5 Star Arizona earned bronze at the 15U National Team Championships in Arizona after heroically walking off Legacy Baseball Group 6-5 in extra innings.

While both teams got their licks in early on, it was ultimately 5 Star Arizona who came out on top after Legacy sent the bout to extras with a two-run rally in the top of the seventh. Down 4-3, Legacy Baseball Group strung together four singles to take a one-run lead.

To even get to extras, 5 Star had to overcome a one-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh, and that’s exactly what it did. After advancing runners to first and third, pitcher David Adams laced a single through the infield to make it a brand new ballgame at 5-5.

Once there, 5 Star warded off Legacy’s advances despite its opponents loading the bases. Helped out by a runner starting on second and two straight walks, Legacy Baseball had designs on plating another series of go-ahead runs, but pitcher Kal Hampton had other plans.

Hampton confidently flamed two straight punchouts, denying Legacy any more movement on the basepaths in the top of the eighth. With one out to go, Hampton forced a fielder’s choice to give his team a chance to walk off Legacy Baseball in the bottom of the frame.

5 Star Arizona followed suit to Legacy’s eighth inning, collecting two straight walks to load the bases with no outs. 5 Star smelled blood in the water and struck — a single from center fielder Gatlin Geille was enough to bring in the game-winning run, earn the team bronze, and dub him as the hero for 5 Star West.

Early on, 5 Star Arizona had to overcome a 3-0 deficit that Legacy built up over the first and third frames. Legacy’s early run was sparked by shortstop Eric Tani, who added onto his already impressive tournament and drew first blood with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first.

Legacy tacked on two more runs in the third, and 5 Star responded accordingly. Arizona plated two in the bottom of the third, courtesy of a pair of back-to-back singles from the top of 5 Star’s lineup to make it a 3-2 game.

5 Star Arizona then took the lead after scoring one each in the fourth and fifth innings as its entire lineup continued to contribute to its bronze medal win. Six different batters recorded RBIs for 5 Star while eight tallied hits by the end of the team’s 12-hit day.

While Legacy eventually came back and countered with its two-run seventh, Arizona took the championship-day bout and donned bronze after Geille’s walk-off in extras. Meanwhile, Legacy placed fourth overall at 15U Champs Arizona.