Truth brought no shortage of energy, passion, and flair to its gold medal win at the 14U National Team Championships in Arizona.
Equipped with its own boombox, walk-up songs, sound effects, and of course, its talented squad, Truth beat Cali National Baseball Team in the final game of the 14U Champs Arizona and donned a set of gold medals at the end of its 5-2 victory.
“I knew it's gonna be a hard-fought game, but I just told my guys, ‘Keep going, finish what we started,” said head coach Vic Buttler. “‘We got all the way here. I know you got to be tired, but keep going and finish what you started.’ And they did that.”
Truth’s sweet, hard-earned victory was the product of a standout tournament, an energetic head coach, and disciplined team that stuck to the fundamentals in the final bout against a formidable opponent.
“We played hard, we threw strikes,” Buttler said. “We made the routine, fundamental plays, were smart and aggressive on the bases, and hitting’s going to take care of itself. Hats off to Cali National, unbelievable coach, unbelievable group of players over there, very talented.”
While Truth won its way to gold via a united team effort, its stars truly put the team over the edge against Cali National. Defensively, starting pitcher Jason Taylor pitched a strong 5.2 innings, restricting Cali to just two runs and seven hits. Offensively, left fielder Jonah Boyd paved the way to victory with two doubles while leading his team in both hits with three and RBIs with two.
Boyd drew first blood in the very first inning for Truth, which was eager to get on the board early and often. After a double from catcher EJ Washington, Boyd scalded a double into center field to put Truth up 1-0.
“My approach was just to expect fastballs,” Boyd said. “So every time I got in the box, I just waited for my pitch — I waited for my pitch and got it.”
Just a couple innings later in his next at-bat, Boyd once again followed up on a base hit from Washington with another double. By the end of the third frame, Truth led 3-0 and Boyd had two RBIs.
“My two-hole hitter, he's been on fire the whole tournament,” Buttler said. “Jonah Boyd — man, I can't say enough about that kid. He came through, hit back-to-back doubles against a really good pitcher.”
By the end of the fourth, Truth put up four runs on Cali National’s talented pitcher, Nathaniel Maldonado. However, Taylor also pitched a championship-worthy 5.2 frames. In that time he collected four punchouts, but more importantly, forced soft contact on Cali’s lineup.
“I told him, ‘You have one job to do, and your job is to throw strikes,’” Buttler said. “‘It's not to strike guys out, it’s to pitch to contact — you have a good defense.’ He came with a lot of confidence, came with a lot of poise and I'm really proud of that kid.”
Cali managed to plate two runs in the third and threatened to score more at multiple points throughout the final few innings of the bout. Despite Taylor and Truth’s reliever, Even Javier, finding themselves in multiple jams, Truth kept its opponents off the board for the remainder of the game.
At the end of it all, Truth defeated Cali National and celebrated accordingly. While Cali earned silver, Truth was anointed with gold.
After multiple gatorade baths, lots of cheering, and many team photos, Buttler recalled the mindset and message of dedication, energy, and belief that he’s been instilling to his team the entire tournament. Finally, all that hard work paid off.
“You got to keep your chin up, your chest out, and keep moving forward. And that's what these guys are doing. They're doing it through their discipline, through their dedication, through their attitude, their effort and energy. It's a mindset. They believed in me. I believed in them, and we came out on top.”
