete the scoring. The offense had 13 hits for the champs and 2028 outfielder Bella Hernandez matched Jobe’s three hits by going 3-for-3 with two runs scored.

The Lady Magic are now 22-3 for the Fall after going undefeated in Salinas.

Great team win at the PGF Ultimate Challenge this weekend! @pgfnetwork @los_stuff @LineDSoftball #ladymagicsoftball #believeinmagic #classof2029 pic.twitter.com/UUqX4PRWFf

— Camryn Jennings (@CamJennings2029) November 4, 2024

*****

To read our previous coverage of the event, check out these articles below:

• Click HERE to ready our Day 2 (Saturday) recap
• Click HERE to read our Day 1 (Friday) recap
• Click HERE to see our Event Preview published Thursday.

*****

DAY 3 RESULTS (Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024)

18U

 *****

16U

*****

14U