The fifth day of the 2020 USA Baseball 15U National Team Championships North Carolina was highlighted be four quarterfinal matchups. Elite Squad, Empire Baseball, Team Elite and Team GA Baseball all emerged victorious on the day to advanced to the semifinals, which will be played at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 9, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. View the full schedule and follow all the action on GameChanger.
Elite Squad 12, Tri-State Arsenal 6 (Quarterfinal)
Elite Squad rallied from a five-run deficit on Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., to defeat Tri-State Arsenal 12-6 and clinch a spot in the 15U National Team Championships North Carolina semifinals.
Tri-State Arsenal grabbed the lead early in the game when the team scored two runs to take a 2-1 lead in the second before adding four in the bottom of the third for a 6-1 advantage. But after a scoreless fourth inning, Elite Squad came roaring back with four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to jump ahead and grab a 9-6 lead.
Tri-State Arsenal couldn't get anything else going, collecting just one hit after the third inning, while Elite Squad put up three more runs in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach and secure the 12-6 victory.
Daniel Cuvet (2-for-4), Ryan Liss (2-for-3), Benjamin Reiland (2-for-3), Steven Spalitta Jr. (2-for-5) and Peyton Woods (2-for-3) all paced Elite Squad's offense with multi-hit games, while Cuvet, Spalitta Jr. and Woods also collected multiple RBIs with two apiece. Christopher Hacopian led Tri-State Arsenal at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Elite Squad's Luis Rodriguez picked up the win in the contest after his 4.1 inning relief appearance in which he allowed just two hits and one walk and did not give up a run. Edward Copper suffered the loss after surrendering four runs on four hits in his inning of work.
Elite Squad improved to 4-2 with the win and advanced to face Empire Baseball in the semifinals on Sunday, August 9, at 8 a.m. ET, while Tri-State Arsenal took its first loss of the event and fell to 5-1. Elite Squad's semifinal game will be streamed live by PlaySight Interactive. To access the live stream, click here, or visit web.playsight.com and search for "USA Baseball."
Team Elite 9, Canes National 7 (Quarterfinal)
Team Elite used a big second inning and a couple of late insurance runs to take down Canes National 9-7 and advance to the semifinals of the 2020 USA Baseball 15U National Team Championships North Carolina.
After a scoreless first inning, Team Elite broke through in a big way in the second, posting seven runs on four hits, two walks, one hit-by-pitch and a fielder's choice to take a 7-0 lead. That score held until the fifth inning thanks to a strong start by Team Elite's Drew Titsworth, who earned the win following a five-inning outing in which he gave up just one run on two hits and struck out three.
The teams traded runs after the fourth inning as Canes National put up its first run of the day courtesy of a Jimmyll Williams RBI-single in the bottom of the fifth and Team Elite immediately answered with a run of its own on a Chance Fitzgerald sac fly in the top of the sixth to keep its seven-run lead intact.
Three more runs for Canes National in the bottom of the sixth cut the deficit in half but one insurance run in the top of the seventh was enough for Team Elite as Canes National's three-run rally in the bottom half fell short and Team Elite claimed the 9-7 victory.
Gregory Bruno (3-for-4) and Brysen Nepute (3-for-4) led Team Elite on offense as they recorded over half of the squad's total hits. Luke Costello (2-for-3) had Canes National's only multi-hit game and also led the team in RBIs, along with Andre Modungo (1-for-2), with two.
Canes National starter BJ Etheridge suffered the loss in the contest after allowing six runs on three hits and two walks in his 1.1 innings of work.
With the win, Team Elite improved to 4-2 in the event and advanced to play CCB National/Team GA Baseball in the semifinals on Sunday, August 9, at 8 a.m. ET. The semifinal game will be streamed live using a single camera and broadcasted on the USA Baseball YouTube channel, @USABaseballTV. Saturday's loss marked Canes National's first of the 2020 15U National Team Championships North Carolina as the team dropped to 5-1 for the week.
Empire Baseball 7, 5 Star National Dobbs 2 (Quarterfinal)
A late-game rally secured Empire Baseball's 7-2 victory over 5 Star National Dobbs in the 15U National Team Championships North Carolina on Saturday, August 8, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Empire Baseball also advanced to the event semifinals with the win.
Neither offense could get anything going early as both starters put together scoreless outings. Ryker Davis tossed four scoreless innings for 5 Star National Dobbs, allowing just two hits and one walk in his start, while Empire Baseball's Bryce Rainer allowed just two hits while striking out five in his 3.2 innings of work.
5 Star National Dobbs finally broke the scoring open in the bottom of the fifth as Brooks Wright doubled in one run Ryker Chavis scored on an Empire Baseball error for a 2-0 lead.
But Empire Baseball immediately answered in the top of the sixth, rallying for three runs of their own to take the lead. The team then added four more in the top of the seventh to finish off the 7-2 victory.
Evan Miranda picked up the win following his 3.2 innings of work in relief in which he allowed one earned run on three hits and struck out three, while Kaleb Johnson was tagged with the loss after allowed three runs on three hits in two innings on the mound.
In addition to his work on the mound, Miranda also led Empire Baseball in RBIs with two, while Christian Grino (2-for-4), Jonathan Mendez (2-for-4) and Dean Moss (2-for-3) all collected multiple hits in the win.
Empire Baseball now holds a 4-1-1 record following the victory and advanced to play Elite Squad in the 15U National Team Championships North Carolina semifinals on Sunday, August 9, at 8 a.m. ET, while 5 Star National Dobbs fell to 3-2-1 in the event. Empire Baseball's semifinal game will be streamed live by PlaySight Interactive. To access the live stream, click here, or visit web.playsight.com and search for "USA Baseball."
Team GA Baseball X, CCB National X (Quarterfinal)
Team GA Baseball scored in every inning of a five-inning 11-3 victory over CCB National at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, on Saturday to secure its spot in the 15U National Team Championships North Carolina semifinals.
Both teams came out swinging as CCB National kicked things off with three runs in the top of the first and Team GA Baseball followed with two runs in the bottom half.
Team GA Baseball's offense then continued firing on all cylinders, adding to its lead in the second, third and fourth innings while pitchers Jacob Freedman and AJ Rodriguez shut down CCB National at the plate.
A six-run second inning was the big blow for Team GA Baseball as the squad took an 8-3 and never looked back. The inning was highlighted by RBI-singles from Cooper Milford and Matthew Cannon, as well as a two-RBI knock by Thad Bridges.
Cannon and Preston Booth both finished the day 2-for-2 with two RBIs to lead Team GA Baseball offensively, while Freedman pick up the win on the mound following his 2.2 innings of work.
The loss was attributed to Liam Kaushikkar after he allowed two runs in his inning of work.
With the win, Team GA Baseball improved to 6-0 and is only undefeated team left in the tournament. The team also advanced to play Team Elite in the semifinals on Sunday, August 9, at 8 a.m. ET, while CCB National falls 3-3 for the week. The semifinal game will be streamed live using a single camera and broadcasted on the USA Baseball YouTube channel, @USABaseballTV.
