Triple Crown Colorado 4th of July (Fireworks/Sparkler) is being held all week in the Denver Metro Area (All rankings are Line Drive Hot 50 Club National Rankings):

In 14U:

#4 Hotshots National 09-Nelson defeated Epic National 09-Smith, 2-0, in the 14U National Power Pool TV Bracket final at the Triple Crown Colorado 4th of July on Thursday at Aurora Sports Park.

2027 MIF Kira Bailey had an RBI single in the bottom of the 4th inning and 2028 P/MIF Madden Lutze went 2 for 3 to lead the Hotshots’ offense.

2028 RHP Anniston Shelton, 2027 LHP Morgan Maxwell and 2027 RHP Kadeyn “KK” Patin combined on a three-hit shutout and six strikeouts in 7.0 innings to record the shutout for the Hotshots.

“Great team win!” Hotshots coach Joey Palmer said. “We are fortunate to have three aces on our pitching staff (Annie Shelton, Morgan Maxwell and KK Patin) and I committed to using each one of them in this TV Bracket championship game. Each of them came in and pitched great and combined for the shutout. The defense also played very well and completely had their pitchers’ backs. Offensively, their pitcher did a nice job and kept us off balance with changes of speed and location. We were able to execute on aggressive baserunning and had a few timely hits. Again, it was a great team win and I’m proud of our girls and the coaching staff.” …

2028 SS Makenzie Thomas went 2 for 2 with a run and an RBI and 2029 RF Edrea Smith and 2028 1B Natalie Reece had two RBIs apiece as #48 Impact Gold National-Mata pulled off a 7-4 upset over #16 Georgia Impact Premier 09-O’Neal.

2028 MIF/UT Brynley Colianni came through with an RBI single in the top of the 5th inning to break a 1-1 tie and #48 Impact Gold National-Mata went on to upset #13 Frost Falcon 09, 2-1.

“Being a first-year 2k10 team, I knew that these two games today were big,” Impact Gold coach Cheyenne Mata said, “especially the Frost Falcons 09. I can’t be prouder of my squad. They really beared down and found a way to win. I felt we really didn’t execute enough towards the end offensively, but we did enough. Our pitching today was phenomenal, (2028 RHP) Kendall Putnal dominated (Georgia) Impact. (2028 RHP) Bevin Kelm really controlled the Falcons’ offense. We really are developing into what I envisioned for the future, a powerhouse.” …

2028 1B/OF Lela Heleta and 2028 C/UT Ella Dossey homered in the bottom of the 4th inning to give Lady Magic Munoz-Blue the lead and they held on for an 8-4 win over Fury Platinum X-Pickett.

Lady Magic Munoz-Blue followed up with a 6-3 victory over #15 Athletics Mercado-Hovermale. Dossey went 2 for 2 with two RBIs and 2027 LF Bella Hernandez went 2 for 3 with a run to pace the Lady Magic.

“That was definitely a big win for the team,” Lady Magic coach Ernie Munoz said. “They are getting into a good groove at the right time. I want to credit the pitching staff for holding a great hitting team to only three runs. That’s especially hard to do in Colorado where the ball flys like it does. A win like this gives the team a lot of confidence moving into bracket play.” …

2027 P Brooklynn Hagerty had a two-run double as #13 Frost Falcons 09 defeated #43 Iowa Premier National-Paz, 7-4. …

#23 LTG Lions 2027-Buck blanked Texas Express Premier 12-0 before rallying from a five-run deficit to pull off a 9-7 upset over #30 Tampa Mustangs Rene 09-Pynes, which won PGF Show Me The Money earlier this summer.

2028 SS Izianah Castillo, 2027 1B/3B Raelynn Hulsey and 2028 P/1B/3B Brooklyn Talbot all homered to lead LTG’s 11-hit attack against Texas Express.

Hulsey’s three-run homer to left field gave LTG a 9-6 lead in the top of the 5th inning and they held on to beat the Tampa Mustangs. …

#22 Explosion-Kim/Saunders cruised to a 10-2 win over Select Fastpitch-Waters and an 8-0 win over Bombers Gold American-Kennedy.

2028 2B Lexi Avila went 3 for 4 with a triple and a homer to lead the Explosion past Select Fastpitch.

2029 C Kaylee Mathews hit a three-run homer and 2028 RHP Juliette Foutz gave up two hits and struck out three in 3.0 scoreless innings to lift the Explosion over Bombers Gold American. …

LK Black Hawaii unleashed its offense with a 12-3 win over Aces Fastpitch Black and an 11-9 victory over Corona Angels-Perez/Tyson. 2027 LF Skylynne-Marie Gonzalez went 2 for 4 with a double, a run and three RBIs as LK Black Hawaii outlugged Corona Angels-Perez/Tyson. …

In 16U:

#7 Athletics Mercado-Hovermale handled #18 Mojo-Lewis, 8-3, in a 16U National Power Pool TV Bracket final at the Triple Crown Colorado 4th of July on Thursday at Aurora Sports Park.

2026 1B/OF Charli Calas, 2026 MIF Sasha Pham and 2026 MIF/3B/OF Taylor Johns all homered to lift Athletics Mercado-Hovermale.

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