Adirondack USSSA Pride 14U travel softball wins Eastern National Championship

VALATIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- As the members of the Adirondack USSSA Pride 14U travel softball team prepared to compete in one of the biggest tournaments of their lives, confidence was in ample supply.

"We went out there knowing we could win it," said rising Columbia sophomore Jillian Sousa.

"I told the girls leading up to it that they were definitely good enough to win the whole thing," added head coach Rickie Cartwright.

The Pride were one of 66 teams that comprised the 14-and-under "B" division of the USSSA Eastern National Championships in Salisbury, Maryland. After playing 11 games in just four days, this 10-player squad - representing five Capital Regional School Districts - were the last one standing.

It didn't take long for the Pride to prove just how capable they were of winning the tournament. After going 3-0-1 in pool play, they qualified for the gold bracket, drawing the eight-seed out of those 66 teams.

"They battled," said Cartwright. "It was…100 degrees some days, and there were multiple games in the same day. They didn't really care what seed they were. They just had to put their head down and win every game after that."

And that's essentially what the Pride did, winning five straight games to reach the championship round, where they awaited the Orchard Park Starz - the team they defeated in the semifinals, which came out of the loser's bracket.

Orchard Park took down Adirondack in the first championship game, but with the double-elimination format of the bracket, the two sides would square off again in a winner-take-all scenario.

"We knew it was our last game of the season together, so we just wanted to go out there and really bring it home," said Sousa. "We just wanted to kinda forget about the last game, start a new game [with a] fresh mindset and go out there and win it."

Seven innings of softball later, the Pride were Eastern national champions; defeating the Starz, 7-4, to take the title.

"It was really exciting, 'cause we all knew we could do it," said rising Ichabod Crane sophomore Charlotte Pelizza. "I mean, we've all been together for, like, years. So, I feel like we all had that bond."

"All of our hard word all season long has paid off," added Sousa. "It was just really exciting to be able to celebrate that."

A championship plaque wasn't the only hardware the Pride took home. Sousa was named the tournament's most valuable player, while Pelizza earned defensive MVP.

"It meant a lot," said Pelizza. "I definitely put the most work towards defense, [and] I'm gonna keep working on defense as much as I can."

"Just knowing all the hard work I've put in all season paid off, it was a really great feeling," said Sousa of her tournament MVP honor. "Honestly, it was a team effort. This team's worked hard all season, and I think it all just paid off in the end."

No matter where their softball careers lead, the 10 members of the Adirondack USSSA Pride 14U travel team will be able to take with them the memories of the summer they banded together to become champions.

"It was...the highest pedestal I think we could accomplish as a travel team locally," said Cartwight. "And now we focus on getting them into colleges. That was...a great way to end [the season]."

Chloe Alexander, Mattie Armando, Quinn Backaus, Maddy Camadine, Skylar Cartwright, Payton Demizio, Quinn O'Brien and Carolina Rapport made up the remainder of the Pride roster. Along with Columbia and Ichabod Crane, the other three school districts represented by the team were South Colonie, Maple Hill and Averill Park.