The Tampa Mustangs are on a title hunt

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Each player on the Tampa Mustangs 16s travel softball team has a specific job to do.

And on those rare occasions when a player tries something new, there’s one question that her coaches and teammates are always quick to ask.

“Is that going to help us win a national championship?”

A national championship — it’s the driving force behind the team’s preparation, its dedication and, in a lot of ways, its success on the field.

“We want the No. 1 title,” Mustangs catcher Maddie Biggs said.

After having finished as the ASA Nationals runner-up last season as a 14s team, the Lakewood ranch-based Tampa Mustangs were confident heading into this year’s national championships as a first-year 16s team.

After all, the Mustangs have had their fair share of success throughout their career. Earlier this summer, the team finished third in the Independence Day Tournament in Boulder, Colo., which is regarded as the most prestigious college showcase tournament. The Mustangs were the only 16s team from Florida accepted into the 48-team tournament.

The team followed up its impressive finish by winning the 16U gold bracket of the TCS Rising Stars Regional Showcase in mid-July before heading to the ASA National Championships July 27 through Aug. 3, in Salem, Va.

Fueled by last year’s national championship experience and their recent success, the Mustangs won their first eight games before falling to the Ohio Lasers 2-0 in the winners’ bracket final. After beating the Minnesota Stars 5-1 in the losers’ bracket final, the Mustangs fell to the Lasers 5-2 in the championship game. The Mustangs finished the tournament 9-2, with their two lone losses to the Lasers, to finish second out of 136 teams from across the nation.

“It didn’t surprise me,” Biggs says of competing against seasoned 16s teams. “That’s what we’ve been working for all season. I think we felt more confident this year because we’ve been there before.”

Braden River junior Bethaney Keen went 19-of-35 with nine doubles, four home runs, 15 RBIs, 16 runs scored and a .667 on-base percentage to lead the way for the Mustangs. Biggs, a junior at Lakewood Ranch, batted .519 with four doubles, nine RBIs and a .606 OBP.

As the ASA Nationals runner-up, the Mustangs earned an automatic berth in the 2015 ASA National Championship. The Mustangs finished the 2014 summer season with a 43-10 season and are now ranked No. 8 in the nation in goldfastpitch.com’s final 2014 national ranking.

“We want to make a name for the program, so that when the (younger players) get to be our age and put on this jersey they can carry on the name and make it proud,” Keen says. “It’s not just putting on the uniform. We’re making a name for ourselves.”

Biggs agrees.

“You definitely have to work for it,” Biggs said. “It’s a long process to get to where we’ve been. We want to be known as the team that’s done something that’s never been done before.”

The Mustangs, the majority of who have been playing together since they were 9 and 10 years old, returned to the field three weeks ago in preparation for the fall season.

The team will resume its college showcase and tournament schedule Sept. 27 in the Hillsborough Community College Invitational. The Mustangs will compete in seven tournaments throughout the fall before taking a break for the high school softball season, which begins in early 2015.

“We have a good relationship with each other,” Biggs says. “We all get along and work together, and I think we’ve proven ourselves with our success.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].