SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) – The Utah Freakz 06 brought home a second-place win from the Platinum 16U Division of the Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) National Championship last week.
Head Coach Anthony Ricci, Assistant Coach Rick Quinn, and 11 girls from along the Wasatch Front did what no other fastpitch softball team has done, in recent memory. They played out 11 games to bring home a second-place championship from the PGF Tournament played in Huntington Beach, California during the last week in July.
Ricci, head softball coach from Hillcrest High, and has coached this team for 4 years. They played in this tournament last year with less-than-stellar results. The synergy of the team became apparent though as they played together again this year.
“I am so proud of the young women on this team. They gave 100% effort and were able to compete at a very high level,” Ricci says with pride. “They represented themselves, their team, and their state well.”
The Freakz team was made up of high school players from Bountiful, Taylorsville, Spanish Fork, Hillcrest, Olympus, Carbon, Riverton, and Cyprus.
Team players are: Eliza Johnson, Braylee Shields, Adison Comer, Brielle Sandoval, Ella Miller, Brooklyn Ricci, Maycee Madsen, Ainzleigh Quinn, Hannah Brockman, Athena Tongaonevai, and Lucy Evans.
The Platinum Divison of the PFG is considered a stepping stone into the Premier Division, both offering top-level competition against some of the best players in the United States.
