The Northern Arizona Elite Fastpitch Softball Series
Covid-19 put an end to the high school spring sports season here in Arizona and ended the careers of many across the board. Softball was one of the sports that was affected, but during the summer months, club softball lives on. Back on July 13th and 14th, 11 different club softball teams participated in a tournament at Rumsey Park in Payson, Arizona.
Many of the girls who played have already given their college commitment, with a good percentage of those being to D1 programs. Due to the restrictions brought about by the pandemic, many college recruiters haven't been able see these young ladies play in person for quite some time, so being able to check in "virtually" has been a lifesaver for some of these coaches.
I was fortunate to handle the play-by-play of seven of these games, which garnered plenty of live YouTube viewership for the participants. There were eight games each on two adjacent fields on Monday, with a total of 15 games being played on the two fields on Tuesday. The action was fast-paced and furious with teams quite often finishing one game on the west field and having to shuffle over to the east field with first pitch being in less than ten minutes.
It is not a secret that some great softball is played in Southern Arizona. I had the privelege of getting a firsthand look at six different teams in a very short period of time. It was no surprise that perhaps the two best teams playing in Payson over these two days were the Oro Valley Suncats and the Desert Thunder.
The coaching staff for the Thunder had some recognizable names in Kelly & Kenzie Fowler Quinn in addition to Larry Neal. Throughout the tourney many of the girls rotated to different positions but one girl who really stood out was the shortstop Sydney Gray who will be heading off to play for the University of Nebraska within the next month. Caitlynn Neal (daughter of coach Larry) has been impressive enough both in the circle and the field to be earn a scholarship to Lincoln as well. It was a roster full of talent with another young lady from the class of 2021 (Canyon Del Oro) carrying a 4.0 GPA on the verge of receiving offers in the near future.
The Suncats were loaded too, and if you are an opposing pitcher you don't want to mess around with their 3, 4, and 5 hotters. SS Blaise Biringer is committed to the University of Mississippi, 1B Carlie Scupin is headed to the University of Arizona, and the #5 hitter, 3rd baseman Breezy Hayward (Cienega 2021) is committed to Loyola Marymount University. The games were exactly 90 minutes, and if you are looking to get your prep sports fix and see 25 runs in essentially three innings, look no further than the video below:
