The Arlington Impact 16-under national girls softball team finished 6-0 at the recent Field of Screams tournament in Glen Burnie, Md.
The Impact won three close games in bracket play, holding off the Lady Railers, 10-9, in the quarterfinals, the Revolution Premier, 3-2, in the semifinals, then in the championship game won 7-5.
In that final, the game was tied at 5 against the Churchville Lightning when Molly Rowland crushed a two-out, full-count, two-run homer to deliver the win.
Noa Kammerman (twice) and Mikka Christensen also homered for the Impact during the tournament, as the team outscored opponents 59-20. The Impact received strong pitching from Marie Gagliano (3-0, two runs allowed) and Grace Alltucker (2-0).
Sabrina Driggers led the team on offense, hitting .600 with seven RBI and seven runs scored. Gagliano, Sam White and Kiersten Pawluk hit over .400. Claudia Craven, Laura-Kate Gwilliam, Delaney Fleming and Emma Tao anchored a strong defensive effort. Reagan Brand was injured but pinch ran and scored three runs.
The Impact have 12 of the 13 players on their roster who were on the Arlington Sage 14-under team that won the Space Coast World Series in Florida last season.
NOTE: That Sage team recently was honored as 2024 Virginia state champions and 2024 Northeast regional champions (No. 2 in the U.S.) for United States Specialty Sports Association Fastpitch Softball points, which are earned based on tournament performance. The team had 2,670 points, almost 1,000 more than the second-place team in the Northeast.
