CARY, N.C. - After winning gold at the 2023 National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup, the 16U Midwest Stripes knew it had something to prove coming into the 2024 slate: last year wasn’t a fluke.
To start their 2024 campaign, the Midwest Stripes cruised to early victories at the NTIS Champions Cup with a 3-2 win over the South Stars on Friday and a 4-2 victory over the Southeast Stripes on Saturday. With a 2-0 record through the first two days, the Midwest Stripes made its way to the gold medal match where it was primed to square off against the undefeated South Stripes.
The first two innings of play between the two powerhouses were highlighted by dominant defensive performances on both sides. Jory Crocker, of the Midwest Stripes, got the start on the mound and did not disappoint as he struck out four batters and kept the South Stripes off the board. South Stripes pitcher Wyatt Powell featured two strikeouts of his own to keep the scoreless through the first two innings.
Crocker proved he could do it on both sides and opened up the scoring affair in the top of the third inning with a line drive double to left field to put the Midwest Stripes up 1-0. Noah Asuma kept the offensive fireworks alive as he struck a line drive to tack on another run for the Midwest. Sean Dunlap capped off the three-run rally in the top of the third with his sacrifice fly to center field to give the Midwest Stripes a 3-0 advantage.
Carson Hart increased the Midwest Stripes’ lead to four in the following frame after he cranked a double to center field.
With a four-run deficit ahead of the squad, the South Stripes maneuvered calmly under pressure as it responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the four inning. Troy Fisher nabbed the South Stripes’ first run with a ripping RBI single to right field. Davidenko Rodriguez followed Fisher up with another outfield single to inch his side closer, 4-2.
In the bottom of the fifth frame, Miller Sheets kept his momentum at the plate this week as he increased the tension in the match with his sky-high sacrifice fly to move the score to 4-3 and cut the lead to just one run.
With a gold medal on the line, Broder Katke stepped up to the plate and put the game out of reach in crunch time. Katke delivered a hard-hit RBI single up the middle to secure the gold for the Midwest Stripes with a 5-3 win.
Katke, who provided the game-winning hit for the Midwest Stripes, has become a familiar face at the National Training Complex this summer as he was a key member of the Motor City Hit Dogs who participated in the 15U National Team Championships in North Carolina. Katke, a Duke University commit, explained his gratitude for his experience at the National Training Complex which comes to a close with him walking away atop the podium.
“It’s super awesome. The 15U National Team Championships in North Carolina was a little preview to what everyone saw take place throughout the week here at the NTIS Champions Cup. To be here at these facilities is truly an awesome experience. I’ve been here a few times over the past few years so this place is starting to feel a little bit like home to me. I’m committed to play collegiate baseball at Duke University, so North Carolina will be my home in the future so it’s definitely nice to be here. I’m thankful to have played here throughout the summer.”
While playing baseball in the state of his future home has been an amazing experience for Katke, he recognizes that it has been a long journey for his team to achieve gold medal status. Katke, like many of his teammates, made the trip to Cary from places like Michigan and the surrounding area.
“We had a long journey to get to this point as a team. For me, when I was invited to come to the Champions Cup, I was super excited. Being in the facilities on the first day here was an awesome moment for us. I’ve never been in the facility and it was cool knowing the caliber of players who have walked through the building before us. It was nice to know that we could experience the same things as those guys on our trip here.”
The long campaign was well worth the wait. Katke and his crew were able to take the gold home and spark the start of a dynasty at the NTIS Champions Cup.
“It feels great to take home the gold. I was almost too excited to even crack a smile. I didn’t even know what to do with myself. I thanked the umpire and went to my teammates to celebrate and hug it out. I think overall this has been an amazing experience for us. Winning gold was obviously our goal when we got here because our region won it last year. So we went out and took care of business to win it again.”
While the Midwest Stripes finished with the gold in its’ clutch, the Southeast Stars were able to walk away with the bronze after defeating the Midwest Stars in a 6-4 battle.
