CARY, NC – As the saying goes, defense wins championships. This week, Juan Fontela and his squad will look to prove that at the 12U National Team Identification Series (NTIS) Champions Cup, having now earned their chance to advance to the semifinals on Sunday morning at Thomas Brooks Park.
The NTIS is nothing new for Fontela, who as regional director for the Southwest region helped assemble several teams that have played, currently play and will play in Cary this summer. One of the most impressive is the 12U South Stars, which Fontela is also leading as head coach this week. His squad defeated both the Northwest Stripes and Northeast Stripes 6-0 on Thursday and Friday, emerging as a disciplined two-way unit.
“We’re always looking for really good athletes, explosive athletes, guys that can throw the ball and hit the ball at that age. Pitching is a really big deal here, we take our pitching pretty seriously in the Southwest, especially with the young guys,” Fontela said with a grin while explaining how the team originally came together.
On Friday, with the postseason and first place on the line, the South Stars faced a Midwest Stars team that had won its first two games of the week by scores of 27-6 and 23-0, an astonishing 50-6 margin. But they didn’t let that deter them, stuck to their game plan and engaged the Midwest Stars in a tight defensive duel. The first five points of the game were all due to pitching or fielding errors, and by the time the sixth inning rolled around, Fontela’s team was up 3-2.
After stifling the best offense at Thomas Brooks Park for five innings, the South Stars were going well until the tying run came on an RBI groundout by Joshua Matthews. Although the Midwest Stars could only tie the game at 3-3, there was a chance that the momentum would shift away from the South Stars in the closing stages of the game.
Two outs into the sixth inning, that’s how it looked, until Tucker Curtiss hit a double over the center fielder and then got himself to third base thanks to a wild pitch. Eli Deville was the South Stars’ hero in the decisive phase, hitting another double into center to restore his team’s lead. The South Stars’ typical defense held the fort in the seventh inning, building a 4-3 lead and extending the lead to 3-0.
“It was great. We knew we were playing for first place today. These guys are tough, they’re strong, they’re tough and they’re never going to give up. And it was great to see them come out on top despite their hard fight, even though we didn’t swing the bats as well as we probably could,” Fontela said of his team after the game.
Although the South Stars batsmen carried the day on Saturday, defence was a factor throughout. It takes a total team effort to keep a team that scored 50 runs in two matches to just three.
“If we want to win baseball games, we know that pitching and defense are our focus. If we can keep guys off the bases, we have a good chance of winning the game,” Fontela explained. “Pitching is always our priority. We knew the team was swinging the bats really well, and we knew what was coming, but we knew we had the guys to kind of make up for that and come away with a win.”
When asked if there was any secret to the South Stars’ defensive strength or if the team had specifically focused on it in training, Fontela again referred to the team’s be-all and end-all: pitching.
“We just throw strikes. We have guys that can throw the ball really well, guys that can throw three or four whenever they want to get strikes. We have some guys that can overpower you and guys that can also come in and pace us. So we watch swings, we watch arms. We watch how everyone works and do our best to put those guys in the best position to win the ball game.”
Nolan Bingham, Alex Pena, Ben Wilson, Austin Percival III, Evan Vanover, David Collazo, Fabian Avila, Patrick Hloska and Lucas Diaz are the “guys” to talk about, and they’ve formed the most impressive rotation at Thomas Brook Park this week. Not only that, but several players like Hloska and Percival III have also contributed at the batting plate, which goes back to what Fontela emphasized when talking about what he looks for in players. It was Hloska being the two-way star against the Midwest Stars, keeping the game under control in the first few innings while also being a threat on the basepaths.
It’s been a great week for the South Stars, especially as the team currently has a 3-0 record. Fontela emphasized after Saturday’s game what makes this team so special.
“Seeing them come together and grow as a team, getting to know each other, making new friends and playing hard for each other. These kids play a lot of showcases and a lot of invitation-only events, and this is a little different. When you put on those colors and put the USA letters on your chest, it feels more like family. It feels right,” Fontela noted. “Guys become best friends, and they’re memories that they’re going to share for a lifetime, just like we did. So we’re really grateful for those memories. And that’s probably the best part of the whole thing for sure.”
With Sunday’s semifinals just around the corner, how can Fontela and the South Stars maintain their momentum and carry their strong defense into the postseason?
“Good attitude. A little bit of quiet confidence because we know pound for pound we’re one of the best teams here. You just get a little bit of confidence and keep it up all weekend. And that’s the way to go: just play hard, play for the name on the front, not the name on the back, and keep it going.”
With gold on the line on Sunday morning, the South Stars will have their chance to keep going.
