The Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series (AFCS) is being held all week in Kokomo, IN (All rankings are Line Drive Hot 50 Club National Rankings):

In the 16U Elite 8:

2026 IF McLaine Hudson had an RBI single and scored on an error on the same play in the bottom of the 5th inning to give Louisville Lady Sluggers-Wathen a 4-3 victory over Midwest Speed National-Wagner in the opening round of the Elite 8.

“It was a great game against a great team!” Hudson said. “We really battled the entire game and (Northern Kentucky-committed 2025 LHP) Abigail Byrd was lights out in the circle! Fortunately, we got our bats going when we needed to and put a lot of pressure on the defense!”

Hudson went 3 for 4 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI in the Lady Sluggers’ 5-3 win over Texas Bombers Gold-Serie in the second round of Elite 8 as the Lady Sluggers reached the Final Four. …

2026 1B/3B/UT Kennedy Bradley went 3 for 4 with a homer, three runs and three RBIs as #20 Texas Glory-Shelton cruised past Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden/Brown, 12-0.

Bradley had two hits, a home run and two RBIs to help Texas Glory-Shelton to a 4-1 victory over Turnin2-Pezz/King in the second round of the Elite 8.

“Today, we went in with a plan to jump on teams early and our team executed that plan very well,” Bradley said. “Tomorrow, I hope all the energy and fight transfer over and we get the job done to finish on Sunday!” …

2027 3B/1B Makenna Cline and North Texas-committed 2025 MIF Eva Daniels Texas Bombers Gold-Serie defeated Texas Unity-Smith, 8-1, in the opening round of the Elite 8. …

2026 RHP Kayla Blumenschein pitched a one-hitter and struck out five in seven innings as Turnin2-Pezz/King shut out Texas Glory 2025, 5-0,in the opening round of the Elite 8. …

Turnin2-Pezz/King beat Midwest Speed National-Wagner, 7-1, in a loser’s bracket game to reach the Bracket A final.

“Just super proud of these kids,” Turnin2 coach Ron Pezzoni said. “They are competing their butts off!! Happy for them and Turnin2.” …

Texas Bombers Gold-Serie took care of Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden/Brown, 3-1, in a loser’s bracket game to reach the Bracket B final. …

In the 18U Elite 8:

Mississippi State-committed 2025 RHP Brinkley Moreton pitched a six-hit shutout with five strikeouts to lead #24 Iowa Premier National-Dickel to a 1-0 upset over #1 OC Batbusters-Stith, the two-time defending Alliance national champion, in the opening round of the Elite 8.

“Obviously, (it was) a huge win,” Iowa Premier coach Greg Dickel said. “Redemption for us a little bit. They knocked us out in the national semifinal last year … so. Brinkley Moreton has been the best pitcher in this tournament. She pitched every game (and) has yielded only seven runs in six games and posted three shutouts — one against Stith (and) one against Fury Platinum X-Higdon.” …

Oklahoma-bound SS Kadey McKay homered in the top of the 5th inning and North Texas-committed 2025 C/3B Jaley James had an RBI single in the top of the 7th inning and Tulsa-committed 2025 RHP Makenzie Freeman, the Gatorade Arkansas State Player of the Year, threw a nine-hit shutout with three strikeouts in seven innings as #26 Epic National-Smith knocked off #6 Texas Bombers Gold-Smith, 2-0, in the opening round of the Elite 8. …

McNeese State-bound MIF Kassidy Chance went 3 for 4 with a triple, two runs and three RBIs and Arkansas-bound SS/3B Ella McDowell went 3 for 3 with a double, a run and two RBIs as #16 Impact Gold-Jackson pulled away for an 11-4 win over #7 Aces Fastpitch Club, which reached the Alliance national championship series last summer, in the opening round of the Elite 8.

“I thought we played a great game today and really fought back as a team after being down early in the game,” McDowell said. “Our entire lineup contributed with key bunts and solid line drives and three of our pitchers stepped up against a tough Aces’ lineup. I’m super proud of us and hope we can keep playing as a team!!”

Arkansas-committed 2025 RHP Saylor Timmerman allowed one hit and struck out seven in five innings as Impact Gold-Jackson blanked Epic National-Smith, 10-0, in the second round of the Elite 8. …

#10 Corona Angels-Tyson won both of its games in the Elite 8, beating #9 Texas Glory, 3-2, and UCLA-bound MIF Aleena Garcia hit a grand slam in a 6-2 win over #24 Iowa Premier National-Dickel.

“Peaking at the right time,” Corona Angels coach Marty Tyson said. …

OC Batbusters-Stith beat Texas Glory, 5-0, and Oklahoma-committed 2025 C Corri Hicks hit a three-run homer in the top of the 7th inning as the Batbusters beat Epic National-Smith, 9-5, in loser’s bracket games to reach the Bracket A final. …

Texas Bombers Gold-Smith defeated Aces Fastpitch Club, 4-1, and Iowa Premier National-Dickel, 10-9, in ITB in loser’s bracket games to reach the Bracket B final. …

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