Top Gun Invitational was held June 12-15 in Kansas City, MO (All rankings are Line Drive Hot 50 National Club Rankings):

*****

18U: EPIC NATIONAL-SMITH 4, OKLAHOMA ATHLETICS-MADDEN 1

#38 Epic National-Smith #23 knocked off Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden, 4-1, in the 18U Maverick championship game on Sunday at Mid-America Sports Complex.

Missouri-bound C/UT Jaley James (.500 AVG, 10 hits), Wichita State-committed 2026 OF/UT Jess Shuman (.423 AVG, 11 hits, 9 RBIs), North Texas-bound OF Kaycee Slovak (10 hits, 8 RBIs) and Tulsa-committed 2026 OF Taylan Starr (9 hits and 7 RBIs on championship Sunday) were the offensive leaders for Epic National-Smith and pitchers Tulsa-bound RHP Makenzie Freeman, North Texas-committed 2026 RHP Hayden Mowrey and Tulsa-committed 026 RHP Mikena Wilson each won three games, only allowing 13 earned runs while striking out a combined 61 batters with a 1.379 ERA and a .209 BAA.

“Top Gun Invitational is one of the top tournaments in the country,” Epic coach Scotty Smith said. “We are just excited that we get to compete and to continue the growth of these young ladies by competing in this event! I am very proud of this team. They play with heart and passion, and it means so much to them. Our girls have grit and it showed up today! I am very proud of each of these young ladies!”

Epic National-Smith defeated Top Gun National-Groves, 5-3, Epic National-Burnett, 5-0, Rock Gold-De Leon, 6-5, Nebraska Gold National-Singleton, 4-1, Hotshots National-Galloway, 11-5, and Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden, 4-1, in bracket games.

Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden defeated Team NC-Baylog, 6-1, D1Vision Softball, 2-0, #16 Top Gun National, 7-4, Colorado Stars-deThouars, 3-1, and lost to Epic National-Smith, 4-1, in bracket games.

*****

16U: BEVERLY BANDITS PREMIER-MEREDITH/TRACKWELL 0, UNITY-TJ 0

#8 Beverly Bandits Premier-Meredith/Trackwell and Unity-TJ decided not to play the 16U Maverick championship game and both teams finished as co-champions on Sunday at Mid-America Sports Complex.

North Carolina State-committed 2026 SS/UT Reese Rourke (.417 AVG, .562 OBP) and Louisville-committed 2026 C/3B/1B Grace King (.346 AVG, 2 HRs) led the Bandits’ offense. All three pitchers threw phenomenal, fighting the heat. North Carolina State-committed 2026 RHP/1B Thea Staten (22.2 IP), uncommitted 2026 RHP/OF Taylor Higham (21 IP) and 2027 RHP/OF Kyleigh Sadler (14.1 IP) had a combined ERA of 2.172.

“We had three kids fighting for their respected high school state championship, which they won,” bandits coach David Trackwell said. “We had two guest players — Lilli Ringer and Katie Buckingham — they made amazing diving- and fence-colliding catches in major scenarios, which helped us capture some wins.

“Overall, the girls came together and played for each other — these kids are special and have been for quite some time. They show (the) true meaning of playing for one another and zero selfishness on or off the field!”

2027 1B/OF/C Lilly Sifrit (.483 AVG, 5 doubles, 2 HRs, 11 runs, 5 SBs, 52 innings caught, 0 PBs, 2 caught stealing, one pickoff), 2027 OF MacKenzie Cummings (.444 AVG, .516 OBP, 2 doubles, 7 RBIs) and 2-28 3B/C Ashyr Lawson (.406 AVG, 3 doubles, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs) were the offensive leaders for Unity-TJ..

In bracket play, pitching staff of 2027 RHP Taelyn Reeder, 2027 RHP McKenzie Wieland, 2026 RHP/3B  Makena McIntyre and 2027 LHP Harper Adams combined for 31 IP with an ERA of 0.677, only giving up 3 ER.

“We started off the summer at PGF Show me the Money in Newberry last weekend, expecting to just compete,” Unity coach Troy Sifrit said. “We made a deep run there, finishing tied for 3rd. I personally wasn’t expecting to run deep, being a first-year 16U team. Now, after this weekend taking co-champs with Bandits-Trackwell at Top Gun Invitational, I realized with our pitching staff, (we’re) five elite pitchers deep. We can make deep runs with our heavy hitting lineup.

“I made a deal with the girls if we win a tourney, we have to get the new Unity uniforms. I guess I will be out a couple (of) grand, but (it’s) well worth it. Our team is from seven different states and one from Canada so we don’t get to see each other much in the offseason. When we go to tourneys together, we stay in houses together so we are a big family and the girls don’t play as individuals. Whatever it takes to help the team, every girl on our team has bought into that mentality. We have a lot to improve on, but I’m very proud of these girls for believing in me and my coaches and helping guide them on this crazy softball journey. I love these kids and their families.”

Beverly Bandits Premier-Meredith/Trackwell defeated #33 Tampa Mustangs-Fowler, 7-0, Texas Glory 2026-Norwood, 4-2, Texas Blaze United-Robertson, 8-3, Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden/Davis, 1-0, D1Vision Softball, 8-1, and DNP’d Unity-TJ in bracket games.

Unity-TJ defeated #43 Nebraska Gold-Boyer, 2-0, Ohio Hawks National-Pentz, 5-1, BC Peppers-Wallace, 12-0, #7 Unity-Amsler/Johnson, 10-1, #26 Atlanta Vipers Gold 09-Crenshaw, 3-2, and DNP’d Beverly Bandits Premier-Meredith/Trackwell in bracket games.

*****

14U: ATLANTA VIPERS GOLD-LYNCH 2, BEVERLY BANDITS PREMIER-HARDIN/CHOW 0

#15 Atlanta Vipers Gold-Lynch pulled off a 2-0 victory over #3 Beverly Bandits Premier-Hardin/Chow in the 14U final on Sunday at Legacy Park.

Atlanta Vipers-Lynch’s pitching staff was led by 2028 P/OF Dakota McDaniel (22.2 IP), 2028 P Hadley O’Kelley (17.2 IP), 2028 P Faith Doolen (14 IP) and 2028 P Kira Driggers (5.2 IP), who combined to allow 42 total hits and 17 runs with a 1.03 ERA.

McDaniel (.522 AVG), 2028 OF Chloe Hamlin (.472 AVG), 2028 C Peyton Currie (.438 AVG) and 2029 MIF Savanna Sowell (.433 AVG) were the Atlanta Vipers-Lynch offensive leaders.

“This group is special like I told you before,” Atlanta Vipers coach Josh Lynch said. “Having 13 girls all from the state of GA and being (able) to create a bond and culture at practice together is something that is very special to me. After a tough ending at (PGF) SMTM in Gainesville last weekend, the message all week was: ‘It would take our entire village of 13 girls to make it through the weekend.’ Each and every one of them had some sort of role in this championship/undefeated run. Hats off to our pitchers and our catchers, even the infield and outfield that backed them up all weekend. Huge thanks to my coaching staff — Tyson Currie, Ryan Ledden and pitching coach Mel Collins.”

Atlanta Vipers-Lynch defeated Lady Dukes National-Burden, 10-0, Arizona Rising-Lopez, 3-1, #10 Beverly Bandits Premier-Glass, 10-0, Select Fastpitch-Reliford, 3-1, Tulsa Shootout National, 7-2, and Beverly Bandits-Hardin/Chow, 2-0, in bracket games.

Beverly Bandits-Hardin/Chow defeated Top Gun Regional-Hough, 12-0, Colorado Stars-Mikelson, 10-0, BSC Bengals-R. Briggs, 1-0, #14 Hustle Nation-Ramon, 6-4, #47 ROI Midwest-Kessler, 4-3, and lost to Atlanta Vipers-Lynch, 2-0, in bracket games.

*****

12U: OKLAHOMA ATHLETICS NATIONAL-MADDEN/DAVIS 2, INDIANA MAGIC GOLD FUTURES-ROGERS 0

Oklahoma Athletics-Madden/Davis pulled out a 2-0 victory over Indiana Magic Gold Futures-Rogers in the 12U final on Sunday at Baker University.

2030 Annie Dupree and 2030 Phoebe Hill combined to record the shutout in the championship game.

“Offensively, we had big bats all weekend long,” Oklahoma Athletics coach Brian Madden said. “Some of our top hitters included (2030) Annie Dupree, (2030) Ashtyn Harmon, (2030) Ava Ramirez and (2030) Madi Hauck. In the final game, Annie, Ashtyn and Madi combined for four of our five hits with the fifth hit coming from (2030) Blakely Case.

“Defensively, the team was locked in, playing error-free softball in the championship game. The clean defense and strong team chemistry helped seal the win.

“(It was an) incredible job by the entire team! Every player contributed to this hard-earned championship — a true all-around effort!”

Oklahoma Athletics-Madden/Davis defeated St. Louis Chaos 2012, 9-4, Impact Caymol National-Allen, 10-9, Finesse Regional-Wright, 10-8, Select Fastpitch-Adams, 5-4, and Indiana Magic Gold Futures-Rogers, 2-0, in bracket games.

Indiana Magic Gold Futures-Rogers defeated Iowa Premier Gold, 9-1, Synergy Softball Gold-Clurman, 8-0, Epic National-Leyva, 2-0, and lost to Oklahoma Athletics-Madden/Davis, 2-0, in bracket games.

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