Southwest Stripes Sweep Gold at 12U/14U NTIS Champions Cup

CARY, N.C. – The 12U/14U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup concluded on Sunday afternoon, and it saw the Southwest region once again sweeping the week with gold, but this time it was the Southwest Stripes teams that came out on top at the 12U and 14U levels.

In the 12U finale, a steady stream of offense and a dominant pitching performance from Nash Downing propelled the Southwest Stripes to a 7-2 triumph, claiming the team’s first-ever medal at the 12U level. In a back-and-forth game amongst the two 14U Southwest region teams, the 14U Southwest Stripes took a late lead in the sixth inning to earn its second consecutive title at the age level.

12U – SOUTHWEST STRIPES 7, SOUTH STARS 3

SEMIFINAL REWIND

The Southwest Stripes came out on top 12-9 in a wild semifinal shootout against the Southeast Stars. A two-run single from Parker Johnston in the sixth inning was the decisive play for the unbeaten Southwest squad.
The South Stars prevailed 5-4 against the Southeast Stripes in what proved to be the best game of the day. With the score tied 2-2 entering extra innings, each team scored multiple runs in the clutch. Tyrann Mathieu Jr.’s walk-off single made the difference and kept the Stars undefeated entering the gold medal game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Noah Dent got things rolling for the Southwest Stripes in the top of the first when he dug out a two-out infield single. He then stole his way to third and scored the game’s first run on a wild pitch, giving the Stripes a 1-0 lead.
The South Stars responded in similar fashion in the bottom half, as Koda Graziadei laced a leadoff infield single and advanced to third on a fly out and ground out. He scored on the inning’s second wild pitch to knot the game at two.
After walking the bases loaded to start the bottom of the second, Southwest pitcher Ricardo Cobian put on a Houdini-like performance. A groundball forceout at home, a fly out to shallow center, and a caught baserunner allowed Cobian and the Stripes to escape the inning unscathed.
Southwest took the momentum into the top of the third, when Dominic Floyd stepped to the plate with a runner in scoring position. Floyd singled to right to put the Stripes on top again, 2-1.
It wasn’t long before the South Stars evened the game, as a hit by pitch put RJ Garcia on base in the top of the fifth for Mathieu Jr., who smoked a grounder that was too much for the Stripes first baseman to handle. Garcia raced home to make the score 2-2.
After Southwest scored another run in the fifth, the floodgates opened in the sixth. Downing launched a rocket to right to put two runners in scoring position for Johnston, who promptly hit an RBI single to make it 4-2. Downing then scored on a passed ball, and Logan Saavedra put the game away for good with a two-run double to the right-center gap.
Downing, who pitched five innings in relief, put the finishing touches on the gold medal game. The southpaw retired the side to secure the 7-3 victory for the Southwest Stripes.

OF NOTE

Downing finished with the best pitching line of the day after his five innings with zero earned runs in relief. South Stars starter Reed Coats also delivered a strong outing, allowing only one earned run and striking out six across four innings of work.
In addition to pitching a scoreless inning in relief, Graziadei recorded his eighth hit of the week for the South Stars.
Saavedra led the way with two RBIs on the game. Floyd’s two hits tied him for the game lead with the Stars’ Dallas Leach.

BRONZE MEDAL RECAP

In a battle of the Southeast, it was the Southeast Stars who prevailed handedly over the Stripes, 12-5. Jett Davis had three hits, and Boos Banks and George Mays IV posted three RBIs apiece to help the Stars win bronze.

14U – SOUTHWEST STRIPES 4, vs. SOUTHWEST STARS 3

SEMIFINAL REWIND

In the semifinal round of the event, the Southwest Stars earned a 3-0 win over the Southeast Stripes and the Southwest Stripes defeated the Northeast Stripes 12-3. The Southwest Stars pitching duo of Dave Beck and Sevastian Bojorquez combined for the shutout victory, tallying four strikeouts each in the contest. With the game tied at 3-3, the Southwest Stripes used a six-run fourth inning to propel itself to the gold medal game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Southwest Stripes plated its first two runs of the game in the second inning. Luke Upton got things going when he reached on a single to left field and was replaced by pinch runner Casey Kellar. Kellar moved to second on a wild pitch, and then scored on a triple to right field by Rio Lopes. Lopes later scored the second run of the frame on an RBI single left field by Bryant Herdina.
The Southwest Stars got on the board in the fourth inning when Young Lee reached on an infield single and error, and then score on Bojorquez’s RBI single to center field.
Lopes delivered another hit an RBI in the bottom frame to give the Southwest Stripes a 3-1 lead. Matthew Lobis reached on a base hit and was replaced by Cash Girard, who moved to second on a groundout, and then came home on Lopes’ single to center field.
In the top of the sixth, the Southwest Stars plated a pair of runs to tie things up at 3-3. Go Yoshino led off the inning with a double to right center field, and Cooper Hutton’s single to left field brought him across home plate to make it a one-run game. Bojorquez drew a walk, and then Brody Kay drove in the game-tying run with his base hit to right field.
Once again, the Southwest Stripes responded with a run in the bottom frame to take a late 4-3 lead. Noah Matheson drew a one-out walk, stole second, and scored on an error.
Kellar produced a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh to help his squad secure the victory.

OF NOTE

Lopes led all players with his two hits and two RBIs, while Yoshino also had a two-hit performance.
Kellar was credited with the win after tossing the final two innings of the game, surrendering one earned run on three hits.
Southwest Stripes starting pitcher James Gordillo had a solid start on the mound to keep his team in the game, going five complete innings and allowing one unearned run to score.

BRONZE MEDAL RECAP

The Southeast Stripes shut out the Northeast Stripes 9-0 behind a combined shutout performance from pitchers Avery Puckett, Isaiah Stanley, Landon Williams, and Hunter Hough. Hayes Ennis led all players with a perfect 3-for-3 performance, while Nathaniel Choe went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.