We this morning also want to take a look at an upcoming event we will have coverage of here in the Journal for you through the course of next week.
Arguably the top tournaments nationally on the 2024 travel youth softball calendar each summer are the tournaments that take place in Colorado, and once again, as we have done here for many years, are providing coverage. A total of nearly a dozen teams from the Eastside featuring young ladies from the Snoqualmie Valley are competing in the two tournaments, the Colorado Sparkler/Fireworks and the competing Boulder Independence Day tournament. Both events have been staples on the summer youth girls’ softball calendar for years and draw top teams from all over the United States and Canada each Fourth of July holiday weekend to compete on one of the biggest stages in youth softball nationally and in front of a large number of college coaches.
Teams from our community as noted are participating in both tournaments. Here’s a look at what to expect.
Boulder: Most of the top-level Valley players will be on teams competing in the Boulder event, which is taking place at locations there and in the suburbs north of Denver. Feature coverage will include that of the 18U Washington Ladyhawks Simpson, based in Bellevue and featuring Mount Si High School senior-to-be Ally Hetzel, committed to play at the University of Washington, and the 18U Northwest Bullets Campos, featuring Hetzel’s classmate and teammate Anna Braukus. There may also be Cedarcrest High School representation there in the form of Lily Rafferty. She is listed on the roster for Woodinville’s Voodoo Rhinehart 18U squad and could play for that team during the upcoming tournament. Rafferty, a senior-to-be with the Red Wolves, could benefit greatly from an opportunity to compete down there if she does over the course of the coming week. Also there is Puyallup’s 18U AI Bandits Breer, with recent CHS alum Peyton Hayes.
Sparkler/Fireworks: The Sparkler/Fireworks events are run by Triple Crown Sports, whose headquarters is in Denver. Games will take place all over the Denver area, at facilities in many of the city’s suburbs, such as Aurora, Westminster, Littleton, Arvada and Commerce City. A separate 14U event under the tournament’s banner will take place at locations in northern Colorado, around the Fort Collins and Greeley areas. Headlining our coverage there will be Northwest Grapettes’ 18U McGee, coached by Mount Si coach Mike McGee and featuring two recent Wildcat graduates, UW-bound Addie Craig and fellow grad Tori Travers. Also, the Puyallup-based Washington Ladyhawks 18U Fairbairn is scheduled to compete in this event. Mount Si junior-to-be Avery Bielenberg is on this squad. The 14U event will feature the Snohomish Shock Campbell, which includes top CHS freshman-to-be Olivia Lowell.
Colleges out in force
College coaches and other representatives will be crawling all over the place down there looking at the various players. Among the colleges down there for the Triple Crown events according to their website include the UW, Central Washington University and Iowa State University, where 2023 Cedarcrest alum Maddie Knowles is playing collegiately. It can be expected many schools attending the TCS tournaments will also make an appearance at the Boulder event owing to the distances between the two tournaments, which are not very far. Boulder sites are around 30-45 minutes away from many of the TCS tournament locations and are easily accessible via freeway connections in the Denver area, allowing for coaches – and fans – to see maximum action during the upcoming week.
Other information
Streaming: Many of the teams will be streaming games through GameChanger and their apps, so download the app and sign up for a subscription with them – those run around $15 a month – to access those live streams. Additionally, it is anticipated that games featuring Braukus and the Bullets will be shown on YouTube. We will have a full schedule of those games for you posted on our “X” feed at @snovalleysports if you want a schedule. Streams are free to watch and are powered by SidelineHD, a streaming service that is a GC competitor. In checking, it also appears the Fairbairn games involving Bielenberg are also being streamed on YT as well similarly. We’ll check for a schedule of those and let you know how you can watch those games soon here in the Journal.
Weather: Weather at this time of year is especially warm down there, so between that and the altitude, players will have to be mindful of that and properly hydrate. This year is expected to be no different, as temperatures are expected to be in the mid-90’s for most tournament days next week with sunshine for much of the week.
We will work to keep tabs on things for you during the week next week, so look for our coverage here, and we wish the many athletes from the Valley and all over the country headed there to compete good luck.
Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal 