In the semifinals of the Alliance Spring Training Championship tournament in March, the Firecrackers 10U softball team found themselves down four runs in the final inning and on the brink of elimination.
After the team fought back and rallied to win the game, the Firecracker 10U team secured the championship in the finals and that’s when head coach Bobby Paschal believed his team was built to fight for a national championship
“My favorite moment so far captures who this team is in the semifinals of the Alliance Spring Training Tournament. We found ourselves down four runs in the final inning against a phenomenal team,” Paschal said in an interview with The Signal. “They fought back and rallied to win that game. They carried that momentum to capture the championship. I knew then beyond a doubtthat this team could be special.”
Following a season that featured multiple tournament wins around Southern California, the Firecracker 10U team was awarded a bid to the Premier Girls Fastpitch National Championship, set to be held in Huntington Beach in late July.
“Receiving a bid from our organization to the PGF National Championship to compete against some of the best teams in the country this early in their travel ball journey is a massive achievement,” Paschal said. “It is a testament to their relentless hard workand the team-first culture they have built together.”
The Firecracker 10U team, which features kids from the Santa Clarita Valley, is a team comprised of players Paschal has coached for several years from when his players were 7 to 8 years old.
This season is the first year this team played in the 10U division and Paschal believed now was the right time to make the move up the age brackets.
“Having coached a large chunk of these girls in recreational ball, where they won over 15 tournaments over two years and twice finished top 12 in the state as 7- and 8-year-olds,” Paschal said, “they were ready for this jump.”
Over the course of the past year, the Firecracker 10U team compiled a 59-24-6 record with wins in the Orange County Fastpitch Memorial Day tournament and Toys for Tots, according to Paschal.
As the team gets ready for the PGF national championship, which will feature the top softball travel teams from across the country, Paschal is looking to make a deep run with his team and feature the talent that can be produced here in the Santa Clarita Valley.
“I’m always thinking bigger and better and how can grow and bring more attention to softball in Santa Clarita,” Paschal said. “To see them have this success early is surprising, but it’s also not a surprise because I know the work that they put in. And to just be a homegrown team and to have success against some of these powerhouses is awesome.”
Although the expectations of playing in a national championship can bring nerves, Paschal has the team preparing in practice just as they’ve done all year and focused on playing their best softball.
“We want to go make a splash and we are working hard. We’ve added some extra tournaments and we’re trying to play the toughest teams out there to prepare us because iron sharpens iron,” Paschal said. “We’re just really trying to make sure that we can walk into that tournament and before our first game get a good night’s sleep because we’ve put in all the work and nothing’s going to keep us up.”
The Firecracker 10U team kicks off its championship run at the PGF national tournament in pool play, which is set to begin Mondayat the Bill Barber Park with first pitch scheduled for 11:15 a.m.
