DURHAM, N.C. – George Wolkow (Downers Grove, Ill.) hit a walk-off double as the Stars rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Stripes, 4-3, at the 2021 15U National Team Trials Stars vs. Stripes Series at Durham Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina. 

Trailing 3-2 in the final inning, the Stars tied it on an RBI-single by Kailand Halstead (Puyallup, Wash.) before Wolkow roped a walk-off double to right field to drive in Coy James (Advance, N.C.) and secure the victory. It was the first win of the series for the Stars, who had only two hits before tallying four in the seventh.

Masa Chilcutt (San Antonio, Texas), Halstead, and Wolkow all contributed a hit and an RBI for the Stars in the win. Riley Brown (Cottonwood Heights, Utah), Cal Miller (Centerville, Utah), and Nolan Traeger (Spring, Texas) also had hits for the Stars.

Jase DeSantis (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Cameron Uzzillia (Tampa, Fla.) each drove in runs for the Stripes. The middle three hitters in the order – Henry Allen (Auburn, Ala.), Ethan Puig (Tampa, Fla.), and Josh Springer (Corona, Calif.) – all scored in the loss. 

Brady Ebel (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) earned the win, allowing just three hits in his outing. Xavier Neyens (Mount Vernon, Wash.) suffered the loss for the Stripes.

Key Moments

• The Stripes threatened to open the scoring immediately in the first inning, when Carson Page (Hahira, Ga.) singled for his eighth consecutive hit of 15U National Team Trials as the Stripes loaded the bases, but Brady Ebel (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) induced an inning-ending fly out to escape the jam.
• The bats woke up in the fourth for the Stripes, who put up three runs to open the scoring. The inning started with a walk and a pair of singles by Puig and Springer to load the bases, before Allen was plated on a wild pitch.
• Leading 1-0, DeSantis drove in another run with an RBI-bunt ground out, and Uzzillia added an RBI-single to put the Stripes in front, 3-0.
• The Stars’ offense rallied in the sixth to get on the scoreboard. With runners on second and third and two outs, Wolkow scored on an error to make it 3-1, and Masa Chilcutt hit an RBI-single to trim to deficit to one.
• The Stripes' JD Crisp (Houston, Texas) led off the seventh with a walk before Traeger singled to put the winning run on base. Brown followed with a single to center field, but the tying run was thrown out at the plate to keep the Stripes in the lead.
• Halstead immediately followed with an RBI-single up the middle for the Stripes to tie the game.
• Wolkow followed Halstead by sending a walk-off, RBI-double to the right field to complete the comeback and secure the win.

Notable Information

• The Stars move to 1-2 with the win, while the Stripes drop to 2-1.
• The series has seen walk-offs on two consecutive nights, as the Stripes won Sunday’s game with a walk-off single by Springer.
• Stripes’ starter Michael Torres (Miami, Fla.) struck out six batters in his four innings of work, allowing just one hit.
• The Stripes’ offense totaled seven hits, all from different players in the win.
• Page went 1-for-3, putting his series-best average at .800 (8-for-10).

On Deck

• Wednesday, September 1: Stars vs. Stripes (9:00 a.m. ET; Cary, N.C.; National Training Complex)
• Thursday, September 2: Stars vs. Stripes (11:30 a.m. ET; Cary, N.C.; National Training Complex)

Social

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