Oklahoma City---The final eight berths were awarded this past weekend for the 2007 ASA Girls 18-Under Gold National Championship schedule for August 5-12 in Oklahoma City. Six different regions held qualifiers over the weekend to award their berth to the nations most prestigious youth fast pitch national championship. A field of 64-teams will compete for the title of ASA Champion beginning August 5.
NW Bullets and Ladyhawks Miller advanced out of the Region 15 Tournament after battling inclement weather all weekend. With play washed out on Saturday, tournament director Jim Donner decided to move the tournament to Yakima which was 125 miles away in order to decide the berths on the field.
The NW Bullets took the field to resume their game with the NW Ladyhawks Miller which was suspended with 18 minutes remaining with the score tied 0-0 on Saturday. With the time expired, the NW Bullets scored a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to secure the first berth.
The NW Ladyhawks fell to the losers bracket to face the Spokane Sliders who had already survived three elimination games to advance to the losers bracket finals. The Sliders jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after an inning and a half but the Ladyhawks battled back with four runs in the bottom of the second to trim the lead to 7-4. After the fourth inning the game was tied 7-7 but the Sliders took a 9-7 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Ladyhawks responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning to secure the second berth with a 12-9 victory.
The Virginia Legends of Yorktown, Va., blazed through the Region 3 Tournament to secure its only bid to the ASA Gold National Championship. The Legends posted a perfect 4-0 record that included a win over the Philadelphia Spirit of Philadelphia, Pa., in the finals.
Ultimate Gold of Oklahoma City won the Region 6 Qualifier with a 6-1 record to earn a berth to the ASA Gold National Championship. Ultimate Gold lost in the winners bracket finals to Voo Doo of River Ridge, La., but defeated DeJaVu in the losers bracket finals to advance to the championship game. Voo Doo chose to forfeit the final two games but still earned a berth after finishing second in the tournament.
The Beach Girls qualified out of Region 2 after defeating the TC Tremors, 4-2, in the finals. This is the seventh time in the past 10 years that the Beach Girls will have been represented at the ASA Girls 18-Under Gold National Championship.
The final two teams to receive berths into the ASA Gold National Championship are the Miami Valley Express who qualified out of Region 9 and the Michigan Finesse who secured the berth out of Region 8.
Teams from 21 different states will be represented in Oklahoma City during the ASA Girls 18-Under Gold Fast Pitch National Championship. California leads the way with a total of 21 teams earning spots in the championship field. Texas is a distant second with nine while Arizona is a distant third with four teams. Oklahoma, Washington and Georgia will each boast three teams in the field.
Of the 64 teams that have earned a berth to the ASA Gold National Championship, 32-teams will be making a return trip to Oklahoma City after competing in the 2006 National Championship. The top 10 finishers from the 2006 ASA Gold National Championship, including defending national champion OC Batbusters, will be back in Oklahoma City looking to take home the title.
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