Two weeks ago, we Line Drive Media introduced our newest contributor as Ryan Wardinsky covered the Top Gun Invitational won at the 14U level by the Hotshots team his daughter Paige plays on.

Here’s that article (click on the link to read it) on the tourney which ran from June 11-14:

Event Recap: The Top Gun Invitational Through the Eyes of Softball Father & Former Pro Baseball Scout Ryan Wardinsky, Who Saw His Daughter Paige & Her Hotshots Team Win the 14U Title (June 19, 2026)

Today, we have a second event recap by Ryan as his daughter’s team once again made it to the championship game… with a bit of a twist this time.

Also, we gave a quick intro to the former baseball player and scout in that initial article and today, give more on his and Paige’s experiences on the playing fields…

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More on Line Drive Correspondent Ryan Wardinsky… His Impressive Baseball Background & How He’s Now a Full-Time “Softball Dad!”

Ryan Wardinsky is a former professional baseball player and longtime Major League Baseball scout with more than 20 years of experience evaluating amateur and professional talent.

A Montana native, Ryan was drafted out of high school by the Colorado Rockies before playing shortstop at Texas A&M University, where he later earned a master’s degree in Sport Management.

He was subsequently drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies and played professionally through the High-A level.

Ryan then spent nearly two decades with the Miami Marlins organization, serving as an Area Scout and later as the Central U.S. Scouting Supervisor, overseeing scouting operations across 16 states.

During that time, he played an integral role in the evaluation, drafting, and signing of three first-round picks and 14 future Major League players, also earning the organization’s Scout of the Year Award.

Ryan has become heavily involved in softball as his youngest daughter, Paige, is now immersed in the sport.

A member of the nationally recognized Hotshots organization and currently playing for the 14U National Torres/Seneca team, Paige was ranked in the Top 5 of the Line Drive Media 2030 HOT 100 rankings released in March.

Ryan has embraced the role of “softball dad,” spending time with top Division 1 coaches and instructors over the past several years, gaining a firsthand knowledge on the recruiting process, player development, and the rapidly growing landscape of elite softball.

His experiences as both a former professional scout and a softball parent provide perspective through a unique lens.

Today, Ryan resides in The Woodlands, Texas, with his wife, Jodi, and daughters, Emma and Paige.

Through his involvement in elite travel softball and extensive network of college and professional contacts, Ryan provides a unique insight on player evaluation, recruiting, development, and the rapidly evolving softball landscape.

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Hotshots National Torres/Seneca 14U Team Keeps Rolling in Oklahoma

Here’s Ryan’s perspective on how the Hotshots continued its success in Oklahoma at the Top Club National Championship Invitational tourney in Shawnee, Okla. held June 18-21, 2026, in Choctaw, Okla.

Momentum from a championship finish at the Top Gun Invitational in Kansas City carried over to another title run at the Top Club tournament in Shawnee, Okla. that took place two weeks ago.

The Hotshots National Torres/Seneca 14U squad rolled through pool and bracket play to a co-championship with another powerhouse team, Athletics Mercado – Cook/Drew.

The Hotshots were 6-0-1 during the week outscoring their opponents 49-7 and ran its summer record to 16-2-2 overall after the prestigious event.

The formula remains the same for the Hotshots 14U squad: dominant pitching, versatile defense, and an offense that is trending upward. 

After a typical long, hot mid-summer Oklahoma day, the Hotshots and Mercado Athletics were set to meet for the title, but due to scheduling considerations—including Dave Mercado’s outstanding 14U team scheduled for a return trip to California—plus the Hotshots’ 8 am start the following morning, the teams elected to finish the tournament as co-champions.

I didn’t sense any consternation from the players or parents ending the tourney this way, as I think most of us were ready to go eat and get out of the heat! I would have liked to see the Athletics Mercado team in action, as I had not had a chance to see them play, to that point.

The Hotshots were largely untested outside of a come-from-behind tie against Oklahoma Athletics National Fixico 14U on Thursday, where they scored a run in the bottom of the 7^th inning to tie it up before time expired.

On Friday, right-hander Avery Dunlap threw a 7-inning complete game no-hitter against Gametime Thompson 14U, allowing no walks and striking out 16. Dunlap was one hit batter away from a perfect game, as the Hotshots converted what few balls were put in play into outs. 

The Hotshots continued to play solid defense, utilizing their versatility with multiple defensive lineups, and quality pitching, especially from Dunlap.

The bats also started to warm up, as the Hotshots averaged nearly seven runs per game during the Top Club run.

I think this team has even more offensive upside as they head into the latter part of their challenging summer schedule.  

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Spotlights on the Hotshots’ Battery of Dunlap & Vasquez

Avery Dunlap (RHP/2029) 

You don’t need a scouting background to recognize that right-hander Avery Dunlap is having an outstanding summer and has been just simply dominant.

In 64 innings pitched, Avery had only given up 23 hits while striking out 126 (nearly two per inning) and only walking 16 after her strong successful run at Top Club.

After that tie for No. 1 in Oklahoma, her record was 6-0 with six saves and a sub-1.00 ERA and opposing hitters were batting only .106 against her.

Aside from the impressive results, she’s had a hand in nearly all the big games the Hotshots have played, especially late in tourneys. Avery has pitched deep into her starts and also closed out multiple close games, providing clutch performances in the Top Gun and Top Club championship matchups. 

Her swing and miss stuff and ability to get strikeouts when needed clearly set her apart.

The old baseball adage that good pitching beats good hitting certainly has applied this summer for the Hotshots with the 2029 grad on the mound, as her combination of velocity, pitch package, and competitiveness drastically changes the dynamic of any game she is pitching in.  

Savy Vasquez (C/2029)

When I evaluated catchers for the MLB Draft, be it high school or college, it was always a larger discussion than most other positions.

Draft room conversations and debate (and sometimes arguments!) typically centered around these questions:

• Does this player even want to catch?
• Does this player have the intangibles (mental makeup, toughness, intelligence) to catch?
• Is this player durable enough to withstand the physical rigors of catching? 

But maybe most importantly, we would go round and round trying to determine:

• What will catching every day do to this player’s bat? In other words, how much will catching full time impact their ability to produce offensively?

For those who have not seen the Hotshots play this summer, or if what Savy is doing has slid under the radar a little, her outstanding play has stood out to me.

I don’t know exactly how many innings Savy has caught, but it’s a lot.

She has handled the physical demands of the position through long, hot tourneys while continuing to provide a steady presence behind the plate. Furthermore, catching Avery presents its own unique challenges, but she has been up to the task. 

I have been impressed with her receiving and blocking, and she throws well enough to limit the running game. Aside from that, her attitude and ability to work well with everyone on the Hotshots’ pitching staff has not gone unnoticed.  

Most notable, however, is the way she has performed offensively.

As alluded to above, catching is a grind and often detracts from a player’s hitting over the course of the season. To this point, Savy has been one of the most productive and consistent hitters on the team, despite logging all those innings behind the plate.  

Her attitude, toughness, and ability to manage the staff the way she has, while also producing offensively, has been impressive.  

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After the grind of the Top Gun tourney in Kansas City the week before Top Club, the team had a few days off as some of the girls attended camps, some of them headed straight to Oklahoma City, while others returned to Texas for a few days, before returning to start the Top Club on Thursday.  

The championship trophies are great, but what continues to stand out is the resilience.

Seven games in Oklahoma with another championship run on Sunday, then went back to the field before sunrise Monday morning for the Summer Games in Oklahoma which ran from Jun 22-25.

Click HERE to see the Order of Finish at the Summer Games 2026.

No time to be tired as the grind continues!

Next up for the Hotshots 14U team: the Lonestar Top Gun Invitational 16U in Plano, Texas from July 9 to July 12.

— Ryan Wardinsky/Line Drive contributor