CARY, N.C. – The Southwest Stars and Northeast Stars clinched their spots in the 16U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup gold medal game with semifinal wins on Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
The Southwest Stars were the first to punch their ticket into Sunday’s championship game with a 5-1 win over the Southeast Stars. Both teams were 2-0 coming into the game as the Southwest Stars earned wins over the Northeast Stars and Northwest Stripes during Friday’s pool play.
In Saturday’s game, the Southeast Stars jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Southwest Stars got it right back in the bottom half of the inning, taking a 2-1 lead that they would hold onto for the rest of the game. The team added two more runs in the second and added another insurance run in the fourth to get the 5-1 win.
“Work as a team. Pick each other up. If someone makes a mistake, move past it and lift them up,” said Bryce Navarre, who threw four efficient innings for the Southwest Stars in the win, talking about what the team did well today and needs to replicate in tomorrow’s championship game. “If we keep doing what we need to do, I think we’ll be successful.”
Southwest Stars Coach Chris Hernandez echoed his starting pitcher’s sentiments saying, “The message is to just take it one pitch at a time, one inning at a time.” He hopes they carry the momentum they’ve built this week into tomorrow’s title game. “These guys have done a fantastic job these first few games so we just need to stay consistent with what we’ve been doing.”
The Northeast Stars claimed the second spot in Sunday’s championship game, knocking the Southwest Stripes out with a 3-0 win. In a game that featured just six hits and a several hour rain delay, the Northeast Stars were able to find a way to win.
Like their championship game opponents, it was the team’s third win of the week after defeating the South Stripes and Midwest Stars in pool play on Friday.
All three of the team’s runs came in the top of the first inning and it would be all they needed as several pitchers combined to toss the two-hit shutout.
Josh Knoth pitched the final three frames for the Northeast Stars and put it simply when asked what the team needs to do to get the job done tomorrow – “We just have to play as a team and be studs. Roll Northeast.”
“We’re going to come out with the mentality to grind it out and have tough at bats,” said Northeast Stars Coach Angel Lugo. “We’re going to come get it tomorrow. We’re excited.”
The Southwest Stars and Northeast Stars will do battle for the 16U NTIS Champions Cup at 10:45 a.m. ET on Coleman Field at the USA Baseball National Training Complex on Saturday. The game can be streamed live on Playsight.
