As we move closer and closer to the final game of this summer’s National Team Championships in Arizona, only a few teams are remaining at the 14U competition. Let’s check out all the headlines from round of 32 and round of 16 play at Surprise and Peoria, Arizona.
Click here to view scores from each and every game from throughout the tournament.
Round of 32
Round of 32 play Surprise’s Texas Rangers’ spring training facilities started with an 8-5 win from GBG Vegas over 5 Star West SD. Despite 5 Star’s attempts to climb out of a 7-2 deficit late-on, GBG won its way to the round of 16. CBA Broncos also punched its ticket to the next round with a 7-4 win over Prime Red while Swarm Red Elite beat Reed Johnson 5-3 after climbing out of a 3-0 hole with a four-run fifth and final inning. To close out the group on the Rangers’ fields, MBA Navy romped TB Socal Evoshield 9-1 thanks to a seven-run third frame in Surprise.
Action at Peoria started on the Seattle Mariners’ spring training facilities with a series of close games. BPA White edged Saddleback Cowboys Cardinal 5-4 while Let Them Play SoCal shut out CBA Victus San Diego 2-0 in a low-scoring pitcher’s duel. Despite CBA’s pitcher tossing a complete six innings, Let Them Play ended CBA’s gold medal hopes with the narrow win. So Cal Birds White also won by two runs, defeating Trosky National 7-5 despite Trosky’s five-run first frame. To finish off the group in Peoria, Stacked National beat 310 Baseball Team 7-3 in spite of recording less hits than its opponents.
Back in Surprise, Lone Star Brewers - Scout Team nearly shut out San Diego Show in a 6-1 victory on the Kansas City Royals’ spring training facilities. On the adjacent fields, ZT National Prospects beat OC Premier Gray 8-4 with a persistent offensive effort in its final few innings while Truth out-hit TPA-Outlaws in a 9-6 win thanks to a seven-run second inning. Finally, AZ Runners eked out a 3-2 win against New Level Nationals.
Later in the morning, One National beat Legacy Baseball Group Gold 7-3 despite a late comeback attempt from Legacy. Next to them, MVP Hustle romped Pono Baseball in a 12-0, four-inning shutout spurred on by MVP’s seven-run third frame that put a run-rule into effect. Cali National Baseball Academy narrowly walked off RCB Elite thanks to its heroic bottom-of-the-seventh two-run rally. Finally, Total Baseball Vipers - Navy defeated Trosky Force in a 5-3 result to finish off the action in the round of 32.
Round of 16
GBG Vegas started out the round of 16 like it did the round of 32 — with a win. Facing off against CBA Broncos, GBG put on a 12-7 rout to move on to the quarterfinals. MBA Navy also earned a high-scoring win in its 11-4 victory over Swarm Red Elite National thanks to a seven-run third frame. ZT National Prospects beat Lone Star Brewers - Scout Team in a 6-1 final decision after allowing one run on five hits. Truth showed AZ Runners the truth in its high-flying 14-7 victory in the round of 16. While it didn’t get going offensively until the final few frames, Truth slugged its way into the quarterfinals.
Let Them Play SoCal earned a 7-2 round of 16 win against BPA White after scoring in all but one inning of its round of 16 matchup. Stacked Baseball also won in convincing fashion, downing So Cal Birds White thanks to a 14-hit performance that resulted in an 11-5 victory. MVP Hustle beat One National by double-digits in a five-inning, 12-2 win while Cali National Baseball Academy also nabbed a lopsided win in a 13-5 rout over Total Baseball Vipers.