CARY, N.C. – The semifinals of the 11U/13U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup featured a walk-off win and offensive outburst, along with two tightly-contested back-and-forth games.
Southwest Stripes and Southwest Stars will meet in the gold medal game of the 11U event, while Midwest Stripes and Southeast Stars will match up in the 13U title game. Both games are set for an 8:15 a.m. first pitch on Sunday at Thomas Brooks Park and the National Training Complex, respectively, while the bronze medal matchups and final consolation games will be played simultaneously.
Follow along with all the latest by following @USABaseballNTIS on Twitter and @USABEvents on Instagram. All NTIS Champions Cup games at the National Training Complex are streamed live on USABaseball.TV.
SOUTHWEST STRIPES WALK IT OFF TO SECURE SPOT IN 11U TITLE GAME
Southwest Stripes secured a 3-2 victory in walk-off fashion over South Stripes in the 11U NTIS Champions Cup semifinals. South Stripes struck first with a run in the fifth, but Southwest Stripes answered with a pair of runs in the bottom frame to take its first lead of the game at 2-1. South Stripes knotted the score at 2-2 in the sixth, but an RBI single with a runner in scoring position in the seventh gave Southwest Stripes the win.
SOUTHWEST STARS CRUISE TO 12-1 WIN TO EARN SPOT IN 11U GOLD MEDAL MATCHUP
Southwest Stars scored a combined five runs across the first three innings and never looked back as it cruised to a 12-1 win over Northwest Stars to reach the gold medal game of the 11U NTIS Champions Cup for the second time in the last three years. Southwest Stars plated two runs in the second and three in the third to take an early 5-0 lead. Although Northwest Stars scored a run in the top of the fourth, Southwest Stars extended its lead to 7-1 in the bottom frame with a pair of runs, and then to 12-1 in the fifth with a five-run burst.
MIDWEST STRIPES TOO MUCH FOR SOUTHWEST STRIPES IN 13U SEMIFINALS
Midwest Stripes brought across six runs in the first four innings of the game, which proved critical for the squad in its 7-3 defeat of Southwest Stripes to move on to the gold medal matchup of the 13U NTIS Champions Cup. After Midwest Stripes took its 6-0 lead through the first half of the contest, Southwest Stripes cut its deficit in half with three runs in the fifth. In the sixth, Midwest Stripes brought a run across to make it a four-run game, then managed to keep Southwest Stripes off the board in the final two frames despite there being runners on base.
SOUTHEAST STARS HOLD OFF SOUTHWEST STARS TO ADVANCE TO 13U CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Southeast Stars held off Southwest Stars, 7-3, in the semifinal round of the 13U NTIS Champions Cup to advance to the championship game of the event. Southeast Stars struck first with two runs in the bottom the first, and then doubled its lead in the third to make it 4-0. Southwest Stars got on the board in the fourth with a run, but Southeast Stars answered with three runs in its half of the inning to take a 7-1 lead. Southwest Stars scored a run apiece in the fifth and sixth to cut its deficit to four, and put a pair of runners on in the seventh to bring the game-tying run to the plate, but Southeast Stars was able to keep the opposition off the board to secure the win.
