USA Baseball’s National Team Championships Arizona have come to a close with the hometown Scottsdale Dirtbags Gold going out on top in yet another summer for the books.
The Dirtbags downed the Cowboys, 10-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Surprise Stadium to complete a perfect 8-0 run that included 82 runs scored over the week.
It’s the first gold medal in the program’s history at Champs Arizona and second overall. The Dirtbags avenged last year’s silver medal performance in the 14U division by paving a dominant path to gold a year later in this year’s tournament.
“This is a special group,” said head coach Justin Sipe.
“They came together, played together, did the little things right and executed. We didn't play selfish baseball. We were close last year… we had to go get gold this year. We had a chip on our shoulder and something to prove,” he added.
The gold medal game brought the hot bats from the start, featuring a perfect day at the plate for Jack Kinsler and Finn Burns, each going 2-for-2. Maddox Bell completed the trio of players with two hits, going 2-for-3 with one RBI. Kinsler finished the tournament holding a standalone lead in hits with 14 across the eight games.
Following closely behind the trio was Mason de Vries, who collected at least one stat in hits, runs scored, RBI, walks in today’s win. De Vries’s performance today added to his all-tournament statistical leads in RBI (14) and home runs (2) .
“My swing just felt so good,” said de Vries. “On deck, [I’m] visualizing hitting a home run. If you just feel it, then you'll probably do it… think about line drives and home runs will come out of it.”
From the two spot, de Vries cannoned a triple to give the Dirtbags their first run of the day in the top of the first, bringing in Kinsler to score. “You hit it hard… and it'll all work out in the end,” said de Vries. “My bat felt good this weekend.”
“Jack (Kinsler) has the speed. When he gets on base, we're going to score a run. Mason (de Vries) has the power to push the outfield back and it opens up the grass for us. When you have that in the top of your order, it's really dangerous. They set the tone and it just everybody flows after that, because they build off of that repetition,” said Sipe.
Holding things down on the mound all game long was pitcher Geordyn Yousef. In his complete game of 5.0 IP, Yousef displayed dominance throughout as he carved up five strikeouts and only allowed three hits against the 19 batters he faced.
Yousef emphasized that he wanted to keep his mindset simple while leading his team on the hill. His thought process is to “let them hit it, [and] throw strikes. I got a good defense behind me, so let them work.”
Yousef’s strong effort on the mound complemented a week of stellar performances game in and game out, as the team allowed just 16 runs over the eight-game span.
“We knew we had the pitching. We stayed consistent and limited the walks all week long,” said Sipe. “But I tell you what, offensively, when we got on base, our speed is what killed. We got in scoring positions a lot, and we executed when we needed to.”
The insights from coach Sipe and the rest of his staff trickled down throughout the pitching corps and the offensive sluggers from top down.
“They bring out the grit, [and] they really push us to just be the best versions of ourselves,” said Yousef. De Vries reciprocates the support that the coaching staff gave all tournament long, and how they help set up the team to find success.
“I've been playing for these coaches for a while… [they] made my swing better [and] gave me confidence on the field,” said De Vries. “They definitely know the game, and they helped me out a lot.”
Earlier in the day, Canes West took home bronze in a 10-6 victory over TB SoCal. It marks the second year in a row where the team placed third in the 14U division, while securing their third medal across the board as a program.
The championship win for the Dirtbags marked their first gold medal at Champs Arizona, getting the job done in their own backyard to etch their names into history.
“It’s huge for the organization. We've been a part of this tournament for a long time and the program has been around for a long time,” said Sipe.
“To make a statement here in the hometown is amazing. We’re 99% hometown boys here from Arizona. It's a different kind of baseball, it's exciting for the organization. This win is for every kid around the valley that has put our jersey on, and I’m so proud that this group is on top.”
