Defending 18U champion Firecrackers Rico eliminated by FC Arizona

Being the defending champion is often a double-edged sword.

The intimidation factor of name recognition garners a great deal of respect. Conversely, that respect turns into the phenomenon of receiving each opponent’s best game.

Although many of the players on the current version of the Firecrackers Rico were not part of last year’s championship team, they still voiced the opinion that defending the program’s banner came with a great deal of pressure.

Tony Rico’s team was ousted by one of their own. A Firecrackers team from Arizona defeated the local ballclub, 3-2, in an elimination game of the PGF Nationals 18U Premier tournament at Huntington Beach Sports Complex.

“We knew that we had a big target on our back,” FC Rico starting pitcher Ryan Denhart said.

The Maryland signee performed well on the big stage with coaching representatives from her college in attendance. She went the distance, allowing five hits and striking out five.

The only damage against Denhart came in the fourth, when three unearned runs crossed the plate. Regan Kerr led off with a single. A pair of errors opened the door. The second, a fielding error against second baseman Brooke Marquez, led to two runs scoring on the play.

A third run scored when the next batter, Chandler Walter, singled to right field with runners on the corners.

“I felt like I did really well today,” Denhart said in evaluation of her outing. “There were just some moments on defense where things didn’t go our way.”

The Firecrackers Rico had jumped out to a 2-0 lead, scoring both runs in the bottom of the third inning. Jenna Kean drove an RBI-single to center, and Marquez’s blooper to right fell in to score the second.

All the advantages of being a champion were in motion. They were playing from in front, with the chance to apply scoreboard pressure to their opponent with each out that was recorded. Without the services of Mary Iakopo and Alexis “Lou” Allan, both gone with the USA junior national team, FC Rico could not gain further separation.

Myka Sutherlin held FC Rico the rest of the way, with a lot of inspired play from her defense. She had two double plays turned behind her.

The Arizona third baseman, Hayley Busby (committed to Virginia), was sensational in playing the bunt. She caught two such attempts in the air to prevent runners from advancing.

Busby may well have been the difference between her team winning or going home in the final frame. Kaitlin Parsons and Rylee Maston singled, and Anna Vines walked to load the bases with one out. That brought up Riley Wester, an Edison High graduate known for her ability to handle the bat.

Wester dropped a squeeze bunt attempt in front of home plate. Busby raced in from third, fielded the ball, and stepped on the bag herself to get the second out.

“I’m in the game,” Busby said of her heady defensive play. “I wanted to win more than anything for my team.

“I just know that I had confidence in my pitcher. I knew that Myka was going to get a ball somewhere over the plate and it was going to get a ground ball. Luckily, it was just a bunt right there, and I was charging fast.”

There was confusion as to why the ball found its way to the defensively-aggressive Busby. Rico noted that it was Wester that came up with the first hit and the game-winning run in the national title game last year.

“Riley is an experienced player,” Rico said of the Notre Dame-bound outfielder. “She knows. I know for a fact that she wasn’t trying to get the ball to the third baseman. She was trying to pull the ball to the other side.

“If it was any other time of the year, we would talk about the situation, ask her what decision she made, what she was trying to do. Even though the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, all we want from our players is clarity in the moment.”

Kean was the next to hit with the bases still loaded. She sent a liner over the left side of the infield, but it stayed up for Haley Denning to make the game-ending catch in left field.

“I’ve been put in those kinds of situations many times before,” Kean said. “I feel like I was prepared, but I guess things aren’t going to go our way this time.

“I kind of had a hope that the ball would get in the gap, but it didn’t work out.”

Andrew.Turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner