CARY, N.C. – Playoff baseball began at the 15U National Team Championships North Carolina on Wednesday.
Eight teams were in action in the quarterfinal round, with four winners advancing to Thursday morning’s semifinals for a chance to play in the event’s gold medal game.
QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP 1: Texas Twelve 5, USA Prime National 1
Texas jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, using small ball to get on the board. After Joshua Crisp led off with a double and Nolan Traeger followed with a walk, Texas put on a double steal to get a pair of runners in scoring position. Carson Luna drove in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly before Daniel Ontiveros hit an RBI single to make it 2-0 in Texas Twelve’s favor.
The game’s middle innings were dominated by pitching and defense. Texas Twelve starter Turner Murdock allowed a leadoff single in the first to Ty Southisene before inducing a double play and fly out to post a scoreless first inning. He set down the following four Prime batters before Matthew Champion’s one-out double in the third. Prime then sent its top of the order up, but Murdock got Southisene to fly out before coaxing a Ben Reiland ground out to escape trouble.
Prime starter Jack Frankel kept the Texas offense at bay for the following two innings after the two-run first. He pitched 3.1 innings, allowing two runs and striking out six before Texas extended its lead in the fourth against Prime reliever Dylan Raiola. After Isaiah Castaneda was hit by a pitch and Kyle Lockhart walked, Crisp made it 3-0 with an RBI single. Traeger followed that with a sacrifice fly, before Mason Dossett scored on a passed ball and extended the lead to 5-0.
Prime got on the board with a Champion sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 5-1 in the fifth. They loaded the bases later in the inning and got the tying run to the plate, but Murdock got cleanup hitter Miles Ghossein to pop out to escape the jam.
Ontiveros closed the door for Texas Twelve, pitching two scoreless innings to secure the win.
“We’ve been playing good ball,” said head coach Lance Miles. “Our guys are athletic and we’re going to play our game. If we do that, we can go home happy.”
QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP 2: Elite Squad 6, Canes National 5
Elite Squad scored early and often before holding off a late rally to secure a spot in the semifinal. After a pair of walks to open the bottom of the first, Bryce Jackson singled to load the bases. Ethan Puig followed that with a two-run double to left to open the scoring, before Sam Winsett made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly.
Kody Morgan and Gavin Gargiulo followed that with a pair of singles, giving Elite Squad a 4-0 lead. With two outs and a pair of runners on, Juan Gonzalez doubled down the right field line to extend the lead to 6-0 in the first.
In the top of the second, Canes National put two runners on with one out. But Dane Rossi – who tossed six scoreless innings in the win – got a fly out and ground out to keep the Canes offense at bay.
The middle innings were quiet for both offenses. BJ Etheridge replaced starter Chase Mobley in the second for the Canes, throwing 4.1 scoreless innings. He struck out six, allowing just three hits.
Down to their final three outs in the seventh, the Canes offense began to wake up. Carson Messina and George Wolkow led off the inning with a pair of singles, and Messina scored on a wild pitch to get the Canes on the board. After a strikeout put the Canes down to their final out, Wolkow scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-2. Danny Arambula was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to trim the deficit to 6-3, putting the tying run on base.
Then, after a Perry Morlando walk, Bryce Jackson induced a game-ending groundout to secure the win.
QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP 3: 5 Star National 5, Team Elite 0
Truitt Manuel threw five shutout innings and struck out eight to punch 5 Star National’s ticket to Thursday’s semifinal. 5 Star got the scoring started in the second inning, when Caden Kessler drove in a run with an RBI single.
Manuel and Honse then dueled for the following three innings, keeping Team Elite within striking distance. With two outs in the top of the fourth, Honse was replaced by Aidan Solis. 5 Star immediately jumped on Solis, as Sean Benjamin singled to left field to make it a 2-0 lead.
Manuel, meanwhile, sent Team Elite down in order in the fourth and Solis settled in to retire the first two batters in the top of the fifth before 5 Star extended its lead with two outs in the frame. Parker McCoy walked and scored on a Bricen Smith double, before Smith then came around to score on a wild pitch, giving 5 Star a 4-0 advantage.
In the top of the sixth, Benjamin hit a two-out single before stealing both second and third. He eventually made the score 5-0 when he scored on a passed ball.
Kessler replaced Manuel in the sixth inning, walking the first batter he faced. With one out, Henry Allen reached on an error to put a pair of runners on but Kessler then induced an inning-ending double play to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the seventh, Kessler allowed just one hit and collected three strikeouts to lock down the win and the spot in Thursday’s semifinal for 5 Star National.
QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP 4: South Charlotte Panthers 6, NorCal U 2
South Charlotte got on the scoreboard quickly in its quarterfinal matchup, scoring on an Ethan Wagner sacrifice fly in the first inning. The Panthers’ starter Collins Black then followed with a shutdown frame in the bottom of the first on his way to retiring the first six batters of the game.
Black ran into trouble in the bottom of the third, walking the first three batters he faced. Black then struck out Joe McGee before inducing a 5-4-3 double play to get out of the jam and maintain the one-run lead.
Black and NorCal starter Tyler Patrick – who threw six innings and allowed just one earned run – were locked in a duel through five and a half innings. NorCal cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth on a Brandt Munger RBI single, tying the game at one. Keynen Gomez followed that with an RBI fielder’s choice, giving NorCal its first lead of the game at 2-1.
Down to its final three outs, South Charlotte rallied in the seventh. Jacob Smith reached on an error, and pinch-runner Tyler Sumner advanced to third on a passed ball. Aidan Paradine then knocked a line drive to right-center field, plating Gomez and tying the game. The Panthers loaded the bases later in the inning, but Munger notched a strikeout to escape the jam.
NorCal went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, leading to an international tie-breaker in the eighth inning. With the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, Wagner singled to drive in a pair of runs. Two batters later, Paradine hit a hard grounder and reached on an error, driving in two more runs and giving South Charlotte a 6-2 lead.
NorCal put the tying run at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but Evan MacIntyre entered for the Panthers and was able to get Ryan Burns to fly out to end the inning and clinch the win.
“That was a tough ballgame,” said head coach Aaron Rimer. “That team is really good. Two really good arms competed today. We were fortunate to come out on top.”
Semifinal Matchups
With these four teams advancing on Wednesday, the semifinal matchups are set for Thursday morning. Texas Twelve will take on Elite Squad at 8:00 a.m. ET on Coleman Field, while South Charlotte will play5
Follow along on all the action on Twitter at @USABChamps_NC and on GameChanger, or watch live on Playsight (Coleman Field) and YouTube (Field 2).
