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The Hurricanes Fastpitch Eckel 14U softball team capped a dominant weekend by going undefeated to win the USSSA New Jersey 14U Open Fall State Championship.
The Hurricanes finished 6-0 in the tournament, opening pool play with a 3-0 record on Saturday before sweeping three games in Sunday’s single-elimination bracket to secure the state title.
Alivia Whalen and Maddie Milton led the offense, each batting better than .500 for the tournament. Faith Rodkey sparked the lineup with her speed, leading the team in runs scored and stolen bases, while cleanup hitter Ang Vaughan drove in a team-high number of runs.
Brielle Eckel and Ava Santoro provided consistent production at the plate, leading the Hurricanes in walks and finishing second on the team in both RBIs and runs scored. Sarai Fabian delivered one of the tournament’s key moments with a bases-clearing pinch hit in Game 3, rallying the Hurricanes late.
The Hurricanes also dominated in the circle. Vaughan and Eckel combined to go 6-0, striking out 37 batters while issuing just nine walks and allowing 14 earned runs over six games.
Defensively, the Hurricanes were steady throughout the weekend. Natalie Wiebesiek, Addy McCabe and Emersyn Hummel turned in strong performances in the field, while Addy Bishop anchored the defense behind the plate, catching every inning on Sunday without an error.
The championship game went down to the final play as the Hurricanes edged Revolution 2K11, 5-4. Vaughan worked through the first five innings before Revolution scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to one.
The deciding run came earlier on a sacrifice bunt by McCabe that allowed what proved to be the game-winning run to score.
The final out sealed the title when Santoro threw to Eckel at shortstop, who relayed the ball home to Bishop for the tag at the plate, ending the game and securing the state championship.
With an unbeaten weekend marked by strong pitching, timely hitting and sharp defense, the Hurricanes finished the fall season as USSSA New Jersey 14U Open Fall State champions.
Edited by Joe Emanski.
Members of the Hurricanes Fastpitch Eckel 14U softball team. Front row: Ange Vaughan, Addy Bishop, Brielle Eckel. Back row: Faith Rodkey, Addy McCabe, Maddie Milton, Ava Santoro, Sarai Fabian, Emersyn Hummel, Liv Whalen and Natalie Wiebesiek. Not pictured: Helena Walton.,
