The Southampton Storm 18U fastpitch softball team concluded its packed fall season with three consecutive third-place finishes in tournaments, including gaining a berth into the National Softball Association (NSA) World Series next summer.

The new 18U team came out of some Storm 14U players moving up and new players coming in through tryouts. The Storm competed for part of the fall season as a 16U team, then moved into 18U tournaments as the team will become an 18U team in the spring anyway.

In the last tournament as a 16U team, the Storm finished third and earned the NSA World Series berth.

Southampton placed third in its first 18U competition, the End of Season Showstopper sponsored by Softball Nation, played in Newport News and York County. The Storm went 4-2 in the competition and beat the New Kent Blast 6-2 in the third-place game.

The Storm finished its fall schedule taking third in a tournament in Winterville, N.C. The Storm was the only Virginia squad in the field.

Nine of the 13 players earned academic honors earlier this month at Southampton High School. Several players have been contacted by colleges and universities about potentially playing at the college level. The goal of the 18U team is to gain exposure at showcase tournaments.

Winter conditioning will get going soon for the 2012 tournament and showcase season.