FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Georgia’s Harris County High won four games over two days to capture the 2025 NFCA/F.A.N. High School Leadoff Classic over the weekend.
The (9-2) Tigers steamrolled their opponents by a combined 60-6 margin, with all four victories coming by 10 or more runs. In its final game, Harris County defeated Nebraska’s Papillion-LaVista South, 12-2 on Saturday, to claim the championship.
They beat Colorado-based teams in their other three games. The Tigers roared past Chaparral, 14-1, earlier on Saturday, and defeated Fort Collins, 15-3, and Arapahoe, 19-0, in their first two games on Friday. Harris County has now won six straight games and has scored 115 runs — and posted an average margin of 11.1 runs in their nine wins — over their first 11 contests.
Tournament runner-up Papillion-LaVista South won its first three games of the season before running into the Harris County buzzsaw on Saturday. The (3-1) Titans defeated Rocky Mountain, 13-7, and Windsor, 7-3, on Friday, and edged past Pueblo West, 7-6, earlier on Saturday.
This is the first of two NFCA Leadoff tournaments Papillion-LaVista South will play in over the next three weeks. The Titans head home to play in the fourth annual NFCA Kaiti Williams Memorial Leadoff Classic, which they co-host with Millard North High, on Sept. 5-6 at the Papillion Landing Softball Complex.
Tournament organizers cited the new partnership with the NFCA, the sponsorship and generosity of NFCA Official Sponsor Triple Crown Sports, and a hardworking group of volunteers for making the event a success. Fun activities like the Officially Human home run derby and the Country Financial “Fastest at the FAN” baserunning contest, and a pizza party for participating players were part of the weekend. Five dollars from every ticket sold the two days went directly toward scholarships and grants that the non-profit Female Athlete Network (F.A.N.) provides to girls and women in sports during the year.
The other eight teams in the 16-team event, which was an NFCA-endorsed event for the first time this season, included Fossil Ridge, Grandview, Grand Junction, Grand Junction Central, Discovery Canyon, Lowndes (Ga.), Mead and Riverdale Ridge.
The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded student-athlete awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to awards, to in-person events and National Convention.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining our lineup of over 7,000 coaches today!