AFCS is being held July 20-27 in Kokomo, IN (All rankings are Line Drive Hot 50 Club Nationals Rankings):

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18U Tier 1 Elite 8:

#5 Texas Bombers Gold-Smith 5, #3 Impact Gold-Jackson 0: Florida-committed 2026 IF Brooklyn Gidley, #11 in the 2026 Line Drive Hot 100, went 3 or 4 with a home run and Kentucky-bound RHP Hailey Nutter tossed a three-hitter with six strikeouts for Impact Gold as the Bombers took down Impact Gold in a battle of Texas powerhouses.

#5 Texas Bombers Gold-Smith 2, #2 OC Batbusters-Stit 1: Texas-committed 2026 IF Anabela Abdullah, #2 in the 2026 Line Drive Hot 100, delivered a two-run single to helped the Bombers pull off the walk-off win over the Batbusters in the bottom of the 8th inning.

Florida-committed 2026 P Caroline Stanton, #5 in the 2026 Line Drive Hot 100, went the distance for the Bombers, allowing three hits and zero earned runs while striking out six to record the win for the Bombers, the defending 18U Alliance national champion.

“(I’m) just extremely excited at how hard we played against such a quality opponent like Batbusters-Stith,” Bombers coach Scott Smith said. “The game was hard fought on both sides and we were very fortunate to make the last play of the game!”

#6 Aces Fastpitch Club 7, #17 Texas Glory 1: The Aces knocked off #23 Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden, 7-0, and Texas Glory to reach the Final Four.

Oklahoma-bound P Allyssa Parker, #4 in the 2025 Line Drive Hot 100, only allowed three hits and one run in five innings to beat Texas Glory.

“The girls are locked in and focused on their process each pitch,” Aces coach Ryan Taylor said.

#9 Corona Angels-Tyson 10, #23 Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden 6: The Angels scored five runs in the top of the 9th inning and held on to beat the Athletics in a loser’s bracket game.

Saint Mary’s-committed 2026 1B/3B Ariana Magdaleno, Tennessee-committed 2026 2B/OF Amani McField and Cornell-committed 2026 3B/2B Sofia Hernandez, #19 in the 2026 Line Drive Hot 100, had RBI singles and Iowa State-bound MIF/3B Kylee Espinoza scored on a passed ball to give the Angels a 10-5 advantage in the top of the 9th inning.

#2 OC Batbusters-Stith 7, #9 Corona Angels-Tyson 0: In a matchup between So Cal powerhouses, the Batbusters, which won the 18U Alliance national championship in 2022 and 2023, used a 10-hit attack to beat the Angels in a loser’s bracket game to reach the Final Four.

“Well, we have a lot of work to do in order to reach our goals, but we are happy to get to this point in the tournament,” Batbusters coach Mike Stith said. “(2027 RHP) Abby Ford pitched the shutout and outstanding defensive work by (Arkansas-bound MIF) Kyler Del Duca and the Batbusters’ defense. Offensively, (2027 3B/SS) Maya Matthies, (BYU-committed 2026 C) Tessa Cowsill, (Oklahoma-bound CF) Kai Minor and Del Duca contributed with RBIs.”

#45 Tampa Mustangs-Rene 2, #17 Texas Glory 0: Boston College-bound P Sophia Bertorelli pitched a three-hit shutout with one strikeout to lead the Mustangs to a loser’s bracket victory and into the Final Four.

Florida Atlantic-committed 2026 RF Kamryn Hackett went 1 for 3 with two RBIs for the Mustangs.

“This team is never out and these young ladies don’t want the ride to end just yet,” Mustangs coach Rene Ciccarello said. “They have had to bounce back three days now.  Elite 8 and Final 4 bracket comebacks were fun to be a small part of because ultimately it’s the players in the driver seat now.” 

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16U Tier 1 Elite 8:

#34 Warrior Academy-McDonald 2, #5 Texas Glory 1: 2027 RHP Lila McLeod allowed four hits, one run and struck out three in 7.0 innings to get the win and 2028 SS Arielle Henriquez homered for Warrior Academy.

#34 Warrior Academy-McDonald 8, Team NC-Bowman 2: 2028 SS Gia Ryan went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs and Lila McLeod got another complete game win to lead Warrior Academy into the Final Four.

“We’re just a group of blue-collar grinders, who love each other and love to compete,” Warrior Academy coach Ray McDonald said. “Making the Final Four out of the best 16U teams in the country is a testament to our heart, hustle and the culture we create. This team shows up every day ready to work — they’ve earned this.”

#25 Impact Gold-Jazz 10, Ohio Outlaws National-Wolff/Leggins 1: 2027 RHP Emma Escamilla allowed four hits, one run and struck out two in 4.0 innings, UCLA-committed 2026 OF Syndey Hatch (2 or 3, 1 2B, 2 runs, 1 RBI), 2027 OF/1B Kierstyn Lambeth (2 or 3, 1 2B, 1 run, 1 RBI), #16 in the 2027 Line Drive Hot 100, North Carolina-committed 2026 2B/OF Madalyn Davis (2 for 2, 1 3B, 2 runs, 1 RBI) and 2027 MIF/3B/UT Mia Martinez (1 or 3, 1 run, 2 RBIs) led the Impact Gold.

#25 Impact Gold-Jazz 2, Fury Platinum X-Hutchins 1: 2027 RHP Emma Escamilla got the complete game win, 2029 IF/UT Capri Mark (2 for 3, 1 run), #2 in the 2029 Line Drive Hot 100, 2027 1B/OF Kassidy Martinez (2 for 3) and 2027 MIF/3B/UT Mia Martinez (2 or 3) held the Impact Gold reach the Final Four.

Oklahoma Athletics National 26/27-Madden/Brown 12, Fury Platinum X-Hutchins 2: 2027 SS/3B Londyn Bond went 2 for 2 with a double, a homer, two runs and three RBIs as the Athletics beat the Fury in a loser’s bracket game to advance to the Final Four.

Team NC-Bowman 3, Louisville Lady Sluggers-Huecker/Norwood 9: 2027 RHP Kaylee Hodges, #7 in the 2027 Line Drive Hot 100, pitched a two-hit shutout with three strikeouts and 2027 LF Caycee Wilson, #58 in the 2027 Line Drive Hot 100, homered as Team NC beat the Lady Sluggers in a loser’s bracket game to reach the Final Four.

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

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ALLIANCE FASTPITCH CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (AFCS)

AT KOKOMA, IN, JULY 25

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18U TIER 1 ELITE 8

BRACKET A

WINNER’S BRACKET

FIRST ROUND

• OC Batbusters-Stith 12, Tampa Mustangs-Rene 1
• Texas Bombers Gold-Smith 5, Impact Gold-Jackson 0

SECOND ROUND

• Texas Bombers Gold-Smith 2, OC Batbusters-Stith 1

LOSER’S BRACKET

FIRST ROUND

• Tampa Mustangs-Rene 4, Impact Gold-Jackson 1

SECOND ROUND

• Tampa Mustangs-Rene 2, Texas Glory 0

BRACKET B

WINNER’S BRACKET

FIRST ROUND

• Texas Glory 4, Corona Angels-Tyson 1
• Aces Fastpitch Club 7, Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden 0

SECOND ROUND

• Aces Fastpitch Club 7, Texas Glory 1

LOSER’S BRACKET

FIRST ROUND

• Corona Angels-Tyson 10, Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden 6

SECOND ROUND

• OC Batbusters-Stith 7, Corona Angels-Tyson 0

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16U TIER 1 ELITE 8

BRACKET A

WINNER’S BRACKET

FIRST ROUND

• Team NC-Bowman 5, Oklahoma Athletics National 26/27-Madden/Brown 0
• Warrior Academy-McDonald 2, Texas Glory 1

SECOND ROUND

• Warrior Academy-McDonald 8, Team NC-Bowman 2

LOSER’S BRACKET

FIRST ROUND

• Oklahoma Athletics National 26/27-Madden/Brown 6, Texas Glory 0

SECOND ROUND

• Oklahoma Athletics National 26/27-Madden/Brown 12, Fury Platinum X-Hutchins 2

BRACKET B

WINNER’S BRACKET

FIRST ROUND

• Fury Platinum X-Hutchins 2, Louisville Lady Sluggers-Huecker/Norwood 1
• Impact Gold-Jazz 10, Ohio Outlaws National-Wolff/Leggins 1

SECOND ROUND

• Impact Gold-Jazz 2, Fury Platinum X-Hutchins 1

LOSER’S BRACKET

FIRST ROUND

• Louisville Lady Sluggers-Huecker/Norwood 7, Ohio Outlaws National-Wolff/Leggins 0

SECOND ROUND

• Team NC-Bowman 3, Louisville Lady Sluggers-Huecker/Norwood 0