CHARLOTTE, NC
Head Coach: Jim Knight
Assistant Coach: John Sears
Bat Boy: Sawyer Johnson
16u
2026 SUMMER ROSTER
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Charlotte Classic Collegiate Showcase
17u CHAMPIONS
Stampede National 16u played up in class to challenge themselves in a local 17u tournament....and shocked the field by going 6-0 and winning the title!
In Game 1 vs. Power Baseball (Queens, NY), National scored in each of the final 4 innings to secure the victory. Chase Biermann (Providence Day) led the offense with two hits. Khalil Boyd (Myers Park) was dominant on the mound, throwing 5 1/3 innings of 1 hit ball while striking out 7 to earn the win, while Farris Carinci (Charlotte Catholic) got the save.
In Game 2 vs. a strong Regulators Scout team, Stampede National had a comeback win for the ages. Down 7-1 with 2 innings to go against a tournament favorite, the team rallied for 3 in the 5th and added 5 in the bottom of the last inning. Boyd executed a perfect safety squeeze bunt to score Max Puckett (Charlotte Christian) for the walk-off win. Noah Shorts (Bradford Prep) had two hits and 2 RBI's while Stone Johnson (Charlotte Catholic) added a pair of hits. Evan Sears (Liberty Prep) and Boyd each contributed two RBI's. Lucas Barga (LKN Charter) and Emmett Nelson (Bandys) each went 1-1 with a run scored and an RBI in the big win.
Game 3 saw the National face off with a 3-0 Diamond Devils team out of SC.....and walk off with an impressive 11-3 victory. Carinci and Henry Earl (Charlotte Catholic) led the way offensively with two hits apiece, while Carinci scored twice and Nelson chipped in 2 RBI's each in a 12 hit attack that saw 10 different National players get hits.
Game 4 was actually an intentional forfeit that gave the Nationals a 7-0 victory as they moved into the 4 team bracket.
The semi-finals saw the National face off with Self-Made Showcase out of Fredericksburg, VA. It was a tough contest throughout but National walked away with a 5-3 victory to head to the title game. Shorts was a monster in the semi, going 3-3 and just short of a cycle with a single, double and triple in the game. Boyd (2-2, 2 runs), Johnson (2-3, 2 RBI's) and Carinci (2-2, 2 runs, 2 RBI's) continued their hot hitting as well. On the mound, Connor Landers (NW Cabarrus) got the victory, giving up just 2 hits and no earned runs while striking out 3 in hit 3 innings of work.
The championship game vs. Showtime Scout was a an outstanding performance offensively and defensively by Stampede National on their way to the win. The story has to start with starting pitcher Cooper Morris (Bandys), who dominated on the bump on his way to earning the championship game MVP. Morris went 6 innings, allowing just 2 hits and no runs while striking out 8 against one of the tournament's top hitting teams. Biermann pitched the 7th to close it out. Offensively, Earl and Puckett led the way with two hits each, while Puckett and Johnson each scored and had RBI's in the contest.
The championship runs the Stampede National record to 17-3 and 15-0 in NC for the 2026 summer season. The team is back in action next weekend in a collegiate showcase at UNC-Charlotte.
LUCAS BARGA
Collegiate Showcase
Stampede National 16u had an excellent weekend at the Charlotte Classic Collegiate Showcase, winning all three games to up their season record to 9-0.
The team started the weekend against the 2027 FS Bulldogs and won, 10-7. The sped out to a 4 run lead in the bottom of the 1st and scored in every inning to hold off the older Bulldogs in game 1. Farris Carinci (Charlotte Catholic) continued his torrid hitting streak with 3 hits and 2 RBI's to lead the offense. Lucas Barga (LKN Charter), Noah Shorts (Bradford Prep) and Cooper Morris (Bandys) each added doubles while Shorts had a pair of RBI's to contribute to the cause. 9 different players scored a run (led by Chase Biermann (Providence Day) with two) in the contest.
In game 2, National faced another 2027 squad, the Carolina White Sox. The game was 3-3 after 3 innings and stayed that way until a passed ball in the 7th led to the Stampede win. The team collected only 5 hits, with 4 of them going to Biermann (2-2) and Emmett Nelson (Bandys) who went 2-3. Gus Wathan (Providence) started on the bump and gave up 2 earned runs. in 4 innings before giving way to Khalil Boyd (Myers Park), who shut out the White Sox over 2 innings.
Sunday (Father's Day) saw the final game of the round-robin showcase...and the boys gave their dads an early present with a morning win over the 2027 CWS Liberty. Max Puckett (Charlotte Christian) led the team with a 2-2 day, while Barga, Biermann and Connor Landers (NW Cabarrus) collected the other hits. Morris started on the mound and went three hitless innings while striking out 5. Carinci, Landers and Johnson finished the game by allowing only 1 hit through the final 3 innings while striking out 6.
Stampede National 16u heads to Lakepoint in GA next week for the PBR Nationals. GOOD LUCK GUYS!
STAMPEDE NATIONAL WINS PG SEC CHAMPIONSHIP!!
In their first tournament of the 2026 summer season, Stampede National 16u went 5-0 and brought home the hardware. The team was dominant throughout against solid competition, winning the 5 games by a combined score of 43-10.
TOP PITCHERS:
Henry Earl was named Most Valuable Pitcher of the tournament. He threw 7 innings, allowing just 3 hits and 0 earned runs while striking out 10 with zero walks to go 2-0 on the mound.
EARL: 7 IP, 2-0 record, 0 ER, 3 hits, 10 K's
MORRIS: 5 IP, 1-0 record, 0 ER, 0 hits, 2 K's
BOYD: 3 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 4 K's
WATHAN: 5.1 IP, 1-0 record, 1 ER, 5 hits, 9 K's
TOP HITTERS:
Farris Carinci was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He hit safely in all 5 games, amassing 10 hits with 4 XBH and scored 9 times on his way to a tournament-leading .667 batting average.
CARINCI: .667 avg, 10 hits, 4 XBH, 9 runs, 3 SB
BARGA: .625 avg, 5 hits, 2 XBH, 4 RBI
SEARS: .556 avg, 5 hits, 3 RBI, 5 runs, 3 SB
BIERMANN: .455 avg, 5 hits, 3 RBI, 5 runs
JOHNSON: .364 avg, 4 hits, 5 RBI, 5 runs
MORRIS: .364 avg, 4 hits, 5 RBI
