*** BEFORE GETTING INTO PGF COVERAGE FROM THURSDAY, FIRST THIS IMPORTANT& SERIOUS NOTE:

Shocking news out of PGF Nationals we’ve learned today as five members of the Dirtdogs – Vazquez 18U travel team were in a bad car accident on Tuesday. All will be fine, but it’s scary to think how much worse the crash could have been.

The players were coming back from getting ice cream as a team and were in a grey bronco when they were t-boned by a black pickup truck that was going 50 mph

Four of the players received concussions but the word injured was Karmen Vazquez, the LSU-bound slugger who was sitting in the passenger seat.

She suffered cuts and abrasions, with sore ribs on her right side and pain in her back, shoulder and elbow. Karmen has some swell, according to her father Marco Vazquez, but her personal doctor said she’d be fine after resting for two weeks or so.

Her parents drove her home “but it was the greatest ride for her because of the situation she was in,” her father said.

Fortunately, all five players will be OK, but it’s an especially disappointing week for Karmen as she was selected as a PGF All-American and will be forced to miss the PGF All-American Game on Saturday.

“She will be there Saturday to support her team,” her father told Line Drive Media’s Brentt Eads tonight “She was in tears when she was told ‘no game,’ but it’s for the best.”

Marco and the family are especially appreciation towards Coach Ken Briggs of the BSC – Briggs organization.

“I want to thank Ken as a father, not a travel ball coach,” Marco continued. “We live by Fresno, but he showed the love quickly with his help.”

The athlete’s father explained that Coach Ken, whose daughter played at LSU and has maintained a good relationship with the SEC school “made some calls and one of the best in So Cal took care of her.”

“All the girls (the four others who were injured) still came to our last two games and went in the dugout even after being at the hospital until 1 am.”

On behalf of our staff at Line Drive Media and all those in the softball world, we extend best wishes and our prayers to Karmen and her teammates and are so, so glad the accident wasn’t worse.

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Media

*****

With a sigh of relief the accident wasn’t worse, we turn our attention back to PGF Nationals, which this week features the older age divisions of 18U and 16U… 14U, 12U and 10U will battle for the titles next week.

The “Premier” age division, meaning the best of the best, is playing at Huntington Beach Sports Complex—primarily the 18U’s—while the 16U’s are mostly competing at the Fountain Valley Sports Complex.

Line Drive Media’s Brentt Eads is on site and is reporting this week and next from the event.

If you have interesting notes, news, top performances, etc., email him at Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com.

Here are previous reports we’ve published… we’ll continue to link previous articles as well:

• PGF Nationals (July 21, 2026)
• PGF Nationals (July 22, 2026)

*****

UPSETS & GREAT GAMES HIGHTLIGHT THURSDAY ACTION

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

18U – Winner’s Bracket Games

* Arizona Rising – Appel vs. Unity Johnson OR Illinois Chill – Quinn
(10:15, Huntington Beach Field 3)

* Georgia Impact – Taylor vs. Arizona Storm – Mathis
(10:15, Huntington Beach Field 4)

16U – Winner’s Bracket Games

* Arizona Storm – Captain vs. Beverly Bandits – Moran/Lewis
(8 am, Fountain Valley Field 1)

* Georgia Impact – Crenshaw/Burrell vs. BSC Bengals – Briggs
(8 am, Fountain Valley Field 4)

*****

WINNER’S BRACKET THURSDAY SCORES

18U – Winner’s Bracket Games

Second Games of the Day

* Arizona Rising 11, LTG Henderson/Carda 0

* Arizona Storm – Mathis 6, Birmingham Thunderbolts 2

* Georgia Impact 3, Texas Blaze – Roberston 2

* Illinois Chill/Unity – Johnson/VB

First Games of the Day

*****

* Arizona Rising – Appel 13, Beverly Bandits – Trackwell/Meredith 6

* LTG Henderson/Carda 4, Hotshots – National – Nelson 0.

* Illinois Chill – Quinn 1, Explosion – Carrillo 0.

* Unity – Johnson/VB 8, Top Gun National 3

* Texas Blaze United vs. Tennessee Mojo – Ramsey

* Georgia Impact Premier – Taylor 5, Lady Magic – Munoz 1

* Birmingham Thunderbolts 8, Impact – Caymol 0

* Arizona Storm – Mathis 9, Athletics Gold – Tamborra 1

******

16U – Winner’s Bracket Games

* Georgia Impact– Crenshaw/Burrell 10, Top Gun National 4

* BSC Bengals – Briggs 3, Firecrackers – Pantages 1

* Arizona Storm – Captain 8, Unity – Amsler/Johnson 0

* Beverly Bandits – Moran/Lewis 2, Birmingham Thunderbolts 0.

*****

LINE DRIVE MEDIA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE DAY

OK, I’m a jinx.

I raved about the excellent Hotshots – Nelson team which won the first two bracket games by scores of 9-0 and 18-1 and look ready to make an undefeated run to the 18U Premier championship game.

But there was just one hurdle that got in their way today and that was a 6-foot-2 Class of 2026 pitcher named Kwinci Brown (first name pronounced “Quincy”) who pitched a complete game 4-0 shutout over the Hotshots offense that was unstoppable in its two previous games.

I still believe the powerful Hotshots team can still come from the loser’s bracket and win it all, they’re that good.

But today, it was all about a pitcher that willed her team to the win.

In the Game No. 1 win today, she gave up just three hits and a walk while striking out three (note: LTG did lose Game 2 on Thursday 11-0 to Arizona Rising – Appel to be bumped down to the loser’s bracket).

Here’s the final out with Kwinci being justifiably pumped!

Kwinci is headed to Kentucky and, boy, do the Wildcats have some tremendous pitchers coming in.

This year, the SEC school will have Kwinci in the fold and next year, in the Class of 2027, two nationally prominent pitchers will be stepping onto campus: Maddie Such with the Illinois Chill (more on her in a second) and Courtney Norwood, who competes for the Louisville Lady Sluggers.

Courtney’s name might be familiar to Line Drive Media readers for her remarkable high school season this year in which she led South Warren (Bowling Green, Ky.) High to a 45-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in the Line Drive Media SUPER 70 high school team rankings.

We caught up with Kwinci after her win on Thursday to learn more about her… here’s our interview with her:

*****

AUBURN, AUBURN EVERYWHERE!

A cool moment happened in the Georgia Impact vs. Texas Blaze game.

The universe aligned so that Impact pitcher Hannah DeMarcus, a 2027 grad committed to Auburn, pitched to her 2026 batterymate Taylor Surratt, who has signed with Auburn.

At one point in the game, Evie Willemssen, a 2027 first baseman who is… wait for it… committed to Auburn.

But wait, there’s more.

In left field was Cece Springfield, a 2026 signee with—you guessed it—Auburn.

But the best part may be that Auburn co-head coach Kate Malveaux was behind the backstop with several other coaches watching the game.

Coach Kate is the wife to Chris Malveaux and both serve as co-head coaches for the Tigers.

*****

MORE COLLEGE COACH COUNTS

Bazillions of college coach (OK, we’ll go with a hundred or two) of college coaches are in Orange County this week, specifically at Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley) to watch their committed players and to try to find new recruits.

We weren’t looking for college coaches as much today with all the great games going on but we did see:

• Oklahoma
• Houston
• Auburn

Wednesday’s count included: Oregon, LSU, North Carolina State, Alabama, BYU, Ole Miss, Louisiana-Monroe, St. Mary’s, Utah State and Villanova.

Tuesday’s count included: Florida, Florida State, Syracuse, Northwestern, South Carolina, Pitt, Michigan State, Louisville, Tennessee and Minnesota.

Who are we missing?

Email me and I’ll add them to the list: Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com

*****

ILLINOIS CHILL HAVING GREAT WEEK… WITH JUST 11 PLAYERS

The Illinois Chill 18U head man, Gerry Quinn, is an excellent coach and this summer at Boulder IDT, he got his Chill team to finish 3^rd.

His week here at PGF Nationals is equally impressive when you consider that he only has 11 players to put on the field!

That’s because three players have come down with injuries so the roster is very limited, but through Thursday afternoon play in the 18U Premier division, the team was undefeated in the toughest bracket of all—18U Premier.

One key to the team’s success, according to Coach Gerry, has been his two outstanding pitchers: Lydia Hammond, a 2026 pitcher signed with Loyola of Chicago, and Maddie Such, the 2027 commit to Kentucky.

When I talked to Kwinci after their win in Game 1, she said that she and Maddie are very tight and supportive of each other.

As Kwinci has a great No. 1 game of the day, so too did Maddie.

She and Lydia tag-teamed to help the Chill top Explosion – Carillo 1-0.

Here’s the final out of the game as well as our interview with Maddie after the exciting pitching duel with Explosion…

*****

RISING STAR: CIERRA WALKER POISED TO LEAD LADY DUKES – BURDEN TO 16U PLATINUM CHAMPIONSHIP

Cierra Walker is a player to watch at the 2028 level, and you can expect her to be quite busy on the phone on Sept. 1 when college coaches can reach out to prospective athletes.

Today, she helped her Lady Dukes – Bryant team advance to just one step away from the 16U Platinum championship—her team plays at 8 am Friday morning and, with a win, the Lady Dukes will play in the championship game at 5 pm Thursday.

In the Thursday morning victory, 5-3 over Mafia Athletics 2027, Cierra went 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs.

The athlete lives in Florida. but she often comes to California to work out with Coach Tony Garcia at EYG Sports and his daughter, Alyssa, a former UCLA catcher who is on Team Mexico currently.

“I work with her maybe four times a month on hitting and catching,” Tony says. “She’s doing phenomenal right and is really on fire this week at PGF Nationals!”

At PGF Nationals so far this week, Cierra’s batted .480 batting with 11 RBIs.

Although the 2028 standout is primarily a catcher, she has the skills to play first base as well. The book on this fast-rising talent is she has an advanced softball IQ, elite game management, and leadership behind the plate and in the dugout.

Cierra has impressed those who’s watcher her play as a strong defender with excellent receiving, framing and blocking skills and accurate throw-downs. Offensively, she’s an impact hitter, a vocal competitor, and a coachable teammate.

The catcher attends Montverde Academy in Orlando, Fla. and is strong academically as well with a 4.2 GPA.

“Softball has had its ups and downs, but it’s also given me friendships and memories I’ll keep for life,” Cierra says.

Here’s the standout 2028 behind the plate in Thursday action…

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Media