TAINAN, Taiwan - Team USA ended pool play in style at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup on Wednesday, using an explosion of offense to defeat Czechia 25-0.
As the final score would indicate, the Team USA offense came out of the gates swinging, putting 14 runs up on the board in the game's opening frame. The team would slug four home runs in the inning, with two coming off the bat of Gavin Gomez -- a two-run shot in his first at-bat and a grand slam in his next -- and two coming in the form of back-to-back longballs by Nicholis Parker Jr. and Tyler Early.
After this initial outburst, the bats would keep it rolling, scoring two in the second and nine in the third to bring the grand total up to 25. Thirteen different American players recorded at least one hit in the game when it was all said and done, including six that had two or more.
On the pitching side of things, the trio of Bowen Landry, Julian Knudsen, and Kingston George combined to throw a four inning no-hitter. Landry got the start and tossed a perfect first with two strikeouts, Knudsen worked the next two and punched out three of his own, and George finished the job with a clean fourth inning.
With the win, Team USA officially clinched its spot in the Super Round, finishing as the second seed in Group B. It will now face off against the three teams that advanced out of Group A -- Chinese Taipei, Venezuela, and Japan -- over the coming days.
How It Happened
- Landry started the game on the mound and worked a 1-2-3 first inning with two punchouts.
- The Team USA bats would do major damage in the bottom of the first, scoring 14 runs to take complete control of the game. The team sent 19 hitters to the plate in the inning and recorded 13 hits, punctuated by the four home runs from Gomez, Parker Jr. and Early.
- The stars and stripes added on two more in the second, using a home run by Leyland Henry and a sacrifice fly by Micah De Los Reyes to increase its lead to 16.
- Knudsen came on in relief of Landry after the opening frame and worked two clean innings while striking out three, only giving up a lone baserunner on an error.
- The offense would finish the day by putting nine more runs on the board in the third, with five different hitters picking up at least one RBI during that stretch.
- George came on to wrap things up on the mound, striking out two of his own and finishing off the four-inning no-hitter.
Of Note
- Leading the way in the hits column for Team USA was Henry and Boston Targac, who both picked up three knocks apiece. Four other players joined those two in having multiple hits, with those being Parker Jr., Gomez, Ty Glaus, and Greyson Wuis.
- The trio of Landry, Knudsen, and George combined to strike out seven of the 14 batters they faced. The only traffic on the bases against them came in the form of an error and a walk.
- With his big day, Gomez moved into a tie atop the overall home run leaderboard for the tournament, level only with Yusuke Koma of Japan. His six RBIs on the day also helped move him into sole possession of first in that category with 13.
- Team USA scored 88 runs across five games in pool play, good for an average of 17.6 per game.
On Deck
Team USA will now head into the Super Round, opening things up with a matchup against Venezuela -- the second seed in Group A -- on Thursday. First pitch for the game is scheduled for 2:30 P.M. local time/2:30 A.M. ET.
