The best in the west continued their quest for a spot in championship Sunday as 17U Champs Arizona turned it up a notch on Saturday. Let’s run through all the action on a thrilling quarter and semifinal round in Surprise, Arizona
Click here to view scores from every game throughout the tournament.
Quarterfinals
CBA Marucci 2, Trosky / Milwaukee Brewers Scout Team 2026 1
The heavyweight tilt between number one seed CBA Marucci and the defending champion Trosky / Milwaukee Brewers Scout Team did not disappoint. Trosky couldn’t have dreamt of a better start to the action, as Air Force commit Hamilton Freidberg went big-fly for a leadoff home run. CBA landed the counterpunch on an RBI single from Will Bandel later in the fourth. The two sides scratched and clawed, but had nothing to show until the final frame. CBA put pressure on Trosky by putting balls in play and wreaking havoc on the basepaths which led to the walk off winner down to the last out of the game.
GBG Arizona 17U 6, Trosky National 2026 1
GBG Arizona continued its championship hopes in their home state with a convincing 6-1 win over Trosky National. Pitchers Jett Gonzales and JJ Dominguez paired up for seven innings of one-run baseball while racking up nine punchouts opposed to just one walk. Zach Burghardt led the charge on offense, going 2-for-3 with a massive RBI double that proved to be the dagger in this one.
CBA Victus 4, 5 Star Midwest / West National Scout 2026 3
Another game, another CBA walk off. This time, it was CBA Victus securing its spot in the final four. 5 Star Midwest / West jumped out to an early lead, plating two-runs on four consecutive singles in the second inning to open the scoring. CBA battled back with Angel Meija lacing a third inning two-run double to quickly respond. Meija tacked on another RBI in the fifth, but 5 Star Midwest / West rallied for a late game comeback where they tied the game in the top of the seventh at 3-3. The bottom half of the frame would see CBA load the bases and push the winning run across on a passed ball to propel them into the semis.
TB SoCal 17U 2, Swarm Red Elite Nation 0
An absolute gem from TB SoCal starting pitcher Hogan Hawkins carried his team into its next step on the journey to gold. Hawkins tossed a complete game shutout, recording four strikeouts and limiting the Swarm offense to just five hits. The game was deadlocked at 0-0 through the first six innings, until TB SoCal pieced together a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. The two runs proved to be the difference as TB SoCal held a 2-0 advantage and rode the arm of Hawkins to the finish line in the final game of the quarterfinals.
Semifinals
GBG Arizona 5, CBA Marucci 4 (8 innings)
A back-and-forth dogfight took place in game one of the semis, as seven innings was not enough to send a team to Surprise Stadium. With CBA Marucci trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Eric Zdunek came to the dish with a man on first and the goal of passing the baton to the next man. Instead, Zdunek dropped his barrel on a hanging changeup and deposited an otherworldly clutch two-run home run to keep CBA Marucci alive and force extra innings. In extras, GBG Arizona played small ball to perfection. The bottom of the order manufactured what would be the game-winning run via sac bunt and a fielder's choice. Pitcher Maverick Bolen then entered the bottom of the eighth and turned in a gutsy performance with everything on the line. Bolen worked his way out of a one out, bases loaded jam. He picked up a strikeout and then induced a game clinching ground out to play houdini and secure his squad a spot in the gold medal game.
CBA Victus 4, TB SoCal 17U 2
The cardiac comeback efforts of CBA Victus struck once more, this time with the stakes even higher. After notching a walk off win in game one, CBA Victus used late game heroics to fight its way into Sunday. TB SoCal maintained a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth, just before lightning struck again. Victus put together quality at-bats and turned up the pressure on SoCal, who suffered six defensive errors in the loss. Victus wound up plating three runs in the bottom of the sixth after a sequence of defensive miscues to leapfrog into the lead at 4-2. The top of the seventh saw TB SoCal’s first two batters reach base, but ultimately were left stranded after back-to-back strikeouts and a ground ball to put a lid on the semifinal Saturday.
On Deck
GBG Arizona will head into the gold medal game with a 6-0-1 record while CBA Victus stands at a perfect 7-0. Both teams will be looking to win their first respective gold medals at 17U Champs Arizona. CBA Marucci and TB SoCal will square off for bronze, as TB SoCal is in search of its second top-three finish in the past three years at 17U Champs Arizona.
The bronze medal game will kick things off on Sunday morning, with first-pitch slated for 8:00 AM MST. The gold medal game will follow suit at roughly 11:00 AM MST. Both games will be held at Surprise Stadium, the official MLB Spring Training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. Fans and players alike are encouraged to follow @USABaseEvents across all social media outlets for the latest news and updates.
