1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Team Stars	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	4	4	2
Team Stripes	3	0	1	2	0	0	0	6	8	0

Win: Wes Mendes |  Loss: Liam Peterson   |  Save: Landon Stump

Box Score | Play-by-Play

 

CARY, N.C. - The Stripes clinched the 2021 National Team Development Program (NTDP) Stars vs. Stripes series with a 6-4 win in game two on Sunday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. Wasting no time, the Stripes got on the board with a three-run first inning to jump out to a 3-0 advantage. They added to their lead in the third and fourth innings to take a 6-0 lead. The Stars started a rally late in the game, scoring runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, but were not able to finish it.

Aidan Miller led the Stripes offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scoring a run. Eric Bitonti (1-for-1) had a hit and scored two of the Stars' four runs.

James Hays got the start on the mound for the Stripes and allowed no hits in his 2.2 innings of work while striking out two. Wes Mendes got the win on the mound, coming into relieve Hays and pitching two innings, allowing two runs on two hits. Liam Peterson suffered the loss for the Stars, allowing three runs in 1.2 innings pitched.

Key Moments

• A Miller triple brought in two runs in the first and put the Stripes up 2-0 after Matthew Clark hit a leadoff single and Dean Curley drew a walk to put runners on first and second.
• The Stripes added another run in the third when Steven Milam hit an infield single and used aggressive base running on a fielder's choice and an error to come across and make it 4-0.
• In the fourth, Colt Emerson brought in Derek Curiel with a single through the right side to make it 5-0 before one more run came across to give the Stripes a 6-0 lead.
• The Stars first hit of the game came in the top of the fifth when Bitonti reached on an infield single.
• Dylan Cupp followed up the infield single with a ground-rule double that brought in Walker Jenkins, who had walked to start the inning, making it a 6-1 game.
• Theodore Gillen then brought in Bitonti on an RBI groundout to second to cut the Stripes lead to 6-2 in the top of the fifth.
• In the sixth, TayShaun Walton was hit by a pitch, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a wild pitch for the Stars to make it a 6-3 game.
• Making their final push, the Stripes scored one run in the seventh when Travis Sykora hit a pinch-hit RBI single to bring in Bitonti but couldn't get anything else, making it a 6-4 final.

 

Notable Information

• The Stripes clinched the series with today's win and have scored nine runs through the first two games while allowing four. 
• The Stars will look to win their first game of the weekend in tomorrow's series finale at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
• Maxwell Clark leads the Stripes with three hits in the series while Cupp has three hits for the Stars.

 

On Deck

• Monday, August 9: Stars vs. Stripes (1:30 p.m. ET; Durham, N.C.; Durham Bulls Athletic Park)

 

Social

• Stay tuned to @USABDevelops on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the 2021 NTDP.