Horsham Heat Softball Team Wins Pennsbury Tournament Championship

The Horsham Heat 10U softball team won the USSSA Pennsbury Memorial Weekend Madness Tournament over this past Memorial Day weekend. The two-day tournament took place on May 25 and 26 and featured a variety of teams from across both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Typically a team that plays in the Suburban Travel Softball League, this was the first USSSA Tournament that the 10U Horsham Heat team has played in over the past two seasons. The Heat ended up going undefeated (4-0-1) in tournament play over the weekend to claim its first USSSA Tournament Championship.

"This was not only an awesome win, but also a great experience for our squad to compete in their first USSSA tournament against a series of strong teams from both Pennsylvania and New Jersey," Horsham Heat head coach Todd Conn explained. "It was especially fantastic to see how our players came together and supported each other throughout five games over two days, which is basically the equivalent to playing half of a typical league season for us."

Pennsbury Memorial Weekend Madness Tournament Bracket

On the opening day of pool play the Heat team faced the Langhorne Lightning, a team they deafeated earlier in the season in Suburban Travel Softball League play. The opening game resulted in a hard-fought 6-5 victory for Horsham that required some solid defense to hold off a late Langhorne comeback.

In the second game, the Heat squared off against the Mt. Laurel Storm, a team ranked No. 3 in the New Jersey USSSA power rankings. After trailing 6-1 early in the contest, the Horsham players were never phased by the deficit as the team's offense came alive to aggressively battle back to grab a 7-7 tie.

Horsham's catcher makes tag at home. (Jessica Cassel)

In the second day of the tournament, which was single-elimination play, Horsham opened up against the host squad, the Pennsbury Gems, another team they had defeated previously in league play this season. The Heat maintained solid control of the game with strong defense and solid pitching. In the end, Horsham advanced thanks to a 9-6 victory over the Gems.

In the semifinal game the Heat faced the East Norriton Enforcers, a team that shocked the No. 1 seed Pinelands Pirettes (ranked No. 5 in the New Jersey USSSA power rankings) with a 4-2 win. As Horsham's hitting started heating up it proved to be too much for the Enforcers' defense, as the Heat advanced to the championship game with a 6-0 victory.

Sliding home for another Heat run. (Jessica Cassel)

The finals put Horsham against New Jersey's No. 2 power ranked USSSA squad, the B-town Bombers. The Boyertown squad defeated Pennsylvania's No. 5 USSSA team, Newtown Rock, in the semifinal round, 5-2. The game saw Horsham maintain a slight run advantage in the early innings as it forced the Bombers to run through their bullpen with an array of pitching changes. The Heat's aggressive offense propelled the squad to pull away in the end with a 8-4 victory to claim the tournament championship.

The win handed the 10U Heat squad its first USSSA state power ranking of the season where the team now stands at No. 2 in Pennsylvania and No. 124 nationally. Horsham is also the only undefeated team in USSSA play among the Top 10 Keystone State power-ranked teams. The Pennsbury Memorial Weekend Madness Tournament title also qualifies the Heat sqaud for USSSA post-season play. Horsham also closed out its regular Suburban Travel League season on Memorial Day with a win over the Centennial Diamonds, advancing the team's league record to 9-1 on the season. The team is now focused on the upcoming league playoffs where Horsham is seeded No. 2.