Cary, NC – The opening day of group play at the 2024 12U/14U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup was filled with impressive offensive performances and convincing wins, giving teams the opportunity to start the tournament on a positive note and fulfill their gold medal ambitions.

SOUTH STRIPES OVERCOME SOUTHEAST STARS IN SHOOTOUT

Kane Malcom’s six RBIs, which came off two two-RBI singles and a fielder’s choice, helped the South Stripes to a thrilling 17-12 victory over the Southeast Stars. Malcom finished the game on the mound, helped by a strong hitting performance from Jake Medina and a solid three innings on the mound from Zayden Rucker. For the Southeast Stars, the trio of Jaxson Hasty, Lucas Solano and Hayes Hoskins each had two RBI singles.

SOUTHEAST STRIPES COME BACK FROM SIX DEPTH TO FORCE A DRAW IN OPENING GAME

The Southeast Stripes trailed 6-0 and were slowed down by a strong pitching performance from Owen Coles. They scored 10 runs in the last three innings to beat the Southwest Stripes. Key hits in the seventh and final inning helped the Southeast Stripes avoid defeat.

SOUTHWEST STARS ACHIEVE BIG OPENING WIN AGAINST NORTHWEST STARS

The Southwest Stars lineup had a great day at bat, winning 12-2 over the Northwest Stars, led by two hits and two RBIs from Matthew Lobis. Jaxon Anderson, Dave Beck and Casey Kellar each had an RBI single in the win, while Wyatt Peabody and Bataro had RBI doubles.

SOUTH STARS BEAT NORTHEAST STRIPES IN ONLY SHUTOUT OF THE DAY

An outstanding pitching performance, strong defense and big hits led the South Stars to an impressive 6-0 victory over the Northeast Stripes. An RBI double by Austin Percival III in the sixth inning extended the lead to 3-0, and an RBI triple and a run by Alex Pena in the seventh inning helped decide the game late.

MIDWEST STARS GET NUMEROUS HITS IN DOMINANT WIN OVER NORTHEAST STRIPES

The Midwest Stars lineup was unstoppable in a resounding 27-6 victory over the Northeast Stripes, featuring a dominant offensive performance. Nathan Brown and Nolan Gall led the charge, with Brown hitting two RBI singles and Gall hitting an RBI triple and a two-RBI double.

NORTHEAST STARS BEAT MIDWEST STRIPES TO CLOSE DAY ONE

The Northeast Stars earned the final win of the day at Thomas Brooks Park, defeating the Midwest Stripes 13-7 in a flawed, thrilling game.

While the Under-12s matches at Thomas Brooks Park were coming to a close, the action at the National Training Complex was just getting started as the Under-14s age group took their game to the next level.

SOUTHWEST STARS TAKE FIRST WIN OF 14U NTIS CHAMPIONS CUP WITH 6-1 WIN OVER MIDWEST STARS

The Southwest Stars claimed the first win of the 14U NTIS Champions Cup with a dominant 6-1 victory over the Midwest Stars. The Southwest Stars first got on the scoreboard with a walk with the bases loaded and then scored another run on an error. James Stout hit a huge RBI double to cap a three-run rally by the Southwest Stars and give his team a 5-0 lead. Andrew Potthoff scored another run for the Southwest Stars with a triple, which he followed shortly after by crossing the plate. Andrew Lopez stymied any comeback by the Midwest Stars by striking out two batters and throwing out a runner on first base to secure the final out.

MIDWEST STRIPES WIN 9-2 AGAINST SOUTHEAST STRIPES AFTER FIVE RUNS IN THE FIFTH FRAME

The Midwest Stripes took a 1-0 lead after tallying one in the fifth inning. Cody Busch and Kameron Cox started the comeback after scoring on a single that gave them the lead. Kanon Baxley followed with a single to right field to score Nolan Gambino and make the score 4-1. Benjamin Grife kept the momentum going for his team after hitting a fielder’s choice single that allowed Brady Rallo to sneak home. The five-run comeback was capped by Grant Spackey, who singled his way home, giving the Midwest Stripes enough of a lead to secure the win.

SOUTH STARS 14, NW STARS 4

The South Stars sealed the win, extending their lead over the Northwest Stars to 2-0 after the first inning. After stopping the Northwest Stars’ offense, the South Stars scored two more runs on a wild pitch with the bases loaded. In the bottom of the third inning, the Northwest Stars cut the lead to 3-1 after Jesse Romo hit an RBI double. The South Stars responded with a three-run hit in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 7-1. The Northwest Stars were already down by six runs, but cut the deficit to five when they scored their second run of the night on a walk with the bases loaded. The South Stars then fought back with two strong innings, scoring three and seven runs respectively for a 14-4 victory.

SOUTHEAST STARS BEAT SOUTHEAST STRIPES IN CLOSE 3-2 MATCH

Billy Cole scored the first run for the South Stripes in the fourth inning on a Reed Breaux RBI single to center field. The South Stripes scored another run in the same inning on a miss. The Southeast Stars answered with two runs of their own in the fourth inning, capped by an RBI triple from Maddox Porter. The Southeast Stars got the decisive run in the fifth inning when Brody McCue snuck home an RBI single with two outs for a 3-2 victory.