The once 64-team field is now down to two clubs vying for gold at 14U Champs Arizona after an action packed day of baseball across the west valley. Let’s break down exactly how the day shook out as the sun begins to set on the 2025 rendition of USA Baseball’s National Team Championships Arizona.
Click here to view scores from every game throughout the tournament.
Quarterfinals
Canes West 7, Total Baseball Vipers 3
A five-run third inning served as the big punch for Canes West en route to a trip to the final four. Canes drew three walks and two hit-by-pitches and wound up capitalizing on the golden opportunity. After two-runs walked in and a balk to make it 3-0, Ashton Rigg smoked a ground ball between the 5-6 hole to clear all the ducks off the pond and break things open at 5-0. Rigg’s big blow was all pitcher Kamden Wood needed run-support wise in relief, as the hurler went 2.1 innings of shutout baseball while adding three strikeouts to secure a spot in the semis.
MVP Hustle 7, TB SoCal 0
MVP Hustle’s Myles Ojeda was absolutely unconscious on the mound as he mowed through TB SoCal from start to finish. Ojeda went six-and-two-thirds strong, coming just one out short of the complete game due to a pitch limit. His final statline showed 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB and 8 K to completely overpower TB SoCal and give his offense all the breathing room in the world. The sticks were able to back Ojeda’s stellar outing by running up seven runs on eight hits, which included a two-hit, two-RBI performance from Jimmy Quintero.
Texas Twelve Red Sox 6, Grind National 4
The Texas Twelve Red Sox came out on top of a back-and-forth battle with Grind National thanks to some late game magic. While down 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Texas Twelve’s Junior Roberts raced home on a passed ball to tie things up and send a shockwave of energy throughout the lineup. The very next pitch, Levi Werner cracked a single up the middle to plate two more runs and flip what was once a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 advantage. Noah Vrzal entered on the mound and closed out the final two innings with no further damage to bring Texas Twelve one step closer to gold.
Scottsdale Dirtbags 3, 5 Star Mafia West 1
Early offense was the key factor in the Scottsdale Dirtbags’ 3-1 win over 5 Star Mafia West. The Dirtbags scored all three of their runs in the first three innings to give pitcher Wes Wolfley all the run support he would need. Wolfley turned in a complete-game effort, yielding just two hits and one earned run while striking out four. Wolfley’s massive outing put the hometown heroes in prime position to defend state turf in the later-stages of the tournament with the semifinals awaiting.
Semifinals
MVP Hustle 5, Canes West 4
An absolute thriller kicked off the semifinals in the best way possible as MVP Hustle walked its way off into the gold medal game. MVP leaped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but found itself down 4-3 by the fifth inning. When Canes roared back, MVP answered and then some. A passed ball scored Danny Ruiz in the bottom of the fifth prior to a completely scoreless sixth inning as a whole. After a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, MVP wanted nothing to do with extra innings. A one-out triple off the bat of Seth Young gave the team about as ideal of a scenario as you could draw up. A strikeout and pair of intentional walks followed, but also made way for Julian Trejo to step into the situation every kid dreams about: two outs, bottom of the seventh, bases loaded and a spot in the championship on the line. After looking at two straight strikes, Trejo laced a pitch on the outer half of the dish right over the Canes second baseman’s head and into the outfield grass to deliver the dream scenario and give MVP a seat at the championship table in dramatic fashion.
Scottsdale Dirtbags 8, Texas Twelve Red Sox 7
Another wire-to-wire game unfolded, this time with the Scottsdale Dirtbags downing the Texas Twelve Red Sox in what was about as evenly matched of a baseball game as you could imagine. The Dirtbags saw eight different players record exactly one hit each to drive a very consistent offense across the board. The first four innings belonged to Scottsdale, where they held a 7-1 lead and a tight grip on the game as a whole. Texas Twelve began to fight back after a four-run fifth inning and a run in the sixth to bring it to 7-6 at the time. While only being up one run in the top of the seventh, Scottsdale found a way to load the bases in search of some insurance. Wes Wolfley then drew a bases-loaded walk to push across the ever-important insurance run. Texas Twelve threatened in the home half of the seventh, after back-to-back walks opened the frame. A sacrifice fly gave Texas Twelve some serious life at 8-7, but that exact moment may have been what pitcher Tyson Grotte needed, as he worked a dominant four-pitch sequence to retire the final batter via strikeout and send Scottsdale dancing on into Surprise to join MVP Hustle on a date with destiny.
On Deck
The gold and bronze medal games will be held at Surprise Stadium, the Spring Training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals on Sunday morning.
The bronze medal game between Canes West and the Texas Twelve Red Sox will start the day, with first pitch slated for 8:00 AM MST.
The gold medal game between MVP Hustle and the Scottsdale Dirtbags will follow suit at roughly 11:00 AM MST.
MVP Hustle is searching for its second gold medal in program history (16U, 2018) while Scottsdale is looking for its first-ever medal at Champs Arizona.
Follow Along
Fans and players alike are encouraged to follow the action through Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) on @USABaseEvents or with pitch-by-pitch updates on GameChanger
