Bracket play began at the National Team Championships in North Carolina on Thursday, June 15, with quarterfinal action. Two teams advanced to the semifinals in hopes of a gold medal finish while two teams will conclude the tournament with consolation games on Friday, June 16.

CANES NATIONAL 4, EAST COAST SOX 3

Bryce Rainer collected his second walk-off hit in as many days as Canes National (3-0-1) defeated East Coast Sox (2-2-0), 4-3, in the quarterfinals of the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina.

Dean Moss kicked the morning off by sending a solo shot over the right field wall to establish a 1-0 lead for Canes National in the bottom of the first. The next run of the game came from the Sox in the third inning, as Eli Stephens ripped an RBI triple to center that tied the game at 1-1. He was eventually sent in to score thanks to a double by Tanner Waldrop. A passed ball by Canes National allowed another run across the plate and established a 3-1 score in favor of East Coast Sox after three. After a defensive battle ensued, the Canes National offense came to life with Chris Newstrom providing a bases-loaded single that sent two runs in to score and tie the game in the fifth at 3-3. Noah Franco entered the game for Canes National on the mound in the sixth and shut the door defensively, striking out four of the six batters he faced in 1.2 scoreless frames. In the bottom of the seventh, Rainer stepped to the plate and recorded a walk-off single to right to send Canes National to the next round.

Moss led Canes National in the batter’s box, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Newstrom also contributed two RBIs in the contest. Canes reliever Carson Messina struck out four and allowed just one hit in two innings of work. East Coast starter Jacob Thorn struck out four batters in four innings pitched.

Canes National will play the winner of the East Cobb Astros and Indiana Bulls Black in the semifinal round on Friday, June 16, while East Coast will move onto the consolation bracket. Both games will be streamed live on USABaseball.TV and live updates will be provided via Twitter @USABScores.

INDIANA BULLS BLACK 8 , EAST COBB ASTROS 1

Nicholas Heitman and Aiden Schwartz threw a combined no-hitter to lead Indiana Bulls Black (2-2-0) to an 8-1 victory against East Cobb Astros (3-1-0) in the quarterfinals of the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina.

Jayce Lee opened the scoring with an RBI single with runners at the corners, and then Griffin Tobias made it 3-0 with a two-run single to left field. A passed ball in the fourth scored Christian Klung, and then a two-RBI single by Dylan Larkins capped off the scoring for the Bulls. The Bulls added a run in the seventh with an RBI single from Klung to score Tobias. A leadoff walk for the Astros put Bryce Clavin on base to then score on a wild pitch, but East Cobb came up short in the end.

Griffin Tobias led the Bulls’ offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one stolen base. The Bulls had a combined nine strikeouts with Aiden Schwartz credited the win.

East Cobb Astros’ starting pitcher Connor Shouse pitched three innings with five strikeouts. Paul Green came on in the fourth inning down by six, recording four strikeouts and allowing one hit.

Indiana Bulls Black will be back in action Friday, June 16, against Canes National 17U/NY Mets Scout Team in the semifinals of the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina, while East Cobb Astros will next match up with East Coast Sox Scout in consolation play on Friday. First pitch for both games is set for 8:00 a.m.at Coleman Field and Field 3, respectively. Both games will be streamed on USABaseball.TV and live updates will be provided via @USABScores on Twitter.

ELITE SQUAD BASEBALL 3, DULINS DODGERS PRIME GODWIN 2

Dominant pitching from Antonio Turcos-Rivas and a string of hits from five different players completed Elite Squad Baseball’s (2-1-1) upset of Dulins Dodgers Prime Godwin (3-1-0).

The scoring began in the top of the third with singles from Michael Torres and Ethan Puig. The Dodgers got on the board with a two-out single from Kendyl Johnson to score pitcher Michael Catalano. The tie broke when Elite Squad scored its second run on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by Dulins Dodgers, and then tacked on another with a second error from the Dodgers. In its last ups, Dulins Dodgers made it a one-run game on a sac fly from Diego Josue Gonzalez, but would ultimately garner the loss.

Torres led Elite Squad with two hits, including a double, with one RBI. Hits also came from Dylan Howell, Ethan Puig, Luis Suarez, and Jason Marcos. On the mound for Elite Squad, Turco-Rivas pitched 5.0 innings, giving up only one earned run and striking out three. Imarion Stanberry would follow in relief to earn the save. For Dulins Dodgers, starter Catalano went 5.2 innings and gave up two earned runs with five strikeouts, but was saddled with the loss in the game. Dulins Dodgers had six hits, the same number as the Elite Squad. Hits came from Catalano, Owen Lee, Gonzalez, Kaleb Hester, Zach Grigalis, and Johnson.

Elite Squad will face Power Baseball 2024 Marucci/Blue Jays Scout Team for the semifinals of the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina, with first pitch set for 8:00 a.m. on Field 2. Dulins Dodgers Godwin will play in a consolation matchup against Royals Scout Team, which is also slated for 8:00 a.m. on Field 4. Both games will be streamed at USABaseball.TV, and live updates will be provided via @USABScores on Twitter.

POWER BASEBALL 2024 7, ROYALS SCOUT TEAM 6

Michael Kalinich had the last say in a back-and-forth battle to send his team to the semifinals as Power Baseball 2024 overcame Royals Scout Team, 7-6, at the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina.

The Royals struck first in a game that featured early and often scoring, with Trey Snyder kicking things off by driving in Grant Hollister, who reached on a double to left for the first run of the ball game. In the following at-bat, Bridger Hamilton hit in Eli Lovich, who also doubled earlier in the inning. Royals Scout Team extended its lead from Jackson Helberg’s RBI groundout to score Snyder, giving this team an early 3-0 lead. Power Baseball got one run back in its half of the first off a throwing error by the catcher to score Talan Bell. The Royals continued to score in the second inning, their fourth run of the game coming off the bat of Lovich to plate Jackson Glueck, who reached on a walk. Hollister came around to score that same play due to a throwing error by the center fielder, making it 5-1. Maddox McDougall led off the bottom of the second inning with a leadoff triple to right, scoring the next at-bat after a wild pitch. Power Baseball continued to make noise in the third, scoring its third run off Kaiden Lopez’s flare shot to shallow right to bring around Thomas Bly for its third run. Power Baseball tied things up later that inning thanks to a clutch piece of two-out hitting by Kalinich to bring home Evan Taveras and Lopez, knotting the game at 5-5. The Royals regained the lead in the fourth after a Hollister RBI groundout scored Tytys Cissell. McDougall tied the game in the fifth inning, knocking in Bly after he led off the inning with a double to knot contest at 6-6. Kalinich delivered the walk-off shot in the eighth with a deep drive to right field, bringing home Lopez for the winning run.

Kalinich was clutch for Power Baseball, going 2-for-3 while driving in both the tying run in the third and the game-winning shot in the eighth, collecting three total RBIs. McDougall also went 2-for-3, recording a stand-up triple and knocking in a run for Power Baseball. Bly and Lopez each scored twice for Power, with Bly gathering a double in one of his two at-bats. Brayden Toro allowed only one hit and pitched two shutout innings to earn the win for Power Baseball. Lovich and Snyder had indistinguishable stat lines, both going 2-for-4 while batting in and scoring a run for the Royals.

Power Baseball will face Elite Squad in the semifinals of the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina Friday at 8:00 a.m. on Field 2, and Royals Scout Team will square off against Dulins Dodgers at 8 a.m. on Field 4. Both games will be streamed on USABaseball.TV and live updates will be provided via @USABScores on Twitter.