LINCOLN -- Brinkley Moreton not only won an 11&under open national championship as part of the Tulsa Elite NWA 06 in July, but claimed two individual trophies as well.
Brinkley brought home the tournament MVP award and won pitching velocity trophy.
Brinkley, 12-year-old daughter of Dax and Christina Moreton, of Lincoln, plays three positions: pitcher, third base and shortstop. She hit her first home run during the tournament, and starred within the chalked circle as a starting pitcher.
Skills Competitions
The tournament held at Des Moines, Iowa, got off to a good start for Brinkley and the Tulsa Elite NWA 06. As part of opening day activities various competitions designed to be competitive and fun were held at Raccoon River Park throughout the day.
According to the rules, the purpose of the skills competition was to create a fun atmosphere for the players to interact with teammates and other teams in a relaxed atmosphere of competition and fun.
The categories were: star drill, baserunning relay, catcher's competition, pitching velocity, overhand velocity, four-legged race, dizzy bat race and dizzy bat relay.
Brinkley entered the pitching velocity competition, which allowed a maximum of two participants from each team in the contest. Each participant got one warm-up pitch followed by three "clocked" pitches. According to the rules, the highest speed on an individual pitch wins the contest. In case of a tie, the second fastest speed was used to break the tie, and if necessary, the third fastest pitch would be used if the top spot remained tied after the second fastest pitch. The top two individuals per-age-group received awards.
After twice throwing pitches that reached 55 mph, Brinkley won the velocity competition with a throw of 56 m.p.h. while teammate Brayleigh won the overhand velocity competition and Coach George won the dizzy bat race.
"I've thrown harder before," Brinkley said, explaining her top speed has been clocked at 58 m.p.h., which according to her mother, Christina, is pretty much unheard of for a girl her age.
"Abby Jones-Hutchins started out helping me pitch," Brinkley said, recalling the former Farmington star gave her a softball with an inscription, "Good for your first pitching lesson."
The last three years Jaclyn Herrera has coached Brinkley in both pitching and hitting. Jones-Hutchins says she wouldn't have accomplished the success at the national tournament without them and the support of her parents.
Sports on 08/15/2018