Princeton’s Avah Oertel, La Salle-Peru’s Taylor Vescogni wrap up summer travel season

Two Illinois Valley softball standouts wrapped up a successful summer travel season.

Princeton’s Avah Oertel and the Heartland Havoc 16U Premier Maraden defeated NE Thunder National-Piatt 6-1 to capture the USSSA Midwest National Championship in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 20.

The Havoc were undefeated in bracket play, finishing 7-2 in the tournament.

Oertel, who was the 2025 BCR Player of the Year, had three homers in the tournament with one in the championship game. She had 20 over the summer.

LaSalle-Peru’s Taylor Vescogni and her travel softball team, Beverly Bandits 16U Otto, competed in the Premier Girls Fastpitch National Tournament in Huntington Beach, California. They finished 17th of 80 teams.

The Beverly Bandits are one of the most elite travel softball teams in the country, based out of Indiana, with players coming mostly from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Georgia by invitation only.

The Bandits played in PGF tournaments throughout the country, including Tennessee, Georgia, California and Colorado.

Vescogni, a Colgate University commit, was named NewsTribune All-Area first team and voted Interstate 8 Conference Player of the Year and Illinois Coaches Association Class 3A All-State first team.