CARY, N.C. – The 15U/16U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup concluded on Sunday afternoon, and it saw the 15U and 16U Southwest Stars capture gold. The Southwest Stars defeated the Northwest Stripes 13-4 at the 15U level, and walked off the South Stripes in dramatic fashion in a 1-0 decision at the 16U level.
In the 15U game, the Southwest Stars scored two or more runs in four of the six innings en route to winning the region’s fifth title, and fourth in the last five years, at the 15U level. In the 16U game, Austin Junk's RBI groundout in the bottom of the seventh allowed the Southwest Stars to complete the sweep for its second gold-medal finish for the age group.
15U - SOUTHWEST STARS 13, NORTHWEST STRIPES 4
SEMIFINAL REWIND
- The Northwest Stripes earned a dominant 13-5 win over the South Stars, led by Cash Crateau’s 3-for-3 outing with four RBIs and four solid innings by starting pitcher Benjamin Sorensen. Crateau finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle.
- The Southwest Stars defeated the Southeast Stripes 12-4, and the offense was led by four players who had multiple hits. James Key led the way with a 3-for-4 outing, while Noah Chan, John Kauffman, and Ryan Nicolaus had two hits each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Southwest Stars got off to a hot start with a six-run first inning. Key wasted no time putting his team on the board, driving in a pair of runs with a base hit up the middle after a pair of singles and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. Then, with the bases loaded up again, a wild pitch, followed by a 2-RBI double by Gavin Gomez, plated the final runs of the inning.
- The Southwest Stars extended its lead in the second with a pair of runs. Briggs Nelson led off the inning with a single, and after Jayden Culver walked to put two runners on, Nicolaus’s outfield single brought him home. Chan’s sacrifice fly later in the inning brought Culver across home plate.
- In the third, the Southwest Stars scored two more runs. Key reached on a hit-by-pitch to start the side, and a Dylan Hottle a base hit followed by two-base error brought Key home for the first run. Hottle stole third before coming home on a sac fly by Gomez to cap off the third-inning scoring.
- The Northwest Stripes got on the board in the fourth when Ewan Minitti delivered a single to right field with the bases loaded.
- The Northwest Stripes plated three more runs in the fifth, cutting its deficit to 10-4. Carter Wall and Ryder Serna got things going with a pair of base hits, and Johnny Lee laced a double to bring them home. Crateau drove Lee home with an RBI single for the third run of the frame.
- In the sixth, the Southwest Stars added more insurance with three runs to make the score 13-4. With John Dunbar on third after he singled and advanced on a balk and groundout, he scored on a Julius Berrios single. Nicolaus and Dambach proceeded to reach base on a walk and base hit, respectively, to load the bases for Chan, whose sac fly brought the second run across. Kauffman delivered another run-scoring single to extend his team’s lead to nine.
- Nathan Sinclair closed out the game on the mound by throwing 1.2 hitless innings with three strikeouts to hold off the Northwest Stripes.
OF NOTE
- Southwest’s Nelson and Dambach, along with Northwest’s Carter Wall, led all players with two hits each.
- Southwest’s Gomez led all players with three RBIs, while Chan and Key, along with Northwest’s Lee, tallied two RBIs apiece.
- Southwest starting pitcher Ethan Duffy fanned a game-high six batters, while relievers Corbyn Serrano and Sinclair tallied three each to give their team a combined nine in the game.
BRONZE MEDAL RECAP
- The Southeast Stripes came away with a bronze medal after defeating the South Stars 12-2. A five-run third and a five-run sixth propelled the squad to a top three finish, as Ryles Register and Wil Antunez led all players with two hits apiece and two runs scored each.
16U - SOUTHWEST STARS 1, SOUTH STRIPES 0
SEMIFINAL REWIND
- The Southwest Stars shut out the Midwest Stars 5-0 to advance to the gold medal game. Will Necessary and Nolan Clark combined for the shutout on the mound, as Necessary went five complete and tallied six strikeouts, and Clark threw the final two innings and fanned three batters.
- The Southeast Stars earned a 4-1 victory over the South Stripes to play in the championship game. Keona Barrazza and CJ Allee Jr. both went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead their team offensively, while Marco Lareto surrendered one earned run on two hits in five innings of work to earn the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first six innings went scoreless, as both starting pitchers turned in dominant outings. Southwest Stars’ James Amante tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six. South Stripes’ Grayson Thomas threw five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four.
- Both teams had a few chances throughout the game, but neither could capitalize as the pitchers and defenses continued to keep the game scoreless.
- The Southwest Stars finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh. Macin Garciaparra led off with a single before Austin Junk hit an RBI groundout that scored him from second, giving the Stars a 1-0 walk-off win.
OF NOTE
- Southwest’s Amante led all pitchers with six strikeouts.
- South’s Bryce Haydock, Julius Jessurun, and Beau Stevens and Southwest’s Garciaparra, Joey Koenig, and Josiah Park each recorded one hit.
- Garciaparra recorded the lone run of the game.
BRONZE MEDAL RECAP
- The Southeast Stars defeated the Midwest Stars 7-6 in the bronze medal game. It was a back-and-forth contest and remained a one-run game for the majority of it. Midwest’s Porter McCarthy led all players with a 3-for-3 performance, while four other players turned in multi-hit outings. Midwest pitchers Thomas Leeper and Sonny Mateja threw two scoreless innings each, while Southeast’s Nicolas Scannella fanned a game-high five batters.
