Day one of pool play at the 2026 10U Futures Invitational was a sight to behold, as 16 teams braved the North Carolina heat to put on 16 games of high-caliber competition. With eight inside-the-park homers and over 250 runs on the day, the offenses appear to be playing an outsized role in what promises to be an exciting tournament.

Braves Baseball Academy 14, Easley Baseball Club 8

Easley jumped on the Braves early in this high-scoring affair, scoring five runs on five hits in the first inning. The Braves immediately responded in the second with an eight-run explosion that saw them bat around the lineup, then held onto the lead behind 4.2 innings pitched from Kameron Zarrinnam, who allowed only one earned run. Nicholas Maddox II’s three hits and Jacob Vizcarra’s four base-knocks paced the Braves offense, while Westyn Parish led Easley with two hits and three RBIs.

Hit Factory Los Angeles 13, Top Tier 3

Hit Factory posted eight runs in the first inning and 12 hits on the game for a commanding victory over Top Tier. The Los Angeles squad received RBI triples from both Isaiah Rodriguez and Mason Gelchion, with Vince Peters and Anthony Markey recording three hits apiece. Mason Romejko smacked an inside-the-park homer for Top Tier, but Hit Factory scored four runs in the sixth to secure the 13-3 win.

ZT National Prospects 11, Team Elite 2

After a back-and-forth start to the game, Tyson Garcia broke things open with a two-run inside-the-park homer to give ZT National Prospects a 4-2 lead. The Prospects never looked back after that, scoring seven unanswered runs for an 11-2 triumph. Jaxson Vasquez led the team with three hits, while Garcia topped all batters with three RBIs. Parker Ruppert paced Team Elite with two base knocks and 2.2 innings pitched on the bump.

Scottsdale Dirtbags 8, Tennessee Grit 8

The Scottsdale Dirtbags got off to a hot start, plating three runs in the top of the first, but the Tennessee Grit could not be denied, scoring four of their own in the bottom of the frame. Scottsdale tied it 4-4 in the second, but the Grit posted another four run inning to take an 8-4 lead. With two outs, Tennessee's bats went to work, knocking four straight singles and scoring two runs, before drawing three walks and plating two more. For the Dirtbags, Brantson Barnsley’s inside-the-park home run plated two in the third, followed by a Carlos Figueroa two-run single in the fourth to tie the game. Time expired after five innings, leaving the two squads gridlocked at 8-8.

Canes West Futures 12, East Cobb Astros Orange 7

Despite only playing four innings, these two teams combined for 19 hits and 19 runs in a battle of the bats. Canes West Futures started the scoring early, going up 4-1 on Olie Amarillas’s RBI single. East Cobb bounced back with a three-run second, but couldn’t keep the Canes hitters quiet. Amarillas struck again in the third inning with a towering double that cleared the bases and put the Canes up 10-4. The youngster then took the mound in the fourth, throwing a scoreless inning to close the door on the Astros and secure the victory.

New Level National 10, LA Crawfords 7

In a wild game that featured four different lead changes, New Level National prevailed in comeback fashion. After the LA Crawfords took an early 2-0 lead in the first, New Level posted a three-spot in the third to go up 3-2. The Crawfords then seemed to put the game away with a five-run fourth, capped off by Landon Travis’s third base knock on a line drive two-RBI single to center field. New Level had other plans, however, as they rattled off three straight walks and four straight singles in the fifth -- including Ripken Lovelady’s third hit of the day -- to reclaim the lead for good.

DG29 Baseball Academy 16, Mid-Atlantic Ironmen 7

DG29 Baseball Academy was dominant at the plate, recording 12 hits in their 16-7 victory over the Mid-Atlantic Ironmen. The contest was tied at 5-5 after four innings, but the DG29 bats got hot, plating five in the fifth and six in the sixth. The offense was led by Carter Lewis who went 3-for-4 on the day with two RBIs and two runs scored, and Jax White who knocked a three-run inside-the-park homer.

MVP Hustle 5, SBA National 3

In a battle between two former Futures Champions, MVP Hustle prevailed over SBA National in clutch fashion. SBA National jumped on the Californians early, taking a 2-1 lead and bouncing the MVP Hustle starter in two innings. Hustle regained the lead in the top of the fourth, however, when Bryson Silverstein raced around the bases for an inside-the-park homer. SBA would launch one last rally in the bottom of the sixth, putting the winning run on base, but two gutsy strikeouts from pitcher Cruz Carrillo completed the victory for MVP Hustle.

Easley Baseball Club 16, Hit Factory Los Angeles 5

The Easley Baseball Club bats could not miss, going 15-for-25 for a collective team batting average of .600 in a dominant four-inning 16-5 victory over Hit Factory LA. EBC got off to a hot start with a 10-run first inning and never looked back, plating two runs in each of the other three innings. Hit Factory attempted a comeback in the third, plating four runs, but it was ultimately not enough to overcome the deficit. A combined six batters between the two teams recorded multi-hit games, highlighted by EBC’s Owen Killough who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and Hit Factory’s Markey Anthony who went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.

Tennessee Grit 10, Team Elite 3

The Tennessee Grit offense was rolling as they scored in each inning of a 10-3 victory over Team Elite. The charge was led by Ace McNeese who went 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs, while left-handed pitcher Alex Tobey held it down on the mound for five innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out three. Tennessee went into the bottom of the fourth with a 7-0 lead, but Elite fought back and plated three of their own, including one coming from a Parker Ruppert double.

MVP Hustle 10, Mid-Atlantic Ironmen 3

Mid-Atlantic started the afternoon with a bang when Giovanni Lloyd smacked a three-run inside-the-park homer to put the Ironmen up 3-1. Despite a spectacular throw from Ironmen centerfielder Lucas Hartman to catch an MVP Hustle runner at the plate, Hustle scored four runs in the next inning to reclaim a lead they would never relinquish. Xavier Toscano led the effort with a two-run inside-the-park homer, and Evan Campos, Easton Woods, and Elias Robles recorded multi-hit performances in the MVP Hustle triumph.

Top Tier 7, Braves Baseball Academy 7

This back and forth affair went down to the wire and featured some of the most excitement of the day, with four ties and three lead changes. Up 5-2 in the fifth inning, Braves Baseball Academy seemed to have things under control, but Top Tier stormed back in the sixth. Pinch-hitter John Considine hit a two-run double to tie the game, then proceeded to steal third base and home for the lead. The teams traded runs in each of the next three half innings, and the game ultimately ended in a tie as time expired.

Scottsdale Dirtbags 7, ZT National Prospects 6

A seven-run bottom of the third proved to be the difference in this matchup, as the Scottsdale Dirtbags batted around the lineup and recorded all eight of their hits in the half inning. ZT National Prospects had some standout performers, with Gianni Molfese going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Jaxon Vazquez going 2-for-4 with a triple, but their efforts were not enough in the face of eight different Scottdale batters recording base knocks. Everett Van Bogaert led the Dirtbags with two RBIs in the win.

East Cobb Astros Orange 14, LA Crawfords 0

Pitcher Mason Crowder put on a master class on the mound, pitching a complete game shutout in the Astros 14-0 win over the Crawfords. He allowed just three hits over four innings, striking out one and walking no batters. At the plate, East Cobb put on a strong showing as four players recorded multi-hit games.

New Level National 12, Canes West Futures 10

Shawnbrey McNeal Jr. was the hero for New Level National, knocking a three-run inside-the-park homer in the top of the fifth to lift his team over Canes West. It was a back-and-forth game until the very end, but the Nationals ultimately prevailed 12-10. The contest was an absolute slugfest as the two teams combined for 25 hits. The Nationals offense was led by McNeal who went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and three runs scored, while the Canes offense was led by Olie Amarillas who went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and a run scored.

SBA National 7, DG29 Baseball Academy 6
It was a nail-biter until the very end, but ultimately SBA Futures defeated DG29 7-6. After four blank innings, DG29 plated three in each of the last two frames, but it wasn’t enough to overcome SBA. Ace Elliot had a strong day on the mound and at the plate for SBA, pitching four innings and allowing just three hits and one run, while hitting an RBI single and plating two runs himself.