PHOENIX — NorCal U 2025 Black and OC Elite Baseball advanced to the gold-medal game at the 15U National Team Championships Arizona with a pair of wins apiece Friday.

The two sides will square off with a championship on the line Saturday at in the Peoria Sports Complex (Padres 2) with first pitch set for 9 a.m. MT.

Semifinal — NorCal U 2025 Black 9, Matadors 2025 1

NorCal U 2025 Black used a four-RBI performance from Hayden Elchlepp and a combined four-hitter to top Matadors 2025 by a 9-1 final and earn a spot in the gold-medal game of the 15U National Team Championships Arizona.

Dylan Wood, who scattered three hits across four innings of work, allowed just one run to earn the victory. After he surrendered an RBI single and allowed the first run of the game to cross the plate, Wood settled in to limit the damage and allow his offense to work.

Elchlepp, who also came in to close the game, posted two scoreless frames out of the bullpen in his second appearance on the mound at the tournament. The 5-foot-10 right-hander fanned two batters while only allowing one hit to secure the championship appearance for NorCal.

Wyatt Prieto and Julian Cambra recorded two-hit days for NorCal, combining to drive in two of the team’s nine runs. Elchlepp drove in three of his runs in the first inning as he cleared the bases with a three-bagger for his third triple of the tournament.

Coming off a win earlier in the morning, Matadors 2025 had runners in scoring position in four of the six innings but could only push across one run. Moe Aguirre recorded the team’s only RBI, with a single in the first inning to open up scoring.

NorCal responded quickly however with nine straight runs across the next six innings, racking up five extra-base hits. As a team, they’re hitting .439 with 77 runs batted in and 34 extra-base hits over their eight games at the National Team Championships Arizona.

Semifinal — OC Elite Baseball 3, MVP Hustle 2

A fantastic start from Miles Scott powered OC Elite Baseball to the gold-medal game at the 15U National Team Championships Arizona with a narrow 3-2 semifinal win against MVP Hustle.

Scott allowed only one earned run, three hits, and struck out five over his 5.1 innings of work. It was his longest outing of the tournament and has now gone 9.2 frames while only surrendering one earned run.

Hayden Woodson delivered the big blow in the first inning, coming through with a two-run single to give OC Elite a 2-0 advantage in the first inning. They also plated another run in the fourth frame to go up 3-0 after a double-play ball scored a run.

MVP Hustle showed some resistance in the fifth inning, rallying for two runs on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly to draw the game within one. In the last two innings, MVP Hustle left runners in scoring position, failing to capitalize on several scoring opportunities late.

Cole Weinstein came on in relief for OC Elite Baseball and worked 1.2 innings while not giving up a hit. He struck out the side in the seventh inning to send OC Elite Baseball into the gold-medal game against NorCal U 2025 Black.

Dugout Chatter

• "The main thing about this group is that everyone here picks the other guy up. They’re a gritty group, they’re big, and they can hit so this is definitely one of the better teams we’ve ever brought to this tournament and we’re excited for a chance to win it tomorrow.” — NorCal U 2025 Black head coach Hank Loforte
• "That was a really well played baseball game. We got ahead early and stepped to it and manufactured some runs late in the game. Miles got out there and pitched a gem and that’s what we needed today and we’re looking forward to tomorrow" — OC Elite Baseball head coach Brian Loyd.

On Deck

• NorCal U 2025 Black (8-0), the fifth seed, will face OC Elite Baseball (7-1), the 26th seed, in the gold-medal game of the 15U National Team Championships Arizona at 9 a.m. MT at Peoria Sports Complex (Padres 2).
• Matadors 2025 (6-2) and MVP Hustle (6-2) will square off for bronze at 9 a.m. MT at Peoria Sports Complex (Padres 6).

Social

• Stay tuned to @USABChamps_AZ on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the National Team Championships Arizona.