Riviera Beach Spirit Finishes Among Nation's Elite

By Colin Murphy

The 14U Riviera Beach Spirit select softball team had a tremendously successful year. The Spirit beat teams from all over the country in compiling an astounding 102-16 record, dating back to last fall. Along the way the Spirit dominated the tournament circuit, taking first place in nine of the 17 tournaments they entered, while finishing second four times.

This spring and summer, the Spirit took state championship honors - not once, but twice - winning Maryland’s two most highly-regarded tournaments: the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) Maryland State Championship Tournament and the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Maryland State Championship. The Spirit’s impressive slate of conquests and championships powered them into the top five in the USSSA national power rankings throughout the summer - at one point giving them the #1 overall ranking. Their season culminated in August when they won the ASA Eastern Nationals, the most prized softball trophy on the entire east coast.

Over the past year, Spirit Head Coach Tom Johnson saw his talented group of athletes reap the benefits of their dedication to softball.

“I knew after our fall season that this was a pretty special team,” recalled Johnson. “When I look back on the season, it couldn’t have gone better. The girls worked hard all winter and really took a big leap forward.”

At the ASA Eastern Nationals Tournament over the long weekend of August 4-7, the Spirit went 10-0, knocking off many of the best teams from up and down the east coast on their way to the championship. In the semifinals winner’s bracket, the Spirit notched a 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Power behind a typically excellent outing from ace Jess Cummings.

In the next round, the Spirit faced Team Pennsylvania, state champions and winners of this summer’s USSSA World Series. The highly-anticipated match-up pitted the tournament’s two favorites against one another and was rightfully hyped as a battle of national softball powers.

“Both teams were really amped for that game,” said Johnson.

The Spirit jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and held on to win, 3-2, placing them in the championship game as victor of the winner’s bracket.

The Spirit faced the Ohio Wolfpack, who, as victors of the tournament’s loser’s bracket, would have to beat Riviera Beach twice to win the tournament. The Spirit, however, took care of business in the first and only game, beating Ohio 3-0 on the strength of RBI base hits by Kristen Griffith, Taylor Alvey, and Toni Pritchard to become champions of the ASA Eastern Nationals.

Coach Johnson lauded his squad as a true team, one in which each individual was willing to make sacrifices for the good of the whole.

“What I’m most proud of is that everybody came through and did what we asked them to do,” said Johnson adding, “Everyone on this team had a role they had to fill. Some didn’t always like their role, but they did their job and as a result made the team better. I can think of a time when every girl on this team came through in a clutch moment: got a big hit, made a key defensive play, or played a great weekend to get us through.”

The ASA Eastern Nationals champion Riviera Beach Spirit are comprised of Maya Schwartz, Brooke Redmond, Jessica Cummings, Kayla Haynes, Emily Kirby, Toni Pritchard, Amber Cosgrove, Taylor Alvey, ShonTia Mitchell, Jordan Cargile, Fiona Johnson, and Kristen Griffith. The talented team was coached by Tony Pritchard, Tom Johnson, and Tom Griffith.