The SEFL Fall Championship was held this past weekend in Clearwater, FL:

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18U: LOUISVILLE LADY SLUGGERS-WATHEN 7, TAMPA MUSTANGS-RENE 2

Louisville Lady Sluggers-Wathen, the defending 16U Alliance co-national champion, cruised to a 7-2 victory over Tampa Mustangs-Rene in the 18U championship game of the SEFL Fall Championship on Sunday in Clearwater, FL.

“The fall is an important time for our team to really understand our strengths and where we need to focus some attention,” Lady Sluggers coach Shannon Wathen said.

“We’ve been successful navigating that and it really culminated here in this tournament. We were solid in all phases of the game and put ourselves in a position to be able (to) defend our title this summer. Our goal is to always be better than we were the year before and winning here this weekend has us headed in that direction.”

2027 1B/3B Haley McGuire’s two-run home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning broke a 1-1 tie and gave Lady Sluggers-Wathen a 3-1 lead.

Kentucky-committed 2026 IF McLaine Hudson added an RBI single in the bottom of the 4th inning to help Lady Sluggers-Wathen make it 4-1.

UNC Greensboro-bound C/UT Avery Bouquin’s RBI double in the top of the 5th inning helped the Mustangs cut the lead to 4-2.

Missouri-committed 2026 OF/C Hadley Borders, Central Florida-bound RHP/UT Tori Payne and 2027 1B/3B Audrey Brown had RBI singles in the bottom of the 5th inning as the Lady Sluggers opened up a 7-2 lead.

Lady Sluggers-Wathen defeated Clearwater Lady Bombers-Mason, 8-0, EC Bullets-Schnute, 5-2, Fury Platinum X-Higdon, 7-2 and Tampa Mustangs-Rene in bracket games.

Tampa Mustangs-Rene beat Florida Bandits Select-Alba, 8-0, EC Bullets National-Jackson/Matt, 3-1, Louisville Lady Sluggers-Huecker, 5-4, and lost to Lady Sluggers-Wathen in bracket games.

Lady Sluggers-Wathen, Tampa Mustangs-Rene, Fury Platinum X-Higdon and Louisville Lady Sluggers-Huecker earned AFCS berths for reaching the semifinals.

Payne (.750 AVG, 6 hits, 1 double, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 1-0, 2,00 ERA, 7 IP, 12 Ks, .154 BAA), Brown (.545 AVG, 6 hits, 3 RBIs), Hudson (.545 AVG, 6 hits, 1 doubles, 1 HR, 8 runs, 5 SBs), Northern Kentucky-bound OF Kenzie Gulley (.455 AVG, 4 runs, 6 SBs), McGuire (.417 AVG, 1 triple, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs), Kentucky-committed 2026 RHP Abby Hammond (2-0, 1.85 ERA, 11.1 IP, 3 ER, 11 Ks, .182 BAA) and Northern Kentucky-committed 2026 LHP Abigail Byrd (6.0 IP, 4 Ks, 0.00 ERA, 1 save) were Lady Sluggers-Wathen’s standout players for the tournament.

Rock Gold-de Leon/Manetta, AL Sparks Elite-Stewart, Tampa Mustangs-Bell, EC Bullets National-Jackson/Matt, Clearwater Bullets 2025/2026 and EC Bullets-Schnute won games in the loser’s bracket to earn AFCS berths.

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16U: LOUISVILLE LADY SLUGGER-HUECKER/NORWOOD 4, ATHLETICS GOLD TAMBORRA-HAMILTON 2

Louisville Lady Sluggers-Huecker/Norwood captured the 16U SEFL Fall Championship with a 4-2 victory over Athletics Gold Tamborra-Hamilton on Sunday in Clearwater, FL.

“Winning this tournament was the ultimate goal this fall,” Lady Sluggers coach Scott Norwood said. “We have a roster of 17 now and only 11 came this weekend because of basketball and injuries. We knew it would be tough to do, but this team is resilient and finds a way. Our pitchers were lights out all weekend and our bats came alive.”

Kentucky-committed 2026 SS Annie Newman’s RBI double in the bottom of the 5th inning broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Lady Sluggers a 3-2 advantage.

Tennessee-committed 2026 LHP/1B Maggie Krause drove in 2027 C/OF Adelle Metz with a sacrifice fly to right-center field that gave the Lady Sluggers a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the 6th inning.

“In the championship game, the key turn of events is when Annie Newman drove in two runs with a double,” Norwood said.

“(North Carolina State-committed 2026 OF/1B) Molly Southall, (Iowa-committed 2026 OF/UT) Molly Hancock, (Kentucky-committed 2026 LF/UT) Brynley Erb and Adelle Metz also had key hits in the game to move runners and get some runs on the board. (2027 RHP/1B) Courtney Norwood started the game. going 4.2 innings with four Ks and (2027 RHP) Lucy George came in to close it out with three Ks.”

The Lady Sluggers defeated Santa Fe Inferno 27/28-Thornton, 11-0, MS Bombers National-Knight, 7-1, Santa Fe Inferno 09-Donalson, 8-2, and AGT-Hamilton in bracket games.

Lady Sluggers-Huecker/Norwood’s four pitchers had a 1.20 ERA for the weekend. Uncommitted 2026 RHP/1B Layla Ogden (.600 AVG, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs) and Newman (.588 AVG, 10 hits, 4 doubles, 5 RBIs) were the leading hitters for the Lady Sluggers for the tournament.

“I told the girls when we got here is we have to earn it this weekend,” Norwood said. “They played extremely hard for each other and found a way to finish. (I’m) extremely proud of this talented group of athletes.”

AGT-Hamilton beat EC Bullets National-Jackson/Randy, 5-4, Fury Platinum X-Hutchins, 7-6, Miami Stingrays-Gator, 6-5, Tampa Mustangs Rene-Pynes, 3-2, and lost to the Lady Sluggers in bracket games.

Lady Sluggers-Huecker/Norwood, AGT-Hamilton, Santa Fe Inferno 09-Donalson and Tampa Mustangs Rene-Pynes earned AFCS berth for reaching the semifinals.

Fury Platinum X-Hutchins, Unity-Luke/BK2, Miami Stingrays-Gator, Fury Platinum X-Pickett, MS Bombers National-Knight and Bombers Gold FL-Banister all won loser’s bracket games to earn AFCS berths.

— Carlos Arias, Line Drive Media (Follow Carlos on Twitter @los_stuff)