Cary, N.C. -- The fourth and final day of the USA Baseball 11U Futures Invitational kicked off at Thomas Brooks Park in Cary, N.C. with the bronze medal game and ended with a gold medal matchup between the San Diego Show and. the Top Tier Americans. In the end, the Top Tier Americans came out on top to claim the title.
The day also consisted of six consolation games. A minimum of eight athletes that participated in the Futures Invitational will be invited to participate in the 12U National Team Trials in Castaic, California. The 12U National Team Trial roster will be announced Friday, July 7.
Game 33: Midwest Select 13, West Florida Hammerheads 4
Midwest Select got an early 1-0 lead courtesy of a George Nahas RBI double in the first inning and it wouldn't look back, winning 13-4 over the West Florida Hammerheads. Nahas was a perfect 4-for-4 on the day and Elijah Hurt also contributed to the offense, going 4-for-5 with three RBI. Blake Larson had a nine strikeout performance on the hill in 4.1 innings of work to collect the win in this one. For West Florida, Chris Newstrom went 2-for-3 with two runs scored to lead his team.
Bronze Medal Game: Wilson Sandlot 18, Mid-Atlantic Royals 16
In the bronze medal game, the two teams combined for 34 runs off 34 hits, resulting in a 18-16 victory for Wilson Sandlot over Mid-Atlantic Royals. Jackson Babione went 3-for-4 with a triple and a game-high five RBI while Cayne Killion went 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead the way in the victory. Mid-Atlantic put up seven runs in both the sixth and seventh inning to rally and pull within two but fell short of the bronze. It got multi-hit games from seven players, including leadoff hitter Charles Nocella who went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Howard DeRias also had a strong four RBI day and went 2-for-4 at the plate. Zayke Hawkins got the win on the mound late in this one as he pitched the seventh inning for Wilson.
Game 35: Team California 12, NY Phenoms 9
Brady Butcher and Kamdyn Perry led Team California to a 12-9 win over NY Phenoms in their final game at the 11U Futures Invitational. Butcher finished 2-for-3 with an RBI for his team and Perry went 3-for-4 with an RBI. The Phenoms rallied late, scoring four runs in the sixth, but it wouldn't be enough. They got solid play from Esteban Garcia, who went 3-for-3, and Denali Rivera who went 1-for-3 with four RBI.
Game 36: CBA 2, TBSA Patriots 1
CBA scored runs in the first and sixth innings to secure a 2-1 victory over the TBSA Patriots. Pitching was the story of the day in this game, with Brendan O'Connell pitching four scoreless innings to for CBA and Tegan Melanson coming in relief to get the win allowing only one hit and striking out one in three innings. TBSA's Andrew Williamson also had a strong outing despite collecting the loss. He threw all six innings allowing only one earned runs and striking out one. Ashton Lee went 2-for-3 and Brydan Bull went 1-for-3 with an RBI to help at the plate for CBA. Jacob Dial finished 2-for-3 out of the two hole for TBSA.
Game 37: Team Florida 6, 3D Gold 5
Grayson Gibson was the hero in this game with a two RBI triple to get the walkoff win for Team Florida 6-5 over 3D Gold. Gibson finished 2-for-3 with those two RBI. Caleb Mility also made a big impact, going 1-for-2 with two RBI. Thomas Bly got the win on the mound in two innings of relief for Team Florida. For 3D Gold, the top four of their lineup got six of its ten hits, including Duce Robinson who went 2-for-3 with a RBI and Carson Tinney who went 2-for-2 with a RBI despite the loss.
Gold Medal Game: Top Tier Americans 11, San Diego Show 1
This years 11U Futures Invitational gold medal was awarded to Top Tier Americans, courtesy of a 11-1 win over San Diego Show. Top Tier scored in all but one inning, getting help from Daniel Arambula who went 2-for-3 with four RBI and Jonathan Mendez who went 1-for-2 with a RBI. Kai Caranto was the most consistent player throughout the tournament for Top Tier finishing 10-for-16 with a double, three triples, two home runs, nine RBI and a tournament record nine runs scored to help his team claim gold. Tyler Borelli led San Diego show with a 2-for-3 performance and in the tournament, it was led by Jose Mendoza who went 10-for-15 with nine RBI overall.
Game 39: Midland Seminoles 13, Piranhas Baseball 2
The Midland Seminoles had a balanced attack at the plate in their last game at the 11U Futures Invitational. Ten of the Midland players finished with hits, with Sawyer Strosnider being the highlight with a 3-for-4, two RBI game to help secure the 13-2 victory. For Piranhas Baseball, Morgan Sampson went 2-for-2 with one RBI for Piranhas. Anthony Sedam got the win on the mound for Midland and had quite a tournament at the plate as well, going 9-for-16 with the highest batting average on his team.
Game 40: Austin Crawdads 9, LV Rebels 2.
The final game of the 2017 11U Futures Invitational featured a 9-2 Austin Crawdads victory over the LV Rebels. The Crawdads got started in the first inning with a two run home run from Josh Atomanczyk to take a 2-0 lead. Atomanczyk finished the game 3-for-4 with six RBI for the Crawdads. Vinny Cano got the win in three innings on the mound tallying five strikeouts and allowing no earned runs.
11U Futures Invitational Day Four Recap
Top Tier Americans take home the 2017 gold medal