The final week of the National Team Championships Arizona is off and running, and on the 14U age group's second day of pool play on Sunday, the action did not disappoint. With over 80 teams vying for an all-important playoff spot, a sense of urgency was felt throughout all of the sessions, and the games on the field were incredibly exciting as a result. Check out the best of the best from the day that was:
MVP Hustle White, NorCal Baseball U Cardinal 2027 Play to Wild 7-7 Tie
In the day's first session, MVP Hustle White and NorCal Baseball U Cardinal 2027 played one of the most entertaining games of the tournament so far, with both teams trading haymakers back and forth until they both walked out with a 7-7 draw by the end of it.
The bats were awake at the crack of dawn for both sides, with each team scratching some runs across the board in the early goings of things. NorCal Baseball managed to strike first blood right at the outset, taking advantage of some opposing miscues to tally a pair of runs in the first inning. After a sacrifice bunt sandwiched between two walks placed runners on the corners with just one out, Colin Brazil raced home on an errant pickoff attempt to open the scoring. Two batters later, the team recorded its first hit of the day to bring in another, with Ryan Cody lacing a ball into right field to get the job done with two outs.
This score wouldn't last long, though, as MVP Hustle responded right away to get themselves back into the game. With the bases loaded and two outs, Aiden Garcia dumped a ball into left field, bringing across the two lead runners and knotting things up once again. From here, the team capitalized on some miscues of its own, pushing home two more runs on wild pitches in back-to-back plate appearances that suddenly gave it a 4-2 lead in just the second inning.
A similar fate would come to pass in the fourth, with Garcia being the catalyst once again. The MVP Hustle leadoff hitter reached base via a one-out hit-by-pitch and would proceed to do the rest of the work with his legs, stealing second and coming around the rest of the way on two more wild pitches to increase his team's advantage. After taking that punch on the chin, however, NorCal Baseball threw one right back in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases with no outs after singles by Micah Mandracken and Cooper Carleton and a walk by Cody. MVP Hustle looked to be on the verge of escaping with no damage done after inducing a double play, but a costly error allowed the former two runners to score and brought the difference back down to one.
This all led up to the sixth and final frame, where the rollercoaster would continue for its final twist and turn. In the top half, MVP Hustle got those runs from earlier back, bringing in two courtesy of an error and a base hit by Anthony Osuna that brought the score to 7-4. This left NorCal Baseball needing to mount one last fierce comeback, which it got started early in the bottom half thanks to back-to-back leadoff walks followed by a single and a double by Cody and Tate Gebhart respectively. This brought the team's deficit back down to one once again, and with two outs and two strikes, a wild pitch allowed Cody to race home, tying things up and putting a cap on what was a crazy game from start to finish.
West Coast A's Pick Up Second Shutout in 7-0 Win Over TB SoCal
After starting their tournament run on Saturday with an 8-0 shutout victory over Stacked Baseball, the West Coast A's were right back at it on Sunday, blanking perennial contender TB SoCal 7-0 to improve their record to 2-1.
The bulk of the work on the mound for the A's was done by starter Easton Ochoa, who turned in an outstanding effort in his first pitching appearance of the event. Ochoa finished six complete innings in this one, striking out eight opposing batters while only conceding a pair of singles. The young hurler did not allow a runner to move past second base his entire outing, and at one point, he retired 10 consecutive hitters in a span that lasted from the second inning through the fifth. He also struck out the last two batters that he faced, putting the cherry on top of what was an excellent day.
After Ochoa was finished, the A's brought in Niko Pandza to close things out, and his outing was over in the blink of an eye. After giving up a base hit on the first pitch he threw, the reliever immediately erased that runner and the hitter at the plate on the very next one by inducing a ground-ball double play. A three-pitch lineout would follow right after this, closing out a five-pitch outing for Pandza to secure the victory.
On the offensive side, the A's were led by Nicholas Sanchez, who drove in three of the team's seven runs with a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and a two-run double. Other key contributors included Chase Thomas and Aquiles Lugo, who both paced the team with two hits apiece, and Ian Kunde, Trevor Rhea and Pandza, who each drove in one run themselves.
Arenado Baseball Club Keeps Bats Hot in 13-Run Outburst Against GBG Navy 2027
The Arenado Baseball Club bats came out of the gates hot on the first day of pool play to the tune of 25 runs across two games, and on Sunday, they kept that going by putting up 13 more in another dominant victory over GBG Navy 2027.
The team did not cool off overnight, picking up right where they left off in the opening frame of today's game. A whopping 11 of the fist 12 Arenado Baseball Club hitters reached base to start the game, a stretch that helped them put seven runs up on the scoreboard before even recording their second out. This was accomplished by moving station-to-station pretty much the whole time as well, as those runs were driven in by six different players.
A bit of a cold stretch in the middle innings, but the club got things going again late to secure a run-rule victory. In the fifth, Troy Carvale came up with a pair of runners in scoring position and cashed in, tripling into deep center to drive both home. One frame later, a trio of hitters would get in on the extra-base hit fun, with Robert Anoba, Russell Del Castillo and Karson Mau'u all bringing home runs of their own with two doubles an a triple respectively. This brought the team's lead up to 13-2, and after a quick bottom of the sixth, it locked up its third win in as many games.
As is evident with that many runs on the board, Arenado Baseball Club got stellar offensive contributions up and down its roster. Leading the way was Mau'u, who went 3-4 with the aforementioned triple and a pair of RBIs. Four other players had multiple hits as well, including Carvale (who led the team with three RBIs as well), Anoba, Charles Gonzalez, and Adrian Yepez. Finally, an additional three other players drove in at least one run, with those being Russell and Roman Del Castillo and Cash Matlock.
Prime Dispatches ZT Renegades 14-5 To Advance to 3-0 in Pool Play
Prime got off to a 2-0 start on the tournament's opening day, and after taking care of the ZT Renegades by a final score of 14-5 on Sunday, it kept that perfect record going into seeded play tomorrow.
The beginning of the game saw Prime jump on the board early and often, keeping the momentum rolling from its impressive performance on Saturday. In the first inning, it scratched across a pair, with an error bringing home the first and a triple off the bat of Joseph Valdivia scoring the other.
After a quiet second, Prime managed to put up a run in each of the next five innings, including a seven-run seventh that blew things wide open. Leading the charge for this stretch was Troy Galindo, who drove in a run in the fifth with a double in the fifth and then brought himself home with an inside the park home run two innings later. In addition to this, Jerry Garcia, Cole McGregor, and Hayden Vanderhoof all picked up a pair of RBIs themselves, and four other got themselves into the scorebook with one apiece.
This consistent production at the plate gave Prime starter Benjamin Mazariegos a lot of breathing room on the mound, and he took full advantage of it by giving the team a solid outing. Mazariegos did not give up a hit or an earned run in his 3.1 innings of work, and he did so while recording three of his 10 outs via the strikeout. The only knock on the young arm would be his five walks allowed, but he managed to work himself out of trouble to mitigate the traffic on the basepaths.
Follwing Mazariegos, Prime got an good showing from its bullpen. Galindo, who came in on in relief of Mazariegos, worked the next 2.1 innings and held the Renegades scoreless, allowing just a pair of hits and a walk while striking out two. Finally, Valdivia finished things out in the seventh, guiding the game to the finish line to lift the team to a 3-0 record.
