June 29, 2026
by Kyle Koso
FORT COLLINS — Coral Williams did get a small bit of consolation late Sunday afternoon when the first batter she faced in relief hit a monstrous home run.
The ball sailed high and long, far enough to give her a few more seconds to sort out her response.
Pitching for the 18u Athletics Mercado/Smith squad, Williams struck out the next batter to end the sixth inning against the Georgia Impact Premier-Taylor team, then held firm in the seventh to close out a 6-4 victory for the Athletics in the 18u P5 Patriot Games championship game at the Triple Crown Sports field complex.
Through five innings, the Athletics had a firm grasp on their assignment, taking a 6-0 lead as starting pitcher Daniella Boccanfuso (signed to play at Cal-Berkeley) excelled in the circle. However, the Impact didn’t field a roster intending to go quietly, not after scoring 23 runs in their semifinal victory. Sure enough, doubles from Shayla Barr and Kharisma White (Duke) and a home run from Jenna Rapp (Auburn) chased the starter and made the score 6-3 in the top of the sixth.
Williams took over, and had to overlook the unhappy result off the bat of Mia Johnson (Arkansas), making the score 6-4.
“Right there, I’ve just got to put it behind me. She got her pitch, good on her, nobody was hurt … just had to dig in and know I had to do better,” said Williams, who is signed to play at UCLA. “It feels good to have (the responsibility). The pitching staff, we’re great teammates and competitors. I had Daniella’s back, and she did an amazing job.”
One of the strengths for the Athletics in the game was defense; they turned double plays in the second and fifth, and center fielder Aubrey McLaughlin (UCLA) hauled in a screaming line drive in the sixth. Arguably, the biggest play came in the seventh — after a leadoff walk, right-fielder Avery Gehrke (Penn State) sprawled to the ground to make the catch for the critical first out of the frame.
“That was the best defensive game we played so far. Our defense has been horrible all weekend; we’ve been juggling players around … it’s been an issue all week, but we hit our way out of it,” said Athletics coach Dave Mercado. “That was a big plus in this game, when we really needed it.
“Well, 6-0 means nothing, especially in (high-altitude) Colorado and against a good-hitting team like the Impact. We were able to do what we needed to shut it down.”
The Athletics built their early lead with two runs in the second, fueled by triples off the bats of McLaughlin and Jenna Caldera (Texas A&M). In the bottom of the fifth, after a pitching change, the Athletics broke out for four runs off five singles.
“I wasn’t too worried about (the score). I know my team can pull through in any situation that might happen, and if we get down in an inning, we can pick it up,” said Caldera, who had three hits in the contest. “We want to just keep working, stay motivated, and if you fall behind you just keep going. We have each other’s backs, always.
P5 Patriots Games 14u — On Saturday, the Texas Bombers Gold 14u team wrapped up a sterling performance at the event, going 7-0 overall and securing the championship with a 12-4 victory over the Beverly Bandits Chow/Hardin.
The Bombers outscored the opposition by a margin of 62-8 in their four pool-play victories.
