Tampa Mustangs Bedenbaugh 16U did not put together a perfect week at Atlanta Legacy.
They put together something better for July softball.
They adjusted.
The Mustangs went 7-1-1 from July 9-12 and finished the event with a 6-3 championship win over Unity Attard/Johnson 16U, claiming the Atlanta Legacy 16U title with a bracket run that got sharper by the game.
After working through pool play with two wins, a tie, and a one-run loss, Tampa Mustangs Bedenbaugh turned Sunday into their own personal cleanup shift. They went 5-0 in bracket play, outscoring opponents 36-8 and closing the weekend with five straight wins.
That is not easing into championship Sunday. That is showing up with the keys already in your hand.
The title game had some tension early. Unity Attard/Johnson struck first with a run in the opening inning, and the Mustangs were held scoreless through the first three frames. Then Tampa broke through with two runs in the fourth and followed with four more in the fifth, turning a tight game into a 6-1 lead.
Unity added two runs in the sixth, but the damage had already been done.
Tampa finished the championship game with six runs on six hits. Lily Briscoe supplied the biggest swing, going 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Audrinah Hall also drove in two, while Bristol Bedenbaugh doubled, walked, scored, and added an RBI. Devan Kuszmaul went 2-for-3 and scored, and Bayler Grande reached twice with a hit, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
In the circle, Macie Perna handled the final and earned the win. She went all six innings, allowing six hits and three runs, none earned, with one walk. It was not a strikeout-heavy outing, but it was controlled, efficient, and good enough to keep Unity from building the kind of inning that changes a championship game.
The full tournament arc made the finish even stronger.
Tampa opened with a 7-3 win over Athletics Gold Tamborra/Olson 2029 14U, then edged Bombers National James 16U, 4-3. The Mustangs later played Athletics Mercado 09 Chapman 16U to a 1-1 tie before taking their only loss, a 6-5 game against Team NC Smith 16U.
That loss did not linger long.
On Sunday, Tampa came back through the bracket with a 6-3 win over Bombers National James, a 6-0 shutout of Thunder 16U National Scarcella, and a 6-1 win over LA Blazers Elite Black 16U. Then came the loudest answer of the weekend: a 12-1 win over Team NC Smith, the same team that had beaten them the day before.
That set up the championship game against Unity Attard/Johnson, and Tampa finished the run the way championship teams are supposed to finish it: with timely swings, steady pitching, and no panic after falling behind early.
Across the verified results provided, the Mustangs scored 53 runs and allowed 21. More importantly, they saved their cleanest stretch for the bracket, where every game carried more weight and the margin for sloppy softball disappeared.
Atlanta Legacy did not get the perfect version of Tampa Mustangs Bedenbaugh all week.
It got the dangerous one.
The one that adjusted, answered, and walked out with the trophy.
Editor’s Note: A scheduled game against D1Vision FL GOLD 16U was visible in the provided schedule, but no final score was shown, so it was not included in the scoring totals above.
