Stephanie Terese hit a walk-off single Sunday night as Sugar & Spikes beat the AZ Quicksilver 6-5 to take home the USSSA 16u Feliz Navidad championship at the Papago Softball Complex in Phoenix.

The game had five lead changes, including two in the seventh inning.

“Both teams battled until the end,” said Spikes coach Larry Hartman. “Sometimes it’s the team with the last at-bat that wins, and we had the last at-bat.”

Sugar & Spikes scored first. In the bottom of the second inning, first baseman Alexis Geiser drove in the run with two outs.

Quicksilver used a three-run fifth inning to take a 3-1 lead. Second baseman Keeley Batt led off the inning with a double to right field. She stole third base after a wild pitch. The next batter, Brianna Schrimpf, drove in Batt with a base hit to center. Before the inning was over, Quicksilver scored another two runs on a wild pitch and a throwing error.

That lead didn’t last long, though. Spikes countered in the same inning with a two-out RBI double from Diana Hartman and a two-run home run from Deisy Gomez, giving the Spikes a 4-3 lead.

Spikes could have added on to their lead in the bottom of the sixth. Catcher Eden Sheldon lead off the inning with a single. The next two batters were both hit by pitches, loading up the bases.

But the pitching of Dana Dal Soglio and good defense got Quicksilver out of the inning without allowing any runs.

Trailing by two runs at the top of the seventh, Quicksilver had to score to stay alive. They did just that when pinch hitter Ashley Bush singled in a run. Quicksilver pitcher Dal Soglio helped herself when she hit an RBI triple to give her team a 5-4 lead.

The game came down to the bottom of the seventh. Spikes loaded up the bases with base hits from Hartman, Myleena Torres, and Sheldon. Geiser drove in the tying run with another base hit.

With two outs, a tied game, and bases loaded,Terese came to to bat. Terese single to right field droving in the winning run.

“It was a hard-fought game on both sides,” said Quicksilver assistant coach Steve Batt. “They were the better team at the end. But our girls played hard and we’re proud as hell of them.”