CARY, N.C. - Southwest Stars scored runs in four of the first five innings en route to its 7-0 shutout win over South Stripes on Sunday in the gold medal game of the 13U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup.

The squad plated two runs in each of the first two innings, then tacked on a combined three runs in the fourth and fifth innings while holding South Stripes to just four hits in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Southwest Stars quickly took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on four hits. Andrew Jiminez and Scott Yuan laced a double and single, respectively, to get into scoring position, and Joel Vargas drove in the first run of the game on an infield single. Owen Mescall then stepped up to the plate and produced a run batted in with a fielder’s choice to the shortstop to double the lead.
• Southwest added to its lead in the second inning with two more runs to make it 4-0. At first and third with two outs, Lucas Alfaro-Chuan and Jason Taylor pulled off the double steal to plate the first run of the frame. Andrew Jiminez then delivered with a single up the middle to drive home Alfaro-Chuan.
• Southwest tacked on a run in the fourth inning to extend its lead to 5-0. Orion Gonzalez started the side with a single through the right side, and after stealing second and third he came home on Lucas Alfaro-Chuan’s RBI single to center field.
• In the fifth inning Southwest plated two more runs to take a 7-0 lead. Owen Mescall and Trevor Rivas started the frame with outfield singles and stolen bases, and then an RBI groundout by Brogan Witcher followed by a wild pitch brought the runners across home plate.

OF NOTE

• Southwest Stars tallied 14 hits in the contest and held South Stripes to just four.
• This marked the third gold medal for the Southwest Region at the 13U age group in the last six years, and it was the first since 2019.
• Lucas Alfaro-Chuan (2-for-4), Andrew Jiminez (3-for-3), and Trevor Rivas (2-for-3) all turned in multi-hit performances to combine for half of Southwest’s hits.
• Andrew Jiminez was also stellar on the mound for Southwest, as he tossed 5.2 shutout innings with seven strikeouts to earn the win. Orion Gonzalez closed out the game on the bump as he threw 1.1 hitless innings in relief.
• South Stripes’ Aiden DeLeon was charged with the loss as he allowed four earned runs in 3.0 innings pitched.