On the opening day of the 14U National Team Championships in Cary, North Carolina, several teams and players established themselves in the early action at the National Training Complex.
Wow Factor National and UDACF Evolution established themselves as strong early contenders with 2-0 opening days, with both sides powered by several standout players on Thursday.
Wow Factor’s trio of Credan Reasons, Emerson Morris, Porter McCarthy all went 2-for-2 in the team’s 11-5 win over Alpha Prime, combining for five runs. Morris and McCarthy both drove in three RBIs apiece, the high among all players on Thursday. Reasons added two more hits in Wow Factor’s 6-5 win over SBA Bolts in the afternoon, helped by a 3-for-3 outing and two runs from Eddie Pineiro.
Joining Wow Factor at the top of the day one standings, UDACF Evolution was powered by a foursome of solid hitters on Thursday. Colin Raymond led the pack by going 3-for-4 in the team’s 9-4 opening win over Sports Academy Legends, with both Anthony Huaranga and Maksim Neshov both adding a pair of hits and an RBI apiece. Easton Brunson tallied a hit, a run, and two RBIs in both the opening win and in the Evolution’s second win, a 5-4 victory over Stix. Neshov and Raymond also recorded a hit and scored in both outings, while Eddie Pineiro flashed a dangerous bat by going 3-for-3 in the win over Stix.
A third team to keep an eye on offensively is Team Elite National, which rolled to a 13-5 win over Top Tier Select in its lone game of the day. The trio of Breck Hemphill, Hudson Burnett, and Owen Burnes all tallied a pair of hits and at least two RBIs each, while Burnes and Burnett combined for five runs. The trio either scored or drove in all 13 of Team Elite’s runs, making them a group to keep an eye on the rest of the week.
There were also several terrific outings on the mound on Thursday. Luke Esquivel of SBA Bolts went the first four innings of his side’s 5-2 opening win over Anchor Bat, hurling four perfect innings with eight strikeouts before his relief. Carlos Trevino of the Texas Twelve Red Sox went 5.1 innings, also racking up eight punchouts with just one hit allowed in his squad’s 1-1 tie with Canes National.
Sports Academy Legends got an electric group effort on the mound in a 9-0 win over the Dirtbags in the afternoon. Brennan Mustard got the start, going 3.1 innings and striking out six while allowing two hits. Zach Estrada and Joe Vargas closed out the final 1.2 innings, combining to retire four more batters and limit the Dirtbags’ offense to a lone walk.
Perhaps the best performance of the day came in one of the final games, courtesy of the Midland Redskins’ Alex Potter. Potter went six innings in Midlands’ 3-1 win over South Charlotte Panthers Marucci, allowing a lone hit and retiring six batters to keep the Panthers at bay. Potter was also instrumental at the plate, driving in a pair of RBIs to will his team to the win in its lone game of the day.
With plenty of fireworks expected on the second day of action as teams jockey for postseason berths, make sure to catch all the action at the National Training Complex beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Friday.
