The third day of the 2025 12U/14U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup brought all of the action with numerous strong pitching performances and impressive efforts at the plate. Read up on all of the action that took place in Cary:

12U NTIS CHAMPIONS CUP ROUNDUP

The Northeast Stripes used a 2-RBI double by Quentin West in the sixth inning for the go-ahead run to earn a 3-2 win over the South Stars. Northeast got on the board in the second thanks to an RBI double by Leonard Stephens III, but the South Stars tied the game in the fifth on Abraham Palenzuela’s RBI double. West’s two-run knock in the sixth gave Northeast a 3-1 advantage. In the seventh the South Stars used a double play to put itself within one, but the rally came up short.

SOUTHWEST STRIPES 15, NORTHWEST STRIPES 14

The Southwest Stripes held off a late rally by the Northwest Stripes to come away with a 15-14 victory. Southwest scored 13 of its runs across the first three innings, which included six-run bursts in the first and third. Down 15-2 headed into the bottom of the sixth, Northwest exploded for 10 runs with run-scoring singles by Braylon Moore, Cruz San Nicolas, and Paxton Sun, and then scored two more in the seventh to make it a one-run game, but the comeback fell short.

SOUTHEAST STARS 3, SOUTH STRIPES 2

The Southeast Stars walked it off on the South Stripes to earn a 3-2 win. With a runner at third and the game tied at 2-2, Max Thomas played hero and hit a hard ground ball into right field for an RBI single and the game-winning hit.

MIDWEST STRIPES 13, NORTHEAST STARS 2

The Northeast Stars scored an early run in the first, but the Midwest Stripes used an RBI single by Duncan Mount and a sac fly by Brandon Orlow in the bottom frame to take a 2-1 lead. Midwest continued to pile on the runs the next three innings to take a 10-2 lead, and tacked on three more in the sixth en route to its 13-2 win. Mount and Orlow led the team at the plate, as Mount went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and Orlow had two hits and three RBIs.

SOUTHWEST STARS 14, SOUTHEAST STRIPES 5

The Southwest Stars put up runs in each of the final five innings to cruise to a 14-5 win over the Southeast Stripes. Southeast held a 5-2 led after four innings, but Southwest scored a combined 12 runs over the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings with run-scoring hits from seven different players. Oskar Cushman had two hits and two RBIs in the stretch.

MIDWEST STARS 9, NORTHWEST STARS 9

The contest between the Midwest Stars and Northwest Stars ended in a 9-9 tie. Midwest got on the board first with three runs in the second on a Brody Wilk 2-RBI double and a Chaylen Cho RBI single. Northwest took its first lead of the game in the fourth with six runs, which included RBI hits from Jackson Baldwin and Grady Van Zandt. The two teams traded three runs each in the sixth inning, and then in the seventh Midwest used two runs to knot the score and force a tie.

NORTHEAST STRIPES 11, SOUTHWEST STRIPES 2

The Northeast Stripes collected an 11-2 win over the Southwest Stripes. Northeast used its offensive power and capitalized on wild pitching from Southwest to earn the dominant win.

SOUTH STARS 6, NORTHWEST STRIPES 4

The South Stars defeated the Northwest Stripes 6-4. Abraham Palenzuela’s RBI double and Declan Cretti’s 2-RBI triple got the South Stars off to a 3-0 start in the first, and after the teams traded runs in the second, Peter Koller’s 2-RBI double and Cruz San Nicolas’s RBI single in the top of the third tied things up at 3-3. The South Stars plated the go-ahead run in the bottom frame and then added one more in the fifth to ultimately come away with the win.

MIDWEST STRIPES 4, SOUTH STRIPES 2

The Midwest Stars battled out a close contest with the South Stripes and earned a 4-2 win. A sac fly in the first, and 2-RBI single by Kyler Meints followed by an RBI double by Bryson Loftin in the second proved to be enough for the win. The South Stripes plated its two runs on Tucker Harris’s two-run single in the second, but the Midwest pitching staff kept the opposition at bay.

SOUTHEAST STARS 10, NORTHEAST STARS 4

The Southeast Stars scored multiple runs in four of the five innings contested to come away with a 10-4 win. Southeast scored three apiece in the first and second, and two apiece in the fourth and fifth innings. Southeast’s Jack Logan was responsible for two of the runs scored with RBI hits in the second and fourth, and Northeast’s Whitaker Wellmon had a game-high two RBIs with his two-run double in the fifth.

SOUTHEAST STRIPES 10, MIDWEST STARS 8

The Southeast Stripes had a 10-8 comeback win over the Midwest Stars. Down 8-7 heading into the seventh inning, Justin Hamilton Jr. and Grayson Coggin used RBI singles as part of a three-run frame to help their team rally back. Coggin was also responsible for driving in a run in the fifth to tie things up at 6-6.

SOUTHWEST STARS 12, NORTHWEST STARS 7

The Southwest Stars battled out a 12-7 win over the Northwest Stars. The two teams traded runs across the first five innings, but a four-run second and six-run third ultimately provided the insurance Southwest needed to come away victorious. Those frames were highlighted by run-producing hits from Carter Rahmatulla, CJ Chiappelli, Will Oswald, Matthew Lipsky, and Rob Martin.

14U NTIS CHAMPIONS CUP ROUNDUP

NORTHWEST STRIPES 2, SOUTHEAST STRIPES 0

The Northwest Stripes and Southeast Stripes squared off in a tightly contested battle to start the third day of the 14U NTIS Champions Cup. In the opening game on Coleman Field, the two squads put together a defensive masterclass to keep fans on their toes throughout the contest. After a scoreless first, Vincent Lendzion put Northwest on the board via a groundout RBI in the bottom of the second frame. Over the next few innings, defense stood center stage as both teams attempted to pull away from the other. The Northwest Stripes took advantage of a Benicio Perez single and turned it into a run after Perez snuck home due to a wild pitch, which would ultimately seal the victory. Despite the loss, Southeast Stripes’ pitcher Nathan Handley-White only yielded three hits through six frames while also striking out eight total batters.

MIDWEST STRIPES 9, NORTHEAST STARS 5

Jaykob Henry carried the Midwest Stripes to a hard-fought 9-5 victory over the Northeast Stars with his game-best two RBIs. With a tied game going into the third inning, he put his team up front when he delivered a bases-loaded single. Henry collected another RBI with a triple later in the contest. Northeast Stars’ Owen Pinkman also had a productive day at the plate with two RBIs for his squad. With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, Pinkman slammed a single to punch home two runs. Even with the outburst, the rally was not enough to overcome the Midwest Stripes’ lead.

SOUTHWEST STRIPES 8, SOUTHEAST STARS 2

The Southwest Stripes nabbed an 8-2 win over the Southeast Stars after combining for six runs through the first three frames. The top of the first frame saw the Southwest Stars notch a pair of extra-base hits from Julius Berrios andMattias Di Maggio, which would allow for their side to jump out to an early two-run lead. Their momentum carried right over into the ensuing innings, as Jonah Hargrave lined a two-RBI triple to left field to make the score 6-0. The Southwest Stripes continued to rack up runs in the later portion of the contest. Hargrave found his way to the base path, this time via a double on a 3-1 count, and later scored on a Glenn Murray RBI single. The Southeast Stars struck back in the bottom of the sixth, but the lead proved insurmountable, and the Southwest Stripes walked away with the win.

SOUTH STARS 14, NORTHWEST STARS 9

Offense was the name of the game in the matchup between the South Stars and the Northwest Stars as both teams combined for 23 runs through seven innings. After the Northwest Stars put up one run in the top of the first, the South Stars answered 14 runs, seven apiece, in the first and second frames. Karter Manzer, of the South Stars, capped the rally with a two-RBI double to give his side a large lead heading into the third. Roles were reversed in the third and fourth frame as the Northwest Stars notched eight runs after a handful of walks and a few errors. Despite the resurgence, the South Stars defense hung on to capture the victory.

MIDWEST STARS 4, NORTHEAST STRIPES 0

The Midwest Stars blanked the Northeast Stripes, 4-0, to start the second slate of games on day three of the 14U NTIS. The victory was a team effort, but can largely be accredited to standout pitcher Alexander Hurie. Hurie was phenomenal on the mound as he went seven innings on the bump and allowed just three hits. The flamethrower also sat down six batters throughout his performance while also keeping the Northeast Stripes scoreless.

SOUTHWEST STARS 6, SOUTH STRIPES 4

Through timely hitting and a solid effort on the mound, the Southwest Stars came out victorious over the South Stripes to wrap up day three of the 14U NTIS. Southwest Stars’ Kolotau Koka led the effort on the mound, striking out seven batters in 2.2 innings of action. Offensively, the Southwest Stars were efficient at the plate and took advantage of errors to ultimately close the game out. While his side didn’t come out victorious, Kingston George struck out seven batters in 4.2 innings on the bump and he also tallied a game-high three hits at the dish.