The weekend of Friday, Nov. 1 through Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, saw the 9^th Annual PGF Ultimate Challenge take place in Salinas, Calif.

Line Drive’s Brentt and Shannon Eads were there to watch the action and – working with the event producers and head coaches for the club teams – have compiled this accomplished list of those whose play on the field earned them a spot on the 2024 PGF Ultimate Challenge All-Tournament Team!

 Note: players are listed by last name within each age division…

*** Click HERE to read our PGF Ultimate Challenge recaps of the three (18U, 16U and 14U) age divisions! ***

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Tournament MVP (All Age Divisions)

P Katia Nesper (Extreme 16U-Rios)
Katia got it done for the 16U champions with her arm and her bat. She pitched 14 innings in total over the weekend, had 30 strikeouts and didn’t give up an earned run, but best of all: she pitched a no-hitter in the title game. Offensively, Katia hit .310 for her team to help her own cause.

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All-Tournament (18U)

P Ava Avila (Grapettes 18U – Merrida)
Ava was stellar in the circle, pitching nine innings and giving up just two earned runs for a 1.55 ERA and 10 K’s while walking just one opposing hitter.

C Ashlyn Chatfield (Firecrackers 18U – Wallace)
Ashlyn shined at and behind the plate, hitting .385 (5-for-13) and three of her outs were caught at the fence. She had two RBIs for the 18U runners-up and threw out a UCLA-bound opponent who tested her arm at second.

2B Brynn Gentry (Firecrackers 18U – Wallace)
Brynn batted .375 with a .444 on-base percentage, had two steals and four runs scored. “Every out was a hard out,” said Coach Mike Wallace. She was also perfect with the glove.

IF Laine Macosky (Grapettes 18U – Merrida)
Laine, who recently committed to Northwestern, went 6-for-14 at the plate (.429 batting average) and had a home run, a double and four RBIs. Defensively, she played errorless defense while splitting time between shortstop and second base.

P Maddie Milhorn (NW Bullets 18U – Campos)
The Oregon-bound pitcher was the winning pitcher in the 18U championship, a thrilling 3-2 win (click HERE to see an interview done with her at the event) which she and her team dedicated to Coach Warren Hall, who passed away the week before the event.

P Kaitlyn Pallozzi (Firecrackers 18U – Wallace)
Kaitlyn, or “KP,” who is headed to the Univ. of Alabama, went 4-1 with 31 innings pitched and didn’t give up an earned run until the 6^th inning of the finale to give her eye-opening totals of a 0.45 ERA, 50 K’s and a .138 opponent batting average.

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All-Tournament (16U)

OF Caelyn Campos (Lady Magic 16U – Munoz)
A lefty triple threat considered one of the top prospects in the Class of 2028, Caelyn batted .500 with a home run and five runs scored for Head Coach Ernie Munoz’s team. She also went 2-for-2 in stolen bases.

1B Ava Chapman (Extreme 16U-Rios)
Ava was on fire offensively, hitting .375 with nine RBIs including a huge grand slam in bracket play when her team was trailing 3-1 to take the lead and eventually win the 16U age division.

1B/OF Taylor Jennings (Lady Magic 16U – Munoz)
The lefty power hitter hit for a high average as well at the PGF Ultimate Challenge as she batted .444 and had three doubles after helping the Magic go 8-0 the weekend before at the PGF Shootout.

MIF Susanna Khalatyan (Sorcerer 16U Gold – T/K)
Susanna was a big reason her Sorcerer team finished 3^rd as she batted .400 and led the team with six RBIs and six runs as well as a 1.071 OPS and .600 slugging percentage. Half of her hits were extra base hits.

C/3B Maya Martinez (California Storm 16U – Guzman/Machuca)
The backstop hit .333 for the weekend with a .400 on-base percentage and had zero errors behind the plate in four games caught.

C Sienna Rios (Extreme 16U – Rios)
Sienna went 3-for-4 in throwing out would-be base stealers and got it done with the bat, hitting .360 with several timely hits.

P/UT Alanys Robertson (Sorcerer 16U Gold – T/K)
A two-way standout, Alanys went 3-0 in pitching starts with a save and in 18.1 innings pitched had 19 K’s versus just three walks and limited opposing hitters to a .203 batting average. Offensively, she batted .471 with eight hits, two being doubles, and three RBIs.

OF/2B Alicya Robertson (Sorcerer 16U Gold – T/K)
Alicya went 7-for-14 (.500) with a .533 on-base percentage and drove in four runs to help her team take 3^rd in the 16U division.

SS Ginna Willes (Extreme 16U-Rios)
Gianna played defensively what Coach Marcos Rios called a “solid shortstop” and was the cleanup hitter for the 16U champs and batted .360.

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All-Tournament (14U)

1B Aria Acosta (Choppers 14U – Ibarra/Barbara)
Coach Robert Ibarra calls Aria “a team leader with a high softball IQ.” At the PGF Ultimate Challenge she went 5-for-10 (.500) with a .600 on-base percentage and drove in four runs.

P/UT Maddie Benzler (LTG 14U – Henderson/Buck)
Maddie had a great weekend both in hitting and pitching. At the plate, she batted .429 with a home run and six RBIs while she tossed 22 innings in the circle with a 1.59 ERA, 16 strikeouts and a .195 batting average against.

P Rylie Bumgarner (Lady Magic 14U – Munoz/Asia)
The Lady Magic team coached by Larry Asia won the 14U age division at the PGF Ultimate Challenge thanks in large part to the pitching of Rylie, who pitched 15.2 innings with 15 strikeouts versus four walks and finished with a strong 0.89 ERA.

CF Ku’ulei Chouteau (Grapettes 14U – Cook)
Ku’ulei had a good weekend at the plate batting .333 with a .600 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage. She had two doubles and four walks. Head Coach Nicole Cook adds: “Ku’ulei is an incredible outfielder with some of the craziest range I have ever seen and made some amazing plays in centerfield for us.”

P Taylor Cook (Grapettes 14U – Cook)
The right-hander pitched a complete game victory against the 14U division runners-up, NW Bullets – Campos/Jackson, as she threw five innings with no walks, and just one earned run thanks to her effect spins.

OF Bella Hernandez (Lady Magic 14U – Munoz/Asia)
Bella was on fire all weekend at the PGF Ultimate Challenge as she went 8-for-10 (.800) at the plate and a perfect 2-for-2 on the base paths.

IF Kendrick Jobe (Lady Magic 14U – Munoz/Asia)
If there was an MVP at the 14U level, Kendrick’s performance would have likely put her at the top. She was a key reason the Lady Magic went 6-0 as she batted .750 (12-for-16) with two triples, a double and five steals.

P Anya Shah (Sorcerer 14U Gold – Hamilton)
Anya pitched nine innings at the PGF Ultimate Challenge and had 11 strikeouts while giving up no walks and just three earned runs over the entire weekend.

C/SS Tamiayh Ward (LTG 14U – Henderson/Buck)
Tamiayh shined offensively with a .600 batting average and 1.300 OPS and, in the field, she produced a 1.000 fielding percentage.

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball
Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com