As we approach the end of year, we’ll look back at some of the significant, fun or otherwise memorable moments on and off the softball fields…

On Sept. 2, 2024, the United States U-18 Women’s National Team beat Canada 7-0 at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 World Cup Group C Stage Event to solidify a spot to the 2025 World Cup Finals.

*** Click HERE to read our game story of the big USA win!

One of the stars for the USA squad was infielder Ella McDowell, currently a freshman at Arkansas, who had a huge showing in the World Cup Stage 1 event as she batted .667 (10-for-15) with two home runs, two doubles, eight runs scored and eight RBIs.

Ella, who I ranked as the No. 3 player in the Class of 2024, was selected as the Group C Most Outstanding Player but she was also an MVP in another important way: she was a standout in the dugout for Team USA.

One way she did this was to demonstrate her “Hacky” skills, a foot juggle where she would keep her glove going up and around… think of it as a softball version of Hacky sack where the object of the game is to keep a glove off the ground for as long as possible.

Ella also drew praise from her teammates and coaches for keeping everyone in the dugout involved in the game with her cheers and positive words of encouragement along with her impressive foot juggling skills!

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball

Here’s a clip of her doing some impressive post championships Hacky…