CARY, N.C. - After a close gold medal matchup on day four at the 17U National Team Championships in North Carolina, the champions were crowned as Scorpions Scout Team held off a late rally from Alpha Prime to earn a 4-2 victory.

Both defenses didn’t budge in the first five innings, creating the perfect storm for a big-time finish through the last two frames.

After a walk and a single, the Scorpions’ Lamar Edwards broke the seal in the sixth inning by reaching via an error on an infield single to push Gabe Graulau across the plate, marking the first run of the game. Stephen Chucka followed suit in the next at-bat with his own single on a fly ball to left field to plate Sebastian Hurtado, allowing Edwards to advance to third base.

The rally continued for the Scorpions with another hit, courtesy of Ty Kennedy’s two-strike single to center field, scoring Edwards and Chucka in the process and moving to score to 4-0 in favor of the Scorpions to end the sixth.

Alpha Prime wasted no time with its response, loading the bases with its first three batters in the inning. Luke Cornelison cranked a line drive single to left field to cut the deficit to three. With the bases still loaded, Alpha Prime took advantage of the high-stress scenario and walked one home, cutting its deficit to 4-2.

With the pressure rising, the Scorpions brought out Ayden Phillips to the mound in hopes to squash the Alpha Prime run. Phillips demonstrated his composure in a bases-loaded situation by registering two quick strikeouts to secure gold for the Scorpions.

“That dude is a bulldog. There's nobody that I'd rather have out there at that point. He's the definition of a winner, and has been for four years. In Ayden I trust,” said Scorpions head coach Johnny Goodrich.

The Scorpions secured their second overall top-three finish at the National Team Championships in North Carolina, and this marked their first gold medal at 17U level. Alpha Prime walked home with silver to secure its fourth podium finish at the event.

“This is something I think we all chase after. It's got more significance than just your average travel tournament,” said Goodrich.“It's an opportunity for some of these guys to possibly commit and play for their country. These facilities, this atmosphere is just different. It brings joy to my heart. We've come here several times, we’ve finished runner up. This is our first one, so hopefully it's not our last.”

The Scorpions’ Kyle Hirsch was credited with the win, tossing six innings while only allowing four hits in his outing. Ayden Phillips registered the save, making his appearance in the seventh inning while tallying two strikeouts along the way. Scorpions’ Chucka and Hurtado and Alpha Prime’s Ethan Porter each had two hits in the contest, while Scorpions’ second baseman Ty Kennedy turned in a game-high two RBIs.

In the bronze medal matchup, Top Tier Select topped the Texas Senators 3-1 in a back-and forth contest to close out the event. Top Tier jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a ground out and sacrifice fly, but the Texas Senators answered with an RBI flyout from Nicholas Partida, making the score 2-1 in favor of Top Tier.

Top Tier answered back in the bottom of the third with another run to increase the lead to two runs. The Top Tier pitching duo of Jackson Natanek and CJ Deckinga held strong, tallying six strikeouts total on the mound to keep the Senators at bay, helping Top Tier clinch the bronze medal.