BURLINGTON, IA - Perfect Game Softball Winter One Day Tournament, February 15, 2026. Twelve teams, split between the 16u and 18u divisions, participated in this event.  With two pool games, and then a move into single elimination bracket play,  some players used this tournament as  their last warm-up before kicking off their high school seasons, while others were tuning up for the busy Spring and Summer travel season. In the 16u division, it was the Iowa Aries 16u Ce Fire Red taking the championship, with Southeast Iowa Allstars 18u Gold Miller earning the crown in the 18u division. Below are write-ups from observations made during the day, as due to a software glitch, there were no stats available to complete a Top Performers list.

16U Division 

Earning the MV-Pitcher Award, as selected by her coaches, was Aurora Widlund (2029 Altoona, IA) of tournament champion Iowa Aries 16u Ce Fire Red. Widlund, a RHP,  utilizes a repeatable motion and delivery, with good use of her lower half in the push phase. While topping out at 53 mph, Widlund showed hitters a four pitch mix of fastball, change-up, rise and curve, with her curve showing late movement sliding off the plate, resulting in several swing and miss attempts. Helping her curve was her ability to work both sides of the plate, which didn’t allow hitters to only key in on the outer half of the zone.

The MVP Award went to Avery Zlomke (2031 West Des Moines, IA) is a RHH for tournament champion Iowa Aries 16u Ce Fire Red. Setting up in a slightly open stance, sitting into her legs and hinged at the waist, Zlomke shows good weight transfer and getting back to parallel with her stride. Hitting from a firm front side, and generating torque with solid use of her lower half, she does a good job of keeping her hands inside the ball. With a line drive approach, Zlomke displays  surprising power, showing the ability to drive the ball out of the park gap to gap. This young lady, if she continues to work on her skill set as she matures and gains strength, will be a next level follow.

Other players in this division that turned in top performances include Payton Harris (2028 Mediapolis, IA) of the Black Dragons. Harris, an accomplished catcher, is now finding herself in the circle more and more, and steadily showing improvement. Harris, a RHP,  currently topping out at 59 mph, goes to work with a five pitch bag of fastball, change-up, rise, drop and drop curve. With a developing motion and delivery, Harris has become more consistent and is improving her ability to throw all her pitches for strikes. At the plate, hitting from the right side, and setting up in an exaggerated open stance, Harris utilizes a slide step to get parallel and for timing. With good bat whip and solid use of her hips, Harris drives the ball gap to gap, showing power to all fields. Although spending time in the circle, this young lady will find herself behind the plate, or on a corner base, at the next level.

Mila Jordan (2028 Wapello, IA) is an athletic RHH/UTIL for tournament finalist, Southeast Iowa Swarm. Jordan, with a conventional set-up in the box, slightly into her legs, uses her lower half effectively to generate momentum in her swing. Working her hands inside the ball, and setting an aggressive bat path through the zone, Jordan shows the ability to drive the ball opposite field with power. In the circle, working with a fastball, change-up, rise and drop, Jordan was consistently 58 - 59, showing good movement on her spin pitches, working the whole zone and changing speed to keep batters off balanced.

Jordyn Marshall (2028 Fort Madison, IA) is a MIF for the Black Dragons. Hitting from the right side, Marshall sets up slightly open,  making an early move to get weight transferred to her back hip, while also pushing her hands back to gain separation before launching her swing. With a line drive approach, Marshall sprays the ball to all fields, and although small in stature, she shows she has the ability to hit the long ball.  Marshall was off to a good start in her two pool play games, collecting four hits with a double and a homerun, while knocking in five to help her team to the number one seed in Pool A.

Hailee Morin (2027 Oak Forest, IL) is a R/R two-way player for the Oak Forest Lady Blue Demons. In the circle, Morin shows hitters a consistent motion, utilizing a leap in the drive phase, with a slightly unorthodox release as she has her elbow away from her body. While topping out at 58 mph,and working with a five pitch mix of fastball, change-up, rise, curve and screw,  Morin did damage with her rise and a very deceptive change-up that had hitters out on their front foot, unable to hit the pitch hard. At the plate, Morin set up slightly open and gained separation through weight transfer and stride, showing the ability to get the barrel on the ball, definitely favoring her pull-side.

Lucia Darnell (2029 Fort Madison, IA) is a RHP for Iowa United 14u. Darnell, with a consistent, repeatable motion and delivery, worked hitters with a five pitch mix of fastball, change-up, drop, curve and two seamer. Darnell, topping out at 57 mph, showed good spin and late movement on her curve, some glove side run on her two seamer, and just enough vertical movement and change of speed on her drop, to cause hitters to swing over the top of it, all aiding her in recording  6 K’s in her first three innings of work.  If this young lady continues to work on her skill set, as she matures and gains strength over the next few years, one would expect for her velocity and spin rates to increase, making her a sought after next level prospect.

18U Division

Being selected by her coaches as the MV-Pitcher was Peyton Stineman (2027 Cedar Rapids, IA), a RHP for Southeast Iowa Allstars 18u Gold Miller. Stineman, a recent Missouri Southern State University commit, is no stranger to Scout Notes, most recently winning this same award in January. Stineman, while topping out at 62 mph, utilizes a very deliberate motion and delivery in showing hitters a full, six pitch arsenal. Working the zone from top to bottom, on both sides of the plate, Stineman’s go to strikeout pitch was her rise that jumps out of the zone. Slowing things down, Stineman utilized her change-up, which she threw for strikes, with no tip off to hitters it was coming.  Next level stuff, for a next level ready pitcher.

Being honored with the MVP Award was Sullivan Hall (2027 West Liberty, IA), a LHH/UTIL for tournament champion Southeast Iowa Allstars 18u Gold Miller. Sullivan, multi-talented at the plate, shows good footwork and barrel awareness to be an effective slapper, as well as a good set-up and execution when digging in and swinging away, actually beginning both disciplines from the same stance. Hall’s speed causes problems for defenses, whether it is by her taking extra bases, or the defense making errors on routine plays, as they know they have to rush to get her out. This young lady would be a solid bat in the one hole, always seeming to get on base and scoring runs.

Some other top performances that were turned in included Ainsley Johnson (2028 Marion, IA), an athletic left handed hitting shortstop for Cedar Rapids Red 16U Red. Johnson loads into the box with a slightly wide and open stance, with her hands held high and shows a quick barrel through the zone. Appearing to be at her best when working the ball up the middle and away, Johnson showed the ability to go the other way and drive the ball out of the yard. With good speed, and hustle out of the box,  Johnson is aggressive on the base paths and looks to take extra bases whenever given. Having watched Johnson’s development over the past two and a half years, there is a lot to like about this young lady, who will be sought after at the next level.

Rhiannon Rees (2026 Grinnell, IA) is a LHH for tournament champion, Southeast Iowa Allstars 18u Gold Miller. Rees, a recent Iowa Western Community College commit, sets up in a conventional stance, feet slightly narrow, standing tall, with little movement. Rees utilizes a stride to get separation,  and then gets her barrel through the zone with an aggressive attack angle, generating pop with good use of her lower half. In two pool play games, Rees was 3 for 3, with two doubles and a bomb.  Although with what appears to be a smooth  easy swing, the ball tends to jump off her bat, with power to all fields.  

Miley Stimpson (2027 Carman, IL) is a RHP for Hc Storm 18u, who had an impressive showing in pool play. Stimpson, with a deliberate, repeatable motion and delivery, with good use of her legs in the drive phase, showed hitters a six pitch bag of fastball, change-up, rise, drop, curve and screw. Topping out at 56 mph, Stimpson had batters chasing her rise out of the zone, aiding her in striking out 14 batters in five innings of her team's pool opener, and then following that up with six more strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief in game two. Also showing the  ability to spot her fastball, and change speed,  Stimpson successfully kept hitters off-balance and disrupted their timing.