Tennessee Elite gets stellar outing from Mount, more high-powered batting in win over Texas Sun Devils

In the team’s 10U Futures Invitational debut, Tennessee Elite is headed to the championship game on Sunday. Defeating the No. 4 seeded Texas Sun Devils, the squad from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, earned a 7-1 win to advance to the title game with the same formula from its first three games; big performances at the plate and pitching to match.

Jaxon Spray was once again the leader for Tennessee Elite by going 3-for-3 and scoring three runs, while Ethan Wagner drove in three of the team’s RBIs. It was a close battle over the first two innings, but in the third inning the bats of Tennessee Elite came to life as they have all tournament. A sac fly, an RBI triple from Knox White, and an RBI double from Cade Cariker put the No. 1 seed ahead 4-1, and Tennessee Elite would keep the momentum going in the following inning. Spray led the action in the fourth, swatting an RBI single before Wagner punched his side’s ticket to the final with a two-run inside-the-park home run.

On the mound for Tennessee Elite, Duncan Mount bounced back from allowing the opening run in a big way by only allowing a single hit over 5.1 innings of work. Mount kept the Sun Devils from picking up any momentum after their opening run, striking out eight batters and letting just three reach the base paths.

ZT National Prospects’ four-run inning punches ticket to Championship game in victory over Scottsdale Dirtbags

ZT National Prospects’ dominance at the plate throughout the tournament continued into its semifinal matchup against the Scottsdale Dirtbags, clinching the squad a spot in the championship game for the fourth year in a row. Prospects’ Matthew Vasquez provided his squad a huge lift offensively, going 2-for-3 while collecting a game-high two RBIs along the way.

The matchup went back-and-forth, seeing two lead changes and a tie over the first two innings. The Dirtbags struck first, scoring in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly to center field. Prospects’ Sebastian Perez broke the seal and started a four-run rally with his fly ball single to center field, later advancing to second on an errant throw. After a wild pitch in the next at-bat, Jacob Neff showed off his speed, crossing the plate to move the score to 5-2.

The scoring affair didn’t stop there, as the Prospects nailed back-to-back singles, adding two more runs to their total, taking the score to 7-2. ZT’s defense stayed stout, capping off the game and punching its ticket to the gold medal game on Sunday. Perez was credited with the win, tossing four innings and striking out five batters in his outing.