With bracket play beginning at the National Team Championships in North Carolina on Thursday, June 15, eight teams faced off in consolation games. Although the gold medal is off the table, pride remains on the line.

TOP TIER SELECT 5, ALPHA PRIME 24 0

Top Tier Select (1-3-0) registered six hits on the day en route to a 5-0 victory over Alpha Prime 24 (1-3-0) in the consolation bracket of the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina.

Top Tier Select’s first two runs came in the third inning. Cameron Guise rounded third on an error made by the catcher to score and get on the board. Soon after, a wild pitch scored Marc Hersh and make it a 2-0 ball game. Guise opened the scoring in the seventh with an RBI single with two runners on base, and then Kenny Perez made it 5-0 with a two-run double to left field.

Perez led the Top Tier Select offense with a 1-for-2 day with two RBIs and one walk. Top Tier Select starting pitcher Ryan Anderson pitched four innings with three strikeouts and two hits.

Rowan Kelly went 1-for-2 for Alpha Prime 24 with a stolen base. Tyler Paul Wentworth started on the mound for Alpha Prime 24, pitching five innings and recording nine strikeouts.

Top Tier Select will face 2024 Texas Twelve Red Sox on Friday in consolation play on the final day of the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina, with first pitch set for 11:00 a.m. on Field 3. Alpha Prime 24 will next match up with Knights Knation 17U National on Friday at 11:00 a.m. on Field 4. Both games will be streamed on USABaseball.TV, and live updates will be provided via @USABScores on Twitter.

TEXAS TWELVE 2, KNIGHTS KNATION 0

Reliever MJ Espinoza struck out four and allowed no runs on no hits in three innings pitched, as Texas Twelve (2-1-1) took down Knights Knation (2-1-1) in the final consolation game of the afternoon at the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina.

After a scoreless first inning from both teams, Texas Twelve put the first run on the board in the second frame as Nolan Traeger touched home after a fielding error from Knights Knation. With two runners on in the third, Caden Miller hit a deep sacrifice fly to center that allowed Brock DeYoung to come in to score the another run. The Texas Twelve pitching staff of Collin Toedter, Espinoza, and Isaiah Castaneda combined for a one-hit shutout to hold Knights Knation off the board.

Sam Erickson recorded a base knock to account for the lone Knights Knation hit of the afternoon. Knights Knation starter Bradyn Garner struck out five batters and allowed two hits in four innings pitched.

Texas Twelve will take on Top Tier Select in consolation play on Friday at Field 3, and first pitch is set for 11:00 a.m. Knights Knation is set to square off against Alpha Prime in consolation action on Field 4 at 11:00 a.m. on Friday for the final day of the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina. Both games will be streamed on USABaseball.TV and live results will be provided via Twitter @USABScores.

USA PRIME NATIONAL 17U 4, EXPOSURE 17U NATIONAL 1

The pitching staff of USA Prime National (2-2-0) combined for twelve strikeouts in a dominant 4-1 performance over eXposure 17U National (1-3-0) in the first round of consolation action at the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina.

The story of the game was the strong pitching performance of the combined USA Prime staff. Starter Levi Sterling went 4.0 innings and struck out nine of the fourteen batters he faced. First reliever Ford Thompson pitched 2.0 scoreless innings with one punchout. Closer Aiden Hayse pumped 95 mph while striking out two in the final three batters of the game. The staff gave up no earned runs.

The first USA Prime run came across on a fielder’s choice from Miles Ghossein to score Terrence Kiel. eXposure tied the game in the fifth on a throwing error from USA Prime. In the bottom of the fifth, USA Prime scored two more when Derek Curiel stole third and home on pure speed as well as a throwing error. The third run followed soon after on a balk by eXposure pitcher Kyle Klaric-Schell. Ghossein would hit into a fielder’s choice to score Kiel for the final run of the USA Prime tally.

The offense for USA Prime was led by Jaydon Kea who had two hits on the day, including one for extra bases. Curiel, Kiel, and Joshua Springer all added one hit on the day to total five hits, two RBIs, and three walks for the winning team. Lukas Buckner had the lone hit for eXposure, which was a double down the right field line in the fourth inning. Klaric-Schell took the loss after giving up two earned runs on two hits in 2.0 innings.

USA Prime National 17U will face 3n2 Sticks Baseball 17U for more consolation action Friday to wrap up the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina, with first pitch set for 1:45 p.m. on Field 3. eXposure 17U National will play in a consolation matchup against Team Elite, which is slated for 2:00 p.m. on Field 4. Both games will be streamed at USABaseball.TV, and live updates will be provided via @USABScores on Twitter.

3N2 STICKS BASEBALL 17U BREWSTER/WHITE SOX SCOUT TEAM 8, TEAM ELITE 3

3n2 Sticks Baseball cruised past Team Elite in a convincing 8-3 consolation game victory at the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina.

Team Elite took an early 1-0 lead after a double steal caught Foster Apple between first and second, but allowed Tate Sirmans to take home. 3n2 Sticks evened things out in its half of the first after a groundout by Paxton Flag drove in Brenton Clark, who had a leadoff single to left to start the inning. Team Elite regained the lead in the third inning after Connor Cobb’s double punched in Ty Corbin after he reached on a base hit to make it 2-1.

3n2 Sticks took control in the fourth and never looked back. After a wild pitch scored Clark, a two-RBI single by Bo Jonas brought in Landon Schaefer and Owen Coil who had reached base on a free pass and a catcher’s interference call, respectively, making it 4-2. 3n2 Sticks continued to showcase its offense in the fourth inning as back-to-back walks followed by Clark’s sacrifice fly drove in Brex Caldwell. Drew Dickerson earned a two-RBI triple after his deep shot to center scored Eli Crecelius and Schaefer. 3n2 Sticks tacked on another run after Coil doubled to right and easily drove in Dickerson to make it 8-2. Team Elite managed to put up one more run on the board after an error committed by the shortstop allowed Apple to reach, and brought in Cobb who secured a leadoff walk, to score, making it an 8-3 contest.

Davis York threw a solid 2.1 innings, giving up no earned runs while gathering four strikeouts for 3n2 Sticks. Clark was perfect on the day for 3n2 Sticks, going 2-for-2 while scoring two runs and driving in one. Dickerson and Jonas each collected two RBIs. Cobb was 1-for-1 in the game, scoring and driving one in for Team Elite while earning a free pass. Corbin was responsible for scoring another run for Team Elite, as he was 1-for-2 on the day.

3n2 Sticks will remain in the consolation bracket and play USA Prime at 1:45 p.m. Friday afternoon on Field 3. Team Elite, will face eXposure 17U National at 2:00 p.m. on Field 4. Both games will be streamed on USABaseball.TV, and live updates will be provided via @USABScores on Twitter.