Over the past three weeks, North Texas Regional Action has swept the Southwest. The 14u, 16u, and 17u tournaments were fun to watch, but hard to organize as lousy weather caused numerous delays and venue changes, spreading the 16u tournament over three weeks. It wasn’t always easy, but three more National Championship berths have been decided.
The Banditos of Austin-Ford proved their worth this weekend with an undefeated record in the 14u tournament. The Banditos saved their best for last as they managed to score at least 10 runs in their final three contests, including their 12-7 championship victory over Texas Stix-Black. After the Banditos exploded for nine runs in the 2nd inning, the Stix never fully recovered. Chandler Freeman had himself an excellent day on the mound and at the plate as he pitched three strong innings while adding a game-high three RBIs. In the 5th inning, the Banditos would fend off a late comeback bid by the Stix to secure the win and their spot in the National Championship.
The Texas Stix would fare better in the 16u regional. The Stix 2017-Davenport had a marvelous weekend in Dallas as they navigated through the tournament undefeated. Outside of there early 20-3 victory over the Texas Raiders, most of their games were decided by just a few points. However, the Stix caught their stride late in the tournament. Pitcher #4, Isaiah Alvarenga, had a wonderful day on the mound, throwing eight strikeouts over seven innings en route to a 6-2 semi-final victory over the Texas Oilers. The Stix would ride their momentum in the championship game where they outlasted Clubs Baseball 6-4 to earn a berth in the National Championship.
The Columbia Angels, listed as early favorites to win the 17u North Texas Regional, lived up to their billing with an unblemished 7-0 tournament record. However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the Angels. Their semi-final game against Velocity Lab Baseball was scoreless through four and a half innings as both pitchers had brilliant outings. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Dylan Rock would drive in the only run of the game, sending the Angels to the championship. Rock continued to shine in the championship game with five RBIs in the Angels 14-9 victory over D-Bat-Dean. Dom Cox and Josh Desoto combined for six more RBIs to cap off an impressive weekend for the Angels.
The Banditos, Stix, and Angels separated themselves from the pack in their respective age groups to get one step closer to the ultimate goal. All three teams have earned the chance to represent the North Texas region at the PG Super25 National Championships.