ARVADA, Colo. – The Torrington Twisters 14-and-under softball team went 4-1 on their way to a second-place finish out of 15 teams at a tournament in Arvada, Colo. on Saturday and Sunday.
On top of finishing second, the Twisters picked up other honors. By reaching the championship game, Torrington qualified them for the USSSA World Series in July. Brady Laucomer was also named co-MVP of the tournament.
“There were some girls who had some big weekends,” coach Dan Fox said. “I think what set Brady apart was that she was always positive. She deserved it.”
To open pool play, Torrington took on Colorado Panic, beating them 10-7. The Twisters jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, but gave up seven runs in the final inning. Calysta Trevino hit her first home run in the win.
The Twisters took on Pro Swing Orange and Pro Swing Blue, both in pool play. Against Orange, Torrington got the win, 8-5. Laucomer and Avery Fox were the top two hitters and Fox was on the mound for Torrington. Dan Fox noted the defensive struggles in the win.
“If we make the routine plays on defense, we keep them to one or two runs,” he said.
Blue proved to be no match for the Twisters. Torrington won 15-4 with Brylee Dean on the mound. She struck out two batters and allowed only two walks.
“Brylee Dean pitched very well,” Dan Fox said. “Last year she struggled to find her control, but she showed she had control this past weekend.”
The 3-0 record in pool play put the Twisters as the top seed heading into the single-elimination bracket. They received a bye in the first round of the bracket and advanced straight to the semi-finals, where they met the Pueblo Lady Cougars, a team that has beaten the Twisters once in each of the past two years. After the first three innings, Torrington found itself down 4-1, but they rattled off seven runs in one inning to take the 8-6 win and advance to the championship game.
“There isn’t one girl that stood out hitting-wise – all of them stood out,” Dan Fox said. “It boosted us up as a team. We are doing something right.”
Colorado Springs’ American Freedom took down the Twisters in the championship game, 13-5. Torrington was up 3-0 after the top of the first, but American Freedom charged out to a huge lead, almost ending the game after three innings via 10-run rule. The Twisters scored two more runs in the third inning to keep the game alive, but were eventually eight-run ruled after the fifth inning. In the loss, Mariyah Avila knocked a ball out of the park.
“We got to win and everybody got to play,” Dan Fox said of the whole tournament. “It was just an exclamation point.”
After a successful start to the year, the Twisters will return to Arvada this weekend for another tournament.
“These two tournaments we always get girls playing,” Dan Fox said. “We still made some mistakes so this is an opportunity to fix those mistakes.”
