2021 held at Drakes Creek Park in Hendersonville, Tennessee on August 20-22.
Champion – MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics, Woodbridge, New Jersey
Runner Up – Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton, Kent, Washington
- MVP – Bernadette Tenuto – MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics (11-14, .786, 6 RBI, 7 Runs)
- HR Champion – Megan Baltzell – Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton (19-30, .633, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 14 Runs) – 5
- Batting Champion – Amber Parrish – Team 24/Proton (16-20, 6 RBI, 7 Runs) – .800
Competition in the Women’s Open division was fierce today as the field of 14 teams narrowed to four. Seven games were won in run-rule fashion while three contests were won by only one run. The women racked up a total of 716 hits in 23 games played and will look to tally more as the competition continues.
Advancing to the Women’s Open Championship Game tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. CT is MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics who won three consecutive games in the winner’s bracket after having a bye in the first round of play. Each game MPT Rentals played was close-scoring, but they always found a way to come out on top. MPT Rentals took down Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton 13-10 and pulled-out a 15-12 victory over Low Bobs/Shirts & Logos. MPT Rentals met La Famiglia/Easton/Riot in the winner’s bracket finale to cap out the night. La Famiglia started the tournament hot, shutting out Classic Glass/Easton/Dirty Sports 11-0 in their first game on Saturday morning and posting back-to-back run-rule wins against Smash It Sports Traders reloaded and BSC Dynasty to make it to the winner’s bracket finale.
In the final game of the night, MPT Rentals fought hard against La Famiglia throughout the entire contest. MPT Rentals scored the first runs of the game in the second inning via a walk, triple, and sacrifice fly to make it 2-0, MPT Rentals. La Famiglia answered back in the third and took the lead, holding it through the fifth inning. The score continued to pinball in the sixth when MPT Rentals strung five singles together to get ahead 5-3. Once again, La Famigila accepted the challenge and scored three more runs in the bottom of the frame. Falling behind 6-5 going into the seventh inning, well-placed hits allowed MPT Rentals to plate four runs, pulling ahead for good and eventually claiming the 9-8 victory to send them to the Championship.
Three teams remain in the loser’s bracket with Low Bobs/Shirts & Logos facing off against Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton at 8 a.m. CT in the win-or-go-home game. The winner will advance to the semi-final contest against La Famiglia at 9:15 a.m. CT. Smash It Sports lost their second game of the tournament but made an impressive run through the loser’s bracket by winning three consecutive games. Low Bobs was sent to the loser’s bracket after falling to MPT Rentals in a close, 15-12 game but bounced back with a 7-3 victory over Team 24/Proton to advance in the bracket and continue the fight for a title on Championship Sunday.
The loser’s bracket kicked off the Women’s Open division on Championship Sunday as Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton took down Low Bobs/Shirts & Logos 12-5. Smash It Sports struck first when Fiana Finau drove a three-run shot over the center field fence in the third at-bat of the game. The damage continued with three singles, a double, and a sac fly to extend the Smash It Sports lead to 5-0. Low Bobs put up a run in the bottom of the frame but was unable to catch up as Smash It Sports continued tacking on runs throughout the game. Mandy Hollman homered in the sixth to score Smash It Sports’ final run of the contest, putting them up 12-4 after the sixth. Low Bobs attempted a rally in their final three outs by scoring on a sacrifice fly, but a ground out would end the game and give Smash It Sports the victory, sending them to the semi-final contest.
Smash It Sports continued their hot streak by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning against La Famiglia/Easton/Riot. The lowest scoring game of the tournament, Smash It Sports was able to pull-off the 8-2 win and advance to the Championship game. Megan Baltzell led Smash It Sports by going 2-3 with two home runs and three RBI in the contest.
In their third and final game of the day, Smash It Sports faced-off against MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics to battle it out for the Championship title. MPT Rentals wasted no time in getting on the board, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Defense was also on point for MPT Rentals as they retired Smash It Sports in order in each of the first three innings. MPT Rentals kept their foot on the gas while Megan Higginbotham went 3-4 with three RBI to lead MPT Rentals to a 14-1 (five innings) victory as they claimed the 2021 Women’s Open Slow Pitch National Championship title.
Bernadette Tenuto led MPT Rentals with 11 hits and a .786 batting average throughout the weekend. Haylee Leatherwood and Higginbotham each tallied eight hits in the tournament with Higginbotham scoring a team-leading eight runs.
2021 FIRST TEAM ALL AMERICANS
Loren Thomas, MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics (5-13, .385, 3 RBI, 4-0 Pitching)
Megan Baltzell, Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton (19-30, .633, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 14 Runs)
Kacey Britt, La Famiglia/Easton/Riot (8-12, .667, 2 RBI, 4 Runs)
Bethany Brown, Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton (15-24, .625, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 9 Runs)
Fiana Finau, Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton (18-28, .643, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 12 Runs)
Megan Higginbotham, MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics (11-17, .647, 7 RBI, 8 Runs)
Mandy Hollman, Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton (17-28, .607, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 9 Runs)
Kaylnn Johnson, MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics (8-12, .667, 3 RBI, 5 Runs)
Heather Leatherfield, MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics (8-14, .571, 5 RBI, 4 Runs)
Desiree Mejia, La Famiglia/Easton/Riot (10-15, .667, 6 RBI, 4 Runs)
Amber Parrish, Team 24/Proton (16-20, .800, 6 RBI, 7 Runs)
Robin Pettit, BSC Dynasty (9-11, .818, 3 RBI, 2 Runs)
Bree Setree, Low Bobs/Shirts&Logos (10-17, .588, 5 RBI, 2 Runs)
Bernadette Tenuto, MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics (11-14, .786, 6 RBI, 7 Runs)
Kylie Wolfe, MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics (7-13, .538, 4 RBI, 4 Runs)
OTHERS
Lora Helton, BSC Dynasty (10-14, .714, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 7 Runs)
Janna Korak, Lady SNI (10-15, .667, 4 RBI, 5 Runs)
Dara Toman, Team 24/Proton (13-20, .650, 5 RBI, 9 Runs)
Chelsea Showers, Team 24/Proton (12-17, .706, 7 RBI, 3 Runs)
Stephanie Call, Team 24/Proton (10-18, .556, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 6 Runs)
Tara Licuanan (Salcedo), Smash It Sports/Derby Girls (15-28, .563, 3 RBI, 4 Runs)
FINAL STANDINGS
1. MPT Rentals/AOB/Juno Athletics, Woodbridge, NJ (4-0)
2. Smash It Sports/Derby Girls/Easton, Kent, WA (6-2)
3. La Famiglia/Easton/Riot, Bethel Park, PA (3-2)
4. Low Bobs/Shirts & Logos, Lexington, KY (3-2)
5t. BSC Dynasty, Tallahassee, FL (2-2)
5t. Team 24/Proton, Apollo Beach, FL (3-2)
7t. Xtreme/Greenspace, Lino Lakes, MN (2-2)
7t. Lady SNI/LazyLlama/DeMarini/Slugger, Lake Mary, FL (2-2)
9t. Lady Mojo/S2SN, Louisa, VA (1-2)
9t. Smash It Sports/Traders Reloaded, Collierville, TN (0-2)
9t. Classic Glass/Easton/Dirty Sports, Shoreline, WA (0-2)
9t. On Point, Grimes, IA (0-2)
13t. Real Talk Softball/Riot, Wichita, KS (0-2)
13t. Dbbrand/SNC/Team199, York, PA (0-2)
