by Kyle Parmley – Fastpitch Network
Ailana Agbayani’s commitment level to the game of softball is obvious before she ever steps on the field.
Despite living in Millilani, Hawaii, Agbayani finds herself in the mainland United States nearly every weekend in the summer and fall. The Class of 2022 prospect has been playing in the OC Batbusters program, based in California, for five years.
by Maren Angus – Fastpitch Network
Premier Girls Fastpitch and Perfect Game announced a new equal partnership on Monday. The partnership creates a new entity, PG Softball, that will “provide individualization and exposure to athletes.”
Dan Hay, President and CEO of PGF, spoke with Fastpitch Network via phone on Monday afternoon.
PRESS RELEASE
HUNTINGTON BEACH, California and CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (July 23,2020) Perfect Game (PG) President Jerry Ford and Dan Hay, President/CEO of Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) is proud to announce it has entered into a ground breaking partnership with Perfect Game (PG) to form PG Softball, an entity that will provide individualization and exposure to athletes in the rapidly growing world of amateur softball.
Perfect Game Softball brings together two of the most credible brands in fastpitch softball and baseball to give amateur softball players a platform to be recognized nationwide. PG Softball will produce national player rankings, consistent evaluation metrics and national scouting reports, creating a system similar to the one Perfect Game has successfully built in baseball over the last 25 years.
“This groundbreaking partnership between PGF and Perfect Game will now enable us to individualize our sport by focusing on our players,”said Dan Hay, Co-Founder and President/CEO of PGF. “Perfect Game is recognized by Major League Baseball and college baseball programs as the leader in player evaluations and player and team rankings, in the sport of amateur baseball. Our fastpitch softball athletes will now enjoy expanded opportunities that they have never seen before. The PGF softball community and the national landscape will benefit greatly, as these two powerhouse brands continue to lead our young female athletes and families into the future.”
Hay will serve as the President/CEO ofPG Softball, with Andy Ford of Perfect Game appointed Vice President,
The two industry leaders will work alongside one another, co-branding prestigious national events with the purpose of making PG Softball the top player service in the country. Through this venture, they will each continue to grow their existing successful entities.
“Perfect Game takes great pride in the fact that we enjoy a long standing reputation as the nation’s leader as the largest elite youth baseball platform and scouting service in amateur baseball,” said Jerry Ford, Founder and President of Perfect Game. “Our long time goal was to do the same thing in softball. The best way to do that was to partner with the nation’s leader in softball. Dan Hay and PGF represent the very best when it comes to the game of softball. This will definitely expedite our goal of providing girls fastpitch with all the same opportunities the boys enjoy in baseball.”
An updated event schedule will be released shortly. A new website is in development, initial information can be found here: www.perfectgame.org/Fastpitch/ or at www.premiergirlsfastpitch.com
Perfect Game is considered the world’s largest elite youth baseball platform and scouting service in existence, producing thousands of tournaments and showcases each year across the country. Perfect Game is dedicated to giving amateur players exposure to take their game to the next level, whether that be in college or in the professional ranks. At Perfect Game events, players are performing with top-level competition in front of college recruiters and professional scouts from all over the country. Because of this, these events prove to be invaluable to the college coaches as well as Major League Baseball as they can scout a large population of talented ballplayers in one location. To date, over 1,300 players that have played in a Perfect Game event have also played in Major League Baseball. Since 2003, 12,627 Perfect Game alumni have been selected in the MLB First-Year Amateur Player Draft.
PGF was founded in 2009 and today crowns the unquestioned national champion across nine age divisions. In 2019, 635 teams competed across those age groups, with the 17-day event held across parks in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Irvine, California. Premier Girls Fastpitch is where the best of the best play in amateur fastpitch softball. Since 2009 thousands of female student athletes have realized their dreams to play on the college level by performing with top-level competition in front of college recruiters, PGF produces hundreds of tournaments and showcases each year across the country.
by Kyle Parmley – Fastpitch Network
Despite residing in the shadow of one of the premier college football programs and in one of the most football-crazed states across the country, the University of Alabama softball program has led the nation in average attendance each of the last nine years.
Not even Patrick Murphy could have envisioned that when he took over the Crimson Tide in 1999. Over his 22 years at the helm of the program, plus the two seasons before that as an assistant, Murphy has seen Alabama softball rise from literally nothing.
by Kyle Parmley – Fastpitch Network
Some people make strong first impressions. Then there’s what Leighann Goode did the first time James Burgess saw her play.
A few years ago, Burgess recalls heading to the third base coaching box as a game was about to begin. The opposing shortstop caught his eye almost immediately.
By Kyle Parmley – Fastpitch Network
There are certain things that validate what Scott Smith is doing in his role as a coach and as the National Program Director of the Texas Bombers organization.
When he shows up to a practice in early summer and has nearly a dozen alumni of the organization there to work with the current team, that resonates with him.
Editors Note:
Learn more about the “4 the heroes foundation” at https://www.4theheroes.org/about
Kyle Parmley- Fastpitch Network
Legendary University of Michigan softball coach Carol Hutchins considers herself fortunate that the beginning of her tenure in Ann Arbor overlapped with that of immortalized football coach Bo Schembechler.
Schembechler instilled the creed, “Those who stay will become champions” into the fabric of the Michigan football program, which he led from 1969-1989.
by Kyle Parmley – Fastpitch Network
Avery Fantucci already draws rave reviews for the kind of player she is.
Fantucci, a Class of 2022 prospect, is a sure-handed middle infielder with a strong arm and the ability to punish opposing pitching in a variety of ways.
But for as good as the 5-foot-9 “gifted athlete” out of Atlanta is, she’s still getting better daily.
