Firecrackers bats come alive against Jersey Intensity at PGF Nationals

A blind-draw format for the Premier Girls Fastpitch Nationals pitted several softball programs of great repute against each other early.

The Firecrackers Rico/Weil, the 2016 champion in the 18U Premier division, was one of the casualties in the opening rounds.

On Tuesday, the Firecrackers lost 4-1 to the Texas Bombers, heading straight to the long days of the loser’s bracket.

While a gauntlet of games awaits the Firecrackers if they hope to get back to the championship game, they started the battle back off right on Wednesday morning.

Macy Simmons’ grand slam highlighted a seven-run first inning, and the Firecrackers defeated the New Jersey Intensity Hannigan 11-0 at Huntington Beach Sports Complex.

“We’re all fighting for each other,” Simmons said, calling her team a united front. “I feel like we can make it past this loser’s bracket and make it to the championship because that’s how close and tight we are.

“I just felt like I needed to do it for my team. I needed to get at least a run on the board. The bases were loaded. I wasn’t trying to hit a home run. I was trying to get a base hit, at least. Then that [grand slam] happened, and I was like, ‘Well, that works, too.’”

If successful, the Firecrackers will have to win 10 consecutive elimination games to atone for their first-day loss and reach the final.

They have a chance to pull off such a feat with dynamic players like right fielder Anna Vines, who made two head-long diving catches to help Brooke Vestal and Ali Kilponen polish off an abbreviated combined no-hitter.

“I know these guys have a lot to do in the infield, so I’m trying to help them out a little bit by calling them off and doing the things that I can for my pitchers and my team,” the UCLA-committed Vines said.

Vines made it 7-0 with a double to left-center, capping the Firecrackers’ fast start to the day.

The first six reached for the Firecrackers on Wednesday, chasing Intensity starting pitcher Izzy Kelly from the contest. Simmons’ big swing was all the more devastating because of the Intensity’s inability to turn ground balls into outs.

None of the first three batters hit balls out of the infield before Simmons’ grand slam made it 4-0 just four batters into the game.

Recent Huntington Beach graduate Allee Bunker went two for three with three stolen bases, two runs scored and a run batted in. The Oregon signee played on the left side of the infield for the Oilers, but she found herself at first base for the Firecrackers on Wednesday.

Alyssa Garcia and Julia Jimenez each had two hits and an RBI.

“It was really nice to see our bats come alive,” Bunker said, stating the importance of the offense finishing off games. “We’ve been hitting the ball this whole week, but we haven’t really been putting the runs up.

“We haven’t really stayed consistent throughout the game, and I think this was the perfect game for us to get back into the role of hitting the ball consistently and rolling through the loser’s bracket.”

Emma Clark, a fellow Huntington Beach resident who played soccer and softball at Mater Dei, had an infield single and two runs scored.

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Also in the PGF Nationals 18U Premier Bracket

O.C. Batbusters Stith 12, Texas Intensity 0: Huntington Beach High rising senior center fielder Jadelyn Allchin went two for three to help her team to a mercy-rule victory in the first of three possible games on Wednesday.

The Washington commit had a triple and two runs scored.

Explosion Denio 11, Salinas Storm Gold 0: Edison High rising senior outfielder Serena Starks went one for two with an RBI in a blowout win to begin Wednesday’s action.

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner