CARY, N.C. – The second day of the 12U/14U NTIS Champions Cup is in the books, and it did not disappoint. The 12U event saw three rounds of games in effort to avoid inclement weather moving in on Saturday, while six 14U games were played at the big fields. The day was highlighted by stellar pitching performances and big performances at the plate. Read up on the top moments from Cary.
DIAZ GETS IT DONE FROM BOTH SIDES
14U Midwest Stars’ Julian Diaz got it done from both sides of the diamond in his team’s 10-9 win against the Northwest Stripes. He threw three hitless innings in relief, tallying three strikeouts, and managed to hit a triple and a single in his 2-for-4 outing at the plate.
SOUTHWEST TRIO PUTS TOGETHER TWO-HIT PERFORMANCES
The 14U Southwest Stripes trio of Matthew Lobis, Evan Lucero, and Mason Metcalfe all turned in two-hit performances in the team’s 17-7 victory over the Southeast Stars. Additionally, they combined for five of the team’s RBIs and five of its runs scored.
LEE, LIND BATTLE IT OUT IN RELIEF
14U Southwest Stars’ Young Lee and Northwest Stars’ Bennett Lind went toe-to-toe in relief in a tightly contested game between the two teams. The game ended as a 4-3 result in favor of the Southwest Stars. Lee threw 4.0 shutout innings and fanned seven batters, while Lind surrendered one earned run and tallied seven strikeouts across 4.1 innings of work.
ENNIS FANS 13 IN DOMINANT OUTING
Southeast Stripes’ Hayes Ennis dominated on the mound in his team’s 12-1 victory over the Northeast Stars. He struck out 13 batters in six innings of work, and surrendered one earned run on one hit while walking two batters.
NORTHEAST STRIPES, SOUTH STARS EARN SHUTOUT VICTORIES
The 14U Northeast Stripes and the 14U South Stars both secured wins in shutout fashion on Friday, as the Northeast Stripes defeated the South Stripes 6-0 and the South Stars shut out the Midwest Stripes 4-0. Northeast Stripes' Cameron Sheriff threw 6.1 innings and racked up 10 strikeouts, while Theron Nolen Jr. got the final two outs to complete the shutout. Cameron Brown (4.2 IP), Ivan Coronado (1.1 IP), and Keaton Nibert (1.0 IP) combined for the South Stars' shutout victory, and Brown fanned a game-high seven batters.
RISE AND SHINE: 12U PITCHERS DOMINATE IN EARLY START GAMES
The early morning slate at Thomas Brooks Park delivered some sharp starting pitcher performances, as Kohen Davis, Lucas Bingham, and Max Wiiest combined to pitch 16 innings of one-run ball. Davis went the longest of the trio, tossing six scoreless frames for the Southeast Stripes to earn the win against the Northeast Stripes. Bingham and Wiiest pitched five innings apiece to earn wins for the South Stars and Midwest Stripes, respectively. Among the aces, Wiiest recorded the most punchouts with seven in his shutout of the Northwest Stripes.
CAN ANYONE STOP THE 12U SOUTH STARS?
The South Stars show no signs of slowing down after its walk-off win on Thursday night, as they rattled off two more wins on Friday to stay undefeated. The Stars combined to outscore their opponents 25-2, racking up 24 hits in the process. RJ Garcia led the way offensively with five hits on the day, while Easton Martie and Dallas Leach drove in four runs each. After Bingham dominated on the mound in the morning win, the Stars rode strong performances on the bump from Josiah Kyle, Jackson Cordrey, and Martie to a 10-1 triumph in the afternoon.
FARNUM-FOR-FIVE
The day’s top 12U hitting performance came from David Farnum III, who went a perfect 5-for-5 across two games for the Southeast Stars. Farnum was a machine at the plate in the Stars’ first win of the day, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs. He then made two plate appearances in the afternoon, where he notched another base hit and reached base for a sixth time on a walk.
SOUTHEAST REGION REVENGE TOUR
After both of its 12U teams lost yesterday in narrow fashion, the Southeast region hit the field at Thomas Brooks Park with a vengeance. The Southeast Stars kicked the day off with a 7-2 win, highlighted by a four-inning shoutout from Samuel Mendoza, then followed with a 16-4 thumping of the Northwest Stripes. The Southeast Stripes were similarly dominant, as Beckham Natola, Oliver Benzinger, and Max Hailey notched multiple hits in the Stripes’ 11-0 morning victory. The Stripes then earned a hard-fought 7-5 win over the Midwest Stars. All told, the Southeast teams finished 4-0 on the day with a plus-30 run differential.
