SURPRISE, Ariz. -- MVP Hustle and TB SoCal advanced to the finals of the 15U National Team Championships Arizona, punching their tickets after winning their quarterfinal and semifinal contests on Friday morning.

The two teams will now play for the gold medal on Saturday morning at Surprise Stadium, with the first pitch being set for 11 A.M. MT.

MVP Hustle 3, FS21 Stars 2026 1

Behind an excellent effort from starter James Rocha and some clutch hitting in key situations, MVP Hustle battled its way to a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the FS21 Stars.

It was evident from the jump that the two teams were in for a pitcher’s duel, as Rocha and Stars starter Cody Cappelletti looked incredibly sharp early on. The pair of hurlers traded zeroes for the first three innings of the game, with Cappelletti allowing a lone hit during that span and Rocha conceding just two.

MVP Hustle broke through first, finally putting some runs on the board in the top of the fourth inning. A leadoff double by Isaias Tirado and a hit-by-pitch from Ethan Shortle put some early traffic on the bases, and after a passed ball moved them both over to scoring position, Andrew Lulet drove them both home with a single up the middle to give his team its first lead of the game.

Armed with a newfound two-run cushion, Rocha continued his fantastic effort on the mound throughout the middle frames, getting through the fourth and fifth innings while allowing just a lone hit batsman. His first hiccup of the game came in the sixth, when a Cappelletti triple followed by a Jaxen Maxey single brought home the first run of the game for the Stars, but a clutch strikeout of Dylan Lopez one batter later stranded the tying run on base.

The MVP Hustle offense rewarded Rocha’s resiliency with a key insurance run in the top half of the last frame. Jack Armijo led off the inning with a walk, and two batters later, Luke Armijo drove pinch runner Joshua Adams home with a double to left field to double the team’s lead heading into the game’s conclusion.

Rocha trotted back out to the mound for the bottom of the seventh, and after quickly dispatching the first two hitters of the inning, he exited the ballgame to a loud ovation from those in attendance in Surprise. Adams came on to try to get the last out, and after allowing a single and a stolen base brought the tying run into scoring position once again, he slammed the door with a clutch strikeout that sent MVP Hustle into the title game tomorrow.

TB SoCal 12, SoCal Legends 11 (F/9)

In what turned out to be the game of the tournament to date, TB SoCal battled back from two separate late deficits to walk it off in the ninth inning against the SoCal Legends, triumphing by a final score of 12-11.

As they have done so often throughout their run so far, the TB SoCal bats came out of the gates red hot. They got one run on the board in the game’s opening frame thanks to a sacrifice fly by three-hole hitter Jhett Ohira, and in the second, they exploded for six more runs that put them well in control early. An RBI double from Owen Bone and run-scoring singles by Dane Keener and Nicolas DeCorte brought home the first of these runs, and a bases-clearing double to the gap in left-center by Ohira gave the team a commanding six-run lead.

Despite the tall task ahead of them, the Legends came roaring back quickly. Their first breakthrough of the game came in the top of the third, when back-to-back doubles by Landen Roellig and Daniel Ruiz and a single by Jake Tripp a batter later brought home three runs and cut their deficit in half.

As it turned out, this deficit would be completely gone just a few innings later. After the first two hitters reached base in the top of the fifth, Andres Gonzalez got things going with a base hit that scored the run from second. The floodgates opened up soon after, with the Legends putting up three more runs on RBI base hits by Jayden Lujan and Luke Pettingill and a bases-loaded walk by Gavin Garcia–all with two outs–that gave them their first lead of the game since 1-0.

A new ballgame was at hand at this point, and the two squads spent the next few frames trading blows with one another. TB SoCal responded right away after suddenly finding itself trailing, scoring two runs on a wild pitch and a Keener base hit, but the Legends would punch right back via a two-out, two-RBI single by Alvaro Moreno Jr. that gave them their one-run lead right back.

Now in the bottom of the seventh, the Legends looked to be right on the doorstep of the championship game, with two quick groundouts putting them one out away from victory. After a walk put the tying run on base, however, pinch hitter Luke Stringer hit a booming double off the left field wall on an 0-2 count, bringing home the run from first and knotting the game back up for TB SoCal at the last possible moment.

International tiebreaker rules placed runners on first and second at the start of the eighth inning for both teams, but miraculously, both of them managed to hold serve and not allow any runs to score. In the top half of the frame, Hogan Hawkins uncorked an incredible throw from right field, nailing the lead runner trying to tag from second for an inning-ending double play. In the bottom half, it was Lujan saving the day for the Legends on the mound, as he managed to strand the winning run on third base by inducing a shallow fly out to right and a ground out to short to keep things tied up.

The ninth brought about similar circumstances, but this time, the Legends were able to capitalize during their turn at the plate. After a sac bunt moved the two runners over, a wild pitch brought the go-ahead run home from third and once again put them just three outs away from a win.

This turn of events put TB SoCal’s backs against the wall yet again, but like it had done all afternoon long, it got up and fought right back. A leadoff walk loaded the bases with no outs, and immediately after, Ohira drove in his fifth run of the game with a sacrifice fly that brought the score up to 11-11. The Legends intentionally walked the next batter looking to set up a double play, but it never came, as Moises Razo battled back from a 1-2 count to draw the game-ending walk, sending the TB SoCal dugout into a state of euphoria and advancing the team to the gold-medal game.

Dugout Chatter

• "These guys have been competing all weekend. We've got a fun group, a bunch of guys that aren't individuals and just pull for the next guy. It's been a fun week." -- MVP Hustle head coach Rob Prieto on his team's performance throughout the tournament.
• "He's a 14 year old, an 8th grader, and he's already pretty special. He's got a good slider, a good fastball, but the biggest thing about him is that he's a tough kid, and he's really competitive." -- Prieto on James Rocha's outing on the mound.
• "They've been there, and I think our dugout as a staff, we stay under control and just let these kids be kids. Sometimes they make mistakes, but I'll take these kids anywhere for a war." -- TB SoCal head coach Benny Bonilla on his team's resiliency in the semifinals.
• "They just have to go out and have fun tomorrow. They have fun and play the way they're capable of, things will take care of themselves. If they press, it becomes a different type of game. MVP Hustle is a team that these kids have always battled against, and we'll give them one more battle tomorrow for the gold." -- Bonilla on what he wants to see from his players tomorrow.

On Deck

• TB SoCal (8-0), the No. 1 seed in the tournament, will take on MVP Hustle, the No. 6 seed, in the gold-medal game at 11 A.M MT at Surprise Stadium.
• FS21 Stars 2026 (7-1), the No. 2 seed, will square off against the SoCal Legends (7-1), the No. 5 seed, for the bronze medal at 8 A.M. MT at Surprise Stadium.

Social

• Stay tuned to @USABChamps_AZ on Twitter for updates about the National Team Championships Arizona, including on the gold-medal game tomorrow