The quarterfinal round of the 14U National Team Championships in Arizona has officially wrapped up and four teams have won their way to the semifinals at the Texas Rangers’ spring training facilities in Surprise, Arizona.
Click here to view scores from each and every game throughout the tournament.
Truth started out the quarterfinal round by continuing its tear through the rest of the competition at Champs Arizona. Even though its opponents, ZT National Prospects, broke a fourth-inning 0-0 deadlock with a four-run frame, Truth countered with a four-run rally of its own in the bottom of the inning. Truth doubled down on its efforts offensively, though, by recording five hits — three of which were doubles — in the fifth frame. Truth was soon up 9-5 and rode its advantage all the way to the semifinal round.
MBA Navy also punched its ticket to the semifinals with a daring comeback victory over GBG Vegas. Right from the start of the team’s quarterfinal bout, MBA Navy was playing catch-up to GBG for most of the game. Despite trailing 4-2 heading into the seventh, MBA wasn’t fazed. The squad put up a heroic four-run inning that was capped off by a bases-clearing, three-RBI triple from first baseman Dakota Pound. With new life and a 6-4 lead, MBA held on for one final half-inning to move on to the next round.
Stacked National also plated six runs in its quarterfinal win. Unlike MBA, though, Stacked got off to a hot start in Surprise at the Rangers’ facilities, scoring four runs after the first two innings. Its three-run second frame was ignited by a line-drive triple from pitcher Charlie Fuller that scored one. But Fuller’s impressive day didn’t end there. The pitcher threw a complete seven innings for Stacked. In that time he allowed no earned runs, only three hits and one walk while dishing out seven punchouts. While Stacked’s opponents, Let Them Play SoCal, put two runs via errors on the board, Stacked walked its way into the semifinals thanks to Fuller’s performance on the mound.
Cali National Baseball Academy put on a 4-0 shutout over MVP Hustle in the quarterfinals at the Rangers’ quad. Despite MVP outhitting Cali National, Cali still pulled out a win thanks to expert defense and stingy pitching. Brayden Krakowski, Cali’s starting pitcher, nearly threw a complete game — he tossed 6.1 innings, allowing no runs and five hits while flaming five strikeouts. Offensively, Cali National Baseball Academy scored two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings, which was all it needed to advance to the semifinal round in Surprise.
