Update provided by T.D. Mayer
Summer has proven to be a successful one for the All Star girls of El Segundo Girls Softball in recent years. Last year, teams in the 8u, 10u, and 12u divisions played in the USA State B Tournament. The 10u team qualified for Western Nationals and finished 13th overall in a highly competitive field. This year has marked another successful season as the 12u and 14u All Star teams are enjoying a run that has taken them to their respective age group’s National Tournament.
It all starts with the El Segundo Community. The investment of the coaches, parents, volunteers and sponsors (see ElSegundoGirlsSoftball.com) led to an outstanding Spring season and the foundation for the 12u All Star team. Competing in all stars against leagues that are as much as 5x the size, the 12u team was put together amongst a division here in El Segundo consisting of just 3 teams (29 outstanding girls!). It is definitely something to recognize as they get ready this coming week to compete for a Championship banner in Medford, Oregon (July 29-Aug 4).
The 33 team, USA Softball National Championship tournament field looks strong representing Hawaii, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and all over California. Despite the obvious talent, these Gundo Girls come into Nationals with great chemistry (most have played with each other for numerous years), a strong all-star pedigree (a handful played in last year’s 10u National team) and boasting one of the most successful El Segundo girls all-star campaigns in recent memory. With a 24-9-2 tournament record, the Gundo Girls of 12u were finalist in each of their first 5 tournaments (yes – runner up medals does take its toll…). In their 6th tournament, the double elimination State contest in Lancaster, they faced huge adversity losing their first game 4-3 to NorthShore, San Diego. Not to be denied stamping their ticket to Medford, the next day they rattled off 3 consecutive wins in extreme weather conditions, before being eliminated in their 4th game of the day. They were the only team in any division to have qualified for nationals after losing their first game. These girls have competed against many of the teams heading to Nationals with over a quarter of their tournament games facing off against these best of the best teams!
The Gundo Girls are simply one of the most well rounded teams you will find this summer. They may boast strong hitting (.331 team batting average) led by Sienna Mayer (.406), Taylor Peacock (.382), Peyton Jackson (.368), Charli Pages (.357) and Allie Stevenson (.330) but are known for stingy defense and top tier pitching (2.10 team ERA) led by Peacock, Hailey Wantz (1.76 ERA) and Pages, and gritty catching by athletes Caroline Mackechnie & Stevenson (duo have thrown out an eye popping 30% on stolen base attempts). The biggest improvement however has been with their outfield play, anchored by Jackson, Taryn Walker, Audrey Garcia, Dallas Silva and Vanessa Rodriguez. These 11 strong Gundo Girls took on a challenge from Day 1; get better every tournament and stamp your ticket to Medford. Joining the Gundo Girls in Medford are two outstanding players and families; Emersen Werger from Santa Monica and Kate Fukushima from Torrance.
You can follow the Team’s success at the USA Softball Western National 12u Tournament online at www.sportsmedford.com. You can follow play by play on the GameChanger App (El Segundo ESGS All Stars 12U). Opening Ceremonies begin Monday, July 29th with Game 1 at 11am local time Tuesday July 30th and Game 2 same time on Wednesday July 31st.
