DURHAM, N.C. – The Stripes’ bats got off to a hot start and never slowed down as they topped the Stars, 18-2, in a series-clinching win at the 2021 15U National Team Trials at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.

Ethan Puig (Miami, Fla.) hit a bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the first to jump-start the Stripes’ offense – one of three triples hit in the first two innings. Following Puig’s big hit, the Stripes scored four runs in each of the game’s first three innings to jump out to a commanding lead early.

Dean Hannah (Waco, Texas) had three hits to lead the Stripes' offense on the day, driving in two runs. Xavier Neyens (Mount Vernon, Wash.), Puig, and Michael Torres (Miami, Fla.) each had two-hit games, combining to drive in seven runs.

Masa Chilcutt (San Antonio, Texas) led the Stars offense on the day, finishing 2-for-2 and adding an RBI. Brady Ebel (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), JD Crisp (Houston, Texas), and Cal Miller (Centerville, Utah) also contributed hits for the Stars.

Ryan McPherson was credited with the win, tossing two scoreless innings in relief for the Stripes. Stars starter Dylan Franco suffered the loss.

Key Moments

• After three straight walks to open the first inning, Puig roped a bases-clearing triple to left-center field and later scored to give the Stripes an early 4-0 advantage.
• Torres tripled to lead off the bottom of the second inning and scored on an error to put the Stripes ahead, 5-0.
• The Stripes’ hot hitting continued in the second, rattling off three consecutive hits: Josh Springer (Corona, Calif.) singled to left field and scored when Dillon Adkins (Leonardtown, Md.) tripled to right-center, and Hannah followed with a base hit up the middle to plate Adkins and later scored himself to make it 8-0 for the Stripes.
• The Stripes started once again loaded the bases with no outs courtesy of three consecutive singles by Puig, Neyens, and Jase DeSantis (Las Vegas, Nev.) in the bottom of the third inning. Torres followed with a two-run single before Hannah and Slade Caldwell (Jonseboro, Ark.) both drove in runs to extend the lead to 12.
• The Stars’ first scoring chance came in the top of the fifth. Crisp and Chilcutt got on base thanks to a single and double, respectively, but McPherson got out of the jam, stranding two runners in scoring position to keep the Stars off the board.
• Neyens added a two-run single in the sixth for the Stripes and scored on Braeden Weckman’s (Winter Springs, Fla.) two-RBI single to make it 16-0. Coy Allman (Marietta, Ga.) then drove in a run with a single to left field and eventually scored to add to the Stripes’ lead.
• The Stars scored twice to make it 18-2 in the seventh. Aiden Harris (Midlothian, Va.) hit a sacrifice fly to get the Stars on the board, and Chilcutt picked up his second hit of the game, an RBI-single back up the middle, to drive in Nolan Traeger (Spring, Texas).

Notable Information

• The Stripes clinched the series victory, holding a 3-1 lead with one game to go. The Stripes fell to 1-3 with the loss.
• With 18 hits in the win, the Stripes had double-digit hits for the third time in the series after tallying 16 hits in both of the first two games.
• Carson Messina (Summerville, S.C.) made the start for the Stripes, tossing three innings of one-hit ball in a no-decision.
• Chilcutt reached base in all four of his plate appearances, adding two walks to his two-hit day
• Stripes catcher Dean Hannah's three-hit performance raised his series-average to .750 (6-for-8).
• Page is now batting .692 (9-for-13) for the Stripes after going 1-for-3 in the win.

On Deck

• Thursday, September 2: Stars vs. Stripes (11:30 a.m. ET; Cary, N.C.; National Training Complex)

Social

• Stay tuned to @USABaseball15U on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the 15U National Team.