Win: Owens Loss: Elchlepp Save: None
PHOENIX — OC Elite Baseball captured its first-ever gold medal with a 6-2 victory over NorCal U 2025 Black in the championship game of the 15U National Team Championships Arizona on Saturday at Peoria Sports Complex (Padres 2).
A five-run sixth inning propelled OC Elite Baseball into the lead, and they never looked back. Andre Owens was phenomenal in relief for the gold-medal winners, tossing 3.0 innings of shutout baseball to cap off the victory.
OC Elite Baseball got on the board first, as an RBI triple down the right-field line from Cole Weinstein plated a run to go up 1-0 in the first frame. NorCal U 2025 Black responded with two runs of their own, after a long home run from Hayden Elchlepp put them in front 2-1 after two.
The game remained 2-1 until the sixth when NorCal U 2025 Black’s Nathan Etchegoinberry committed a throwing error in right field that plated two runs to put OC Elite Baseball up 3-2 lead. Jason Rodriguez followed that up with an RBI single into left field that plated Hayden Woodson for a 4-2 lead.
OC Elite Baseball extended its lead to 6-2 in the sixth after a sacrifice fly from Jacob Celiz and another RBI single from Austin Boatright put OC Elite Baseball up by four. Owens slammed the door on any comeback attempts and sealed the gold medal victory allowing just one hit over the final three innings.
OC Elite Baseball concluded the 2022 15U National Team Championships with an 8-1 mark and a 66-32 run differential.
NorCal U 2025 Black suffered its first loss of the tournament and finished with an 8-1 record. The silver medal marks NorCal’s fifth Top 3 finish as a program at the National Team Championships Arizona, with a bronze-medal finish in the 15U tournament being their last podium finish.
Matadors 2025 (7-2) knocked off MVP Hustle (6-3) 12-9 to grab its first ever Top 3 finish and earn the bronze medal.
Key Moments
· Cole Weinstein (OC Elite) sent a triple down the right-field line to bring home the game's opening run in the top of the first inning.
· Hayden Elchlepp (NorCal) blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the second to put NorCal U 2025 Black out in front by a run.
· Hayden Woodson (OC Elite) got a huge strikout in the bottom of the third to strand runners on second and third for NorCal and keep it a 2-1 game.
· A fielding error plated two runs for OC Elite Baseball in the bottom of the sixth to reagin the lead 3-2.
· Jason Rodriguez (OC Elite) slapped an RBI single to left field in the sixth to make it a two-run ball game.
· Austin Boatright (OC Elite) put the final touched on the five-run inning with an RBI single to left field for a 6-2 lead.
Notable Information
· "I’m so proud of our guys to have gotten to this point, and after dropping one early they battled through a lot of adversity and earned this one." — OC Elite Baseball head coach Brian Loyd
· "We got another fantastic relief appearance today on the mound from Andre and he kept us in it. We’d been hitting balls hard all day, and finally they started dropping in the sixth inning to put us ahead" — OC Elite Baseball head coach Brian Loyd
On Deck
· OC Elite Baseball concluded the 15U National Team Championships with an 8-1 record and a .331 team batting average.
· NorCal U 2025 Black finished the tournament with an 8-1 mark and earned the program's fifth-ever medal at the National Team Championships Arizona.
Social
· Stay tuned to @USABChamps_AZ on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the National Team Championships Arizona.
