CARY, N.C. - ZT Prospects National claimed the 2021 11U Futures Invitational championship on Sunday with a 5-2 win over the Premier Nationals, while the Dream Chasers earned the bronze medal with a 7-3 victory over the Lamorinda Titans. ZT Prospects National finished the week 5-1 and outscored its opponents 57-10 en route to the gold medal, allowing three runs or less in each of its games. 

ZT Prospects National got the scoring started early when the team plated runs in each of the first three innings and added two in the sixth for a 5-0 lead.

Meanwhile, the Premier Nationals were unable to get anything going at the plate as Hudson Brown was dealing for ZT Prospects National. He finished the game allowing just two hits and one earned run while striking out six.

The Premier Nationals were able to muster up their first run of the game in the sixth before adding another run in the seventh to get within three and make it a 5-2 game.

From there, ZT Prospects National reliever Blake Barbenera was able to shut things down from the mound, striking out two batters to secure the gold medal win for his team.

Brown earned the victory for ZT Prospects National while Tristin Gaines was credited with the loss for the Premier Nationals.

Key Moments

• Aaron Garcia sent the second pitch of the game into left for a leadoff double. After moving over to third on a bunt single from Angel Gonzalez, Garcia came in to score the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Lennex Minor to give ZT Prospects National a 1-0 lead.
• ZT Prospects National got runs in the second and third innings on RBIS from Jackson Fetters and Julian Rodriguez to make it 3-0.
• Hudson Brown and Zion Avina knocked in runs in the sixth to push the ZT Prospects National lead to 5-0.
• Caleb Cardenas scored the Premier Nationals first run of the game in the sixth inning on a wild pitch to make it 5-1.
• Easton Brunson hit a double, stole third, and came in on an RBI groundout by Lucas Smith to make it 5-2 in the sixth.
• Hudson Brown picked up his sixth strikeout of the game for ZT Prospects National before getting a groundout to strand runners on second and third.
• After allowing one run, Blake Barbenera struck out two batters to end the game for ZT Prospects National.

Notable Information

• Angel Gonzalez finished the week with a team-high 12 hits on the week with eight RBIs and six runs for ZT Prospects National
• Lennex Minor and Aaron Garcia each had double-digit hits on the week en route to the gold medal
• Seven ZT Prospects National hitters with more than 12 at bats finished the week with batting averages over .400
• The team's gold medal win marked the second-straight Futures Invitational win for the organization after the 10U ZT Prospects National won last week's 10U tournament

What They're Saying

• "Hudson had a great performance. Everything we expect out of him. He went out there and played with his heart and the team contributed. I'm so happy for them." – ZT Prospects National coach Carlos Avila on Hudson Brown's performance 
• "It feels amazing. Coming all the way out here from Texas. To win, it feels worth it." – ZT Prospects National pitcher Hudson Brown on winning the gold medal.
• "It feels special. I'm so thankful, especially because I love the USA. To be able to earn this is a blessing and I'm super happy." ZT Prospects National coach Carlos Avila on his team's win.

 Social

• Stay tuned to @USABEvents on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the Futures Invitational.