In what was set to be a pitchers duel, Power Surge-Berndes took advantage of every defensive miscue in the third inning where it scored all its runs.

Athletics-Mercado/Ornelas tried to fight back but left seven runners stranded in Power Surge’s 4-0 victory at the PGF 12U Premier Nationals on Wednesday afternoon at the Fountain Valley Sports Complex in Fountain Valley, CA.

Power Surge faces So Cal Choppers-Tiumalu, a 4-0 winner over Explosion-Flores, on Thursday morning at 10:15 a.m.

Power Surge came in prepared to face Athletics ace Cambria Salmon, who struck out 11 batters on Wednesday against Diamond Fury-Samper.

“We had to face the best pitcher in all of 12U,” Power Surge coach Scott Berndes said. “Cam is just trendemous. We couldn’t let her get in her groove. We swung and wanted to swing early in the count to let her know that we are not going to be an easy out.”

Power Surge got to Salmon and her defense in the third inning, which began with a double to left field by Michelle Cervantes. The hit would follow a walk to Peanut Garcia. With Dominique Garcia at the plate, a passed ball moved both runners into scoring position. Another ball went passed the catcher, but Salmon did not cover home plate, which sent Cervantes home. The left side of the Athletics infield ran in to cover home, leaving third base open for runner Presley Barraza to take it.

With a runner at third base, Garcia bunted to Salmon, who tossed to home, but was not in time to get Barraza. Sofia Mujica came up to the plate next and hit a ball to shallow left field. Despite Alyssa Pereyra's diving attempt, the ball fell in for a double, leaving Power Surge to go for another suicide squeeze.

With Miali Guachino in the circle for the Athletics, McKenna Gieger doubled to center field and sent runner Addison Duke home. 

Jessica Phelps followed and went for Power Surge’s second suicide squeeze and like last time the throw home wasn’t in time, sending Mujica home for the fourth run in the inning.

“Our defense and offense were definitely on,” Phelps said. “Our team chemistry helped a lot today. We’re pumped and I’m so blessed to have the team behind me. We kept the right mindset. We took advantage of every little flaw.”

Athletics-Mercado made attempts to score runs but left two runners on in the first inning. The Athletics had two runners on again in the second inning, but Dakota Potter's deep flyball was caught on the run by Duke.

The Athletics got on again in the fourth inning thanks to a single to center field from Nadia Rountree, but a flyball to center field from Mia Aguilera was caught on a dive by Duke, who then threw to first to double up Rountree.

“I think our MVP was Addison,” Berndes said. “Unbelievable. Those catches saved the game. We always play solid defense. Addison is a new girl on our team, coming from Arizona. She has made us a much stronger defensive team.”

Athletics Mercado threatened again in the fifth inning when Power Surge made a pitching change, taking Peanut Garcia out of the circle in place of Phelps.

Thanks to another diving play in the infield, they left two more runners on, leaving seven on the day. With the Duke and the defense behind her, Phelps threw three scoreless innings.

“I like making the catches that no one thinks I’m going to get,” Duke said. “When I get one of those, I go all out. I do my best to catch it. I get excited when I catch it.”

Rountree went 2 for 3 and Guachino threw 4.2 innings of relief while striking out three for the Athletics, who defeated Select Fastpitch, 10-1, later in the day and now face Impact Gold-Trevino on Friday at 8 a.m. They will look to play four games on Friday to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament.

Peanut Garcia threw four innings and struck out three to get the win for Power Surge, who face So Cal Choppers-Trevino, a 4-0 winner over Explosion-Flores, on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

“We just have to work as a team,” Duke said. “We have to cheer each other up when we are down. We have to get each other excited to keep it going.”

In other PGF 12U Premier games:

Ohana Tigers-Quarles 6, Corona Angels-Perez 5

Despite a three-run seventh inning by the Corona Angels and the tying run at third base, the Ohana Tigers survived and advanced.

Amanda Urbina went 2 for 3 with a three-run double and Lauren Mendez struck out five in 6.2 innings for the Tigers, who take on Cal Nuggets-Woods on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

“There was a lot of noise, but you have to get your head in the game,” Urbina said. “We can’t let any noise distract us. We made a couple of mistakes, but we have to recover from our mistakes and we recovered quickly and scored more runs.”

Driana Martinez went 1 for 4 with a two-run double and Nevaeh Arvisu went 2 for 4 with an RBI for the Angels, who lost their next game to I-5 Softball, 2-1.

Cal Grapettes-McNair 2, Sorcerer-Bigley/Everett 0

Thomara Drummer struck out 12 en route to a complete game shut out victory over their Northern California rival.

Kelsey McNair went 1 for 3 with an RBI and Jessica Delatorre went 2 for 3 for the Grapettes, who take on Texas Glory 2024 on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

“We had to work for this,” Drummer said. “We kept ourselves together while being positive. We’ve beat them a couple of times, but It felt pretty good to beat them here at PGF.”

Sorcerer defeated Athletics-Mercado/Carroll, 4-3, later in the day and will take on Lady Magic on Friday at 8 a.m.

Impact Gold National 14, Beverly Bandits DeMarini 0 (4 innings)

Thanks to seven-run second and fourth innings, Impact Gold cruised to a four-inning victory.

Brooke Wells went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, Ella McDowell went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Bailey Lindemuth went 2 for 3 with three RBIs for Impact Gold, who face So Cal Athletics-Cooper on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

“It was a team effort,” McDowell said. “The dugout, the pitchers, everyone on defense and our hitters, we all came out as a team and came out as one today.”

Beverly Bandits DeMarini bounced back and won in a later game to Team Seattle, 5-0, and face Texas Glory-Adkins, a 2-0 winner over Texas Bombers-Hays, on Friday at 8:00 a.m.

So Cal Breakers-Brunetti/Cascio 7, OC Batbusters-McDonnell 1

Callie Christian struck out 10 en route to a two-hit complete shutout victory for the Breakers.

Christian also went 1 for 4 with a double, Mia Cascio went 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs and Yliana Rivera went 2 for 3 with an RBI double for the Breakers, who take on USA Athletics-Davis on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

“We were focused,” Rivera said. “We cheered inside the dugout. We played as a unit. Tomorrow is going to take a lot. We have to be physically focused tomorrow to win the games and succeed.”

Micayla Turi and Paloma Sajenz each 1 for 3 and Madison McDonnell threw a complete game with four strikeouts for the OC Batbusters, who lost their next game to So Cal Athletics-Siofele, 2-0.

USA Athletics-Davis 3, OC Batbusters 2024 0

Mia Sanchez struck out six en route to a one-hit complete game shutout victory for USA Athletics.

Tiare Ho-Ching went 2 for 2 with an RBI for USA Athletics, which takes on So Cal Breakers-Brunetti/Cascio on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

“Our defense was a pretty big part of this win,” Sanchez said. “Our outfield was pretty big in the first inning. Our hitting came through in some of our bigger moments. We are going to try and keep the flow going, keep rolling and keep winning.”

Lesly Valdez went 1 for 3 with a first-inning single and Gabrielle Gomez threw six innings and struck out four for OC Batbusters, which lost their next game to Alabama Firecrackers-Christian.

Texas Glory 2024 2, Lady Magic 1

Ainsley Pemberton struck out eight en route to a two-hit complete-game victory for Texas Glory.

Kaylee Cuevas went 1 for 3 with a double and Nevaeh Watkins went 2 for 4 with a double for Texas Glory, which will face Cal Grapettes-McNair on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

“We had very good defense today,” Watkins said. “We played our game and had clutch hitting. Everybody played their part. We have to have more clutch hitting tomorrow as well as good defense and just good plays all around.”

The Lady Magic stayed alive at PGF following an 8-4 victory over Fury Premier and now face Sorcerer-Bigley/Everett on Friday at 8 a.m.

So Cal Athletics-Coopers 4, Texas Bombers-Hays 3

Briona Ferdman went 2 for 3 with an RBI double to lead the Athletics to victory.

Carlie Danovich and Ashlyn Darby each went 1 for 4 with an RBI, while Kendall Diederich threw a complete game for the So Cal Athletics, which takes on Impact Gold National on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

Macie Jansky went 1 for 2 with a three-run double and Elysa Nesser threw six innings with six strikeouts for the Texas Bombers, which lost their next game to Texas Glory-Adkins, 2-0.

Diamond Sports Hotshots Premier 2024 2, Suncats-Natividad/Lee/Walker 1

Addisyn Linton struck out seven while only giving up three hits in a complete-game victory for the Hotshots, who take on the Atlanta Vipers-Callaway on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

The Suncats bounced back in their next game with a 3-2 victory over So Cal Choppers-Franco and now take on Explosion-Denio/Serrano on Friday at 8 a.m.

Atlanta Vipers-Callaway 11, Universal Fastpitch 5

Sara Harris went 1 for 3 with two RBIs to lead the Vipers to victory.

Brelyn O'Hearn went 1 for 3 with an RBI triple and Emma Murphy went 3 for 4 for the Vipers, who take on Diamond Sports Hotshots Premier on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

Lila Partridge went 2 for 3 with four RBIs, Aryanna Lockhart went 1 for 3 with a double and Hayden Kyne drove in a run for Universal, which lost their next game to Explosion-Denio/Serrano, 2-1.

Cal Nuggets-Woods 11, So Cal Athletics-Terrones 4

Kathryn Munnerlyn went 2 for 4 with an RBI double while striking out five for the complete-game victory for the Cal Nuggets.

Avery Motroni went 1 for 4 with a two-run double, Amanda Deng went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs and Abigail Fales went 2 for 4 with two RBIs for the Nuggets, who take on the Ohana Tigers-Quarles on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

Ashleigh Mejia went 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs, Marley Cortez went 1 for 3 with an RBI and Gabriella Terrones went 1 for 3 with a double for the So Cal Athletics, which later defeated AASA-Macias, 6-3, and now face I-5 Softball on Friday at 8 a.m.

Birmingham Thunderbolts 2024 14, LTG Lions 0

Shelby McKenzie went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs to lead the Thunderbolts to a four-inning victory.

Jasmine Green went 3 for 4 with an RBI, Brantlee Wortham went 1 for 3 with three RBIs, Makayla Nieves went 2 for 3 with three RBIs for the Thunderbolts, who take on OC Batbusters-Mascarenas on Friday at 10:15 a.m.

Kamara Norman and Katelyn Maciel each went 1 for 2 for the Lions, which lost their next game to the Texas Bombers Gold 10-1.

12U PREMIER PGF NATIONALS SCOREBOARD

WINNER'S BRACKET A

SECOND ROUND

Beverly Bandits Premier 5, Texas Glory RWB 2

Batbusters-Garcia 4, Corona Angels-Tyson 1

Birmingham Thunderbolts 14, LTG Lions 0

OC Batbusters-Mascarenas 8, So Cal Athletics-Beck 0

Cal Nuggets-Woods 11, SoCal Athletics-Terrones 4

Ohana Tigers-Quarles 6, Corona Angels-Perez 5

So Cal Choppers-Tiumalu 4, Explosion-Flores 0

Power Surge-Berndes 4, Athletics Mercado-Ornelas 0

WINNER'S BRACKET B

SECOND ROUND

Atlanta Vipers-Callaway 11, Universal-Walling 5

Diamond Sports Hotshots 2, Suncats-Natividad/Lee/Walker 1

So Cal Athletics-Cooper 4, Texas Bombers-Hays 3

Impact Gold National 14, Beverly Bandits DeMarini 0

USA Athletics-Davis 3, OC Batbusters 2024 0

So Cal Breakers-Brunetti/Cascio 7, OC Batbusters-McDonnell 1

Cal Grapettes-McNair 2, Sorcerer-Bigley/Everett 0

Texas Glory 2024 2, Lady Magic 1

LOSER'S BRACKET A

SECOND ROUND

Select Fastpitch 13, Newtown Rock 2

Impact Gold-Trevino 4, Virginia Unity-Johnson 3

I-5 Softball 8, Firecrackers-Thornburg 0

AASA-Macias 12, Vanetta Arizona-LeFlesch 10

Diamond Fury-Samper 5, San Jose Sting-Moser 0

Texas Bombers Gold 5, Jacksonville Storm 0

Georgia Impact-Sampson/Gusaeff 7, Central Cal Firecrackers-Garza 4

EC Bullets-Maher 10, Carolina Cardinals 0

THIRD ROUND

Athletics-Mercado/Ornelas 10, Select Fastpitch 1

Impact Gold-Trevino 8, Explosion-Flores 0

I-5 Softball 2, Corona Angels-Perez 1

So Cal Athletics-Terrones 6, AASA-Macias 3

Diamond Fury-Samper 2, SoCal Athletics-Beck 1

Texas Bombers Gold 10, LTG Lions 1

Georgia Impact-Sampson/Gusaeff 4, Corona Angels-Tyson 1

EC Bullets-Maher 5, Texas Glory RWB 1

LOSER'S BRACKET B

SECOND ROUND

Fury Premier 9, AASA-Mortimer 6

Athletics-Mercado/Carroll 6, Central Cal Dirtdogs-Close 0

So Cal Athletics-Siofele 6, Hotshots Premier 3

Alabama Firecrackers-Christian 7, Jersey Intensity 5

Team Seattle 5, Texas Blaze-Martinez 3

Texas Glory-Adkins 7, Texas Blaze-Slimp 6

So Cal Choppers-Franco 5, Hollister Blackjacks-Monroy 4

Explosion-Denio/Serrano 6, Aces Fastpitch 4

THIRD ROUND

Lady Magic 8, Fury Premier 4

Sorcerer-Bigley/Everett 4, Athletics-Mercado/Carroll 3

So Cal Athletics-Siofele 2, OC Batbusters-McDonnell 0

Alabama Firecrackers-Christian 4, OC Batbusters 2024 2

Beverly Bandits DeMarini 5, Team Seattle 1

Texas Glory-Adkins 2, Texas Bombers-Hays 0

Suncats-Natividad/Lee/Walker 3, So Cal Choppers-Franco 2

Explosion-Denio/Serrano 2, Universal Fastpitch 1