West Bay Warriors 18U Gold

PCFL Team Spotlight- West Bay Warriors 18U Gold

By Hannah Famiano

February 3^rd, 2021 – The Pacific Coast Fastpitch League (PCFL) is excited to spotlight the West Bay Warriors 18U Gold. For the remainder of the 2021 season, we will be spotlighting several teams in the PCFL in each different age group.

The West Bay Warriors 18U Gold are based in San Mateo, CA with all players being from the Bay Area. They are a very tight knit group and impressively, they have two of the top 2022 commits: Megan Grant (UCLA) and Olivia DiNardo (Arizona) who have been with the team since 12U. The team also has 6, 2021 players committed to college as well: Sage Hager (Santa Clara), Bella Carreon (Pomona Pitzer), Linzey Allard (Davis & Elkins), Lauren Bible (Virginia Wesleyan), Kayla Chang (Williams College), and Leila Hennessy (Dartmouth).

In 2020, the team traveled around the United States. They played in Oklahoma City twice and also traveled to St George, Utah, Las Vegas, Arizona 3 times, and Clearwater, Florida. The core of the team, who has been together since 12U, finished 7th in the 12U PGF Nationals (2017) and were 14U USA Softball National Champions (2019).

#11 SS Megan Grant (UCLA 2022) talks about her team and why she is so committed to her organization. “We’re different because we see the same girls at practice every day and are all from the same area, so the connection we have with one another is already very strong. Another thing is that our organization has only been up and running for 5 years, and to see what we’ve already accomplished I personally hope and can’t wait to see it grow even more.”

As a team, the West Bay Warriors are #13 in the US Club Rankings and have accomplished many great things together. The West Bay Warriors placed 7^th in the 2017 PGF Nationals, were 2019 14U USA Softball National Champions, placed 5^th in the 2019 14U Triple Crown Sparkler Power Pool in CO, finished in the top 17 at the 2020 USA Softball 18U Gold Nationals in OKC, and got 3rd place in the 2020 AFA Nationals in St. George, Utah.

Many players talk about how this team has changed their life and have made them better softball players. #39 2021 LHP/1B Linzey Allard (Davis & Elkins) “Without the warriors, I wouldn’t be the player I am today.” #23 2022 OF Talia Tokheim “Without the Warriors as a whole, I wouldn’t be who I am today, and I really believe that when you dedicate a part of your life to something, you shouldn’t only be coming out of it a stronger athlete, but also a stronger person.” #29 2022 INF Alex Bunton “We’ve grown up together and we can’t wait to keep competing at the highest levels.” #1 2022 C/1B Olivia DiNardo (Arizona) “Ray McDonald knows how to balance pushing a player and also allowing them to grow. Ray has been my coach since the first day I joined the program and he immediately showed me how to be the ball player I am today.”

The West Bay Warriors 18U Gold have big things ahead of them and keep moving forward. Be on the lookout for this team as they compete in the PCFL this season. We are excited to see them grow and achieve success as they just qualified for AFCS in Tier 2.