CHICAGO, Ill. - Early scoring secured a 9-3 win for the Stars over the Stripes on Sunday night at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, in the first game of the 2019 USA Baseball 17U National Team Development Program (NTDP).

Braylon Bishop (Texarcana, Ark.) led the Stars in scoring, going 2-for-4 with two singles and one walk. Bishop, Cody Schrier (San Clemente, Calif.) and Michael Braswell (Mableton, Ga.) all tallied two base knocks each, combining for six of the team's 10 total hits. On the other side of the ball, five different batters scattered the Stripes' five hits in the game. 

Five pitchers for each team got to spend some time on the mound. Philip Abner (Charlotte, N.C.) and Nick Bitsko (Doylestown, Pa.) both struck out five batters each for the Stars and Stripes, respectively.

Key Moments
• The Stars scored first in the contest, bringing Bishop home in the top of the first inning with a two-out single from Schrier to get on the board for a 1-0 lead. 
• A bases-loaded single from Joshua Pearson (West Monroe, La.) scored Jackson Baumeister (Jacksonville, Fla.) before Marcelo Mayer (Chula Vista, Calif.) scored on a dropped third strike to give the Stars a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. 
• Two more runs came for the Stars when Schrier and Ryan Clifford (Raleigh, N.C.) crossed home in the top of the third to take a 5-0 lead. 
• All three runs for the Stripes came in the bottom of the fifth inning, with Michael Davinni (Laguna Niguel, Calif.), Noah Smith (Chicago, Ill.) and Roc Riggio (Simi Valley, Calif.) all tallying runs. 
• The Stars scored three insurance runs in the top of the ninth, bringing home Mark Black (Pittsburgh, Penn.) on a bases-loaded walk, while Jordan Lawlar (Irving, Texas) and Bishop scored on the same single from Braswell to give the Stars a 9-3 victory. 

Notable Information
• The Stars advance to 1-0 to start the NTDP series. 
• The two teams combined for 26 total strikeouts, with the Stars tallying 12 and the Stripes getting 14. 
• The Stars out-hit the Stripes 10 to five in the game. 

On Deck
• Game two will take place on Monday, July 22, at 3:30 p.m. CT at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. 

Social
• Stay tuned to @USABaseballNTDP on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the 17U National Team Development Program.