On the second day of the 2025 13U/14U Athlete Development Program (ADP) at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., Team Eldridge had a dominant showing on the mound and behind the plate, extending the lead in the series against Team Miller.
Team Eldridge pitchers combined for 12 total strikeouts and were effective in all facets throughout its defense. Despite the defeat, Team Miller put up a valiant effort with five punchouts and solid hitting all around.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the top of the first, Team Eldridge’s starting pitcher, Paris Head, faced three batters and struck out all three in 16 pitches, 10 of which were strikes.
- Noah Vrzal, of Team Miller, demonstrated a dominant two inning outing, allowing just one hit while collecting three strikeouts.
- Cooper Gear got Team Eldridge on the board first off of a sacrifice fly from Michael DiMaggio.
- Team Eldridge extended its lead though, scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second frame.
- Jackson Mcaneeley registered an RBI single, followed by a two-RBI triple from Bowen Landry, allowing DiMaggio and Mcaneeley to score for Team Eldridge.
- Landry soon followed by taking advantage of a wild pitch to push the lead to six runs.
- Jack Mattingly continued to extend the lead by scoring on a fielder’s choice later in the contest.
- The floodgates then were pushed open, with two more runs being scored for Team Eldridge by Jake Mercado and Carlo Rivero via a Cooper Gear two-RBI double.
- Miller's Michael Ohman helped get them on the board with his RBI double sending Noah Burt home.
- Brandon Sweeney’s bases-loaded walk then brought in another run for Team Miller in the top of the seventh.
- David Lee then followed up the scoring affair by coming home on a wild pitch bringing back the momentum for Team Eldridge to extend the lead to eight runs.
- Team Miller answered back, with Mason Devine’s sacrifice bunt sending Joshua Pierre home.
NOTABLE STATS:
- Head collected a game-high seven strikeouts in his outing on the mound for Team Eldridge.
- Gear and Landry both knocked home two runs throughout the contest setting a game-best mark.
- Emmric Alapa, Mattingly, and Head each stole two bases in the game.
- All of Team Eldridge, Gear recorded a double, while both Landry and Lee each hit a triple marking the only extra-base hits of the game.
- Lee and Landry tallied three total bases each to lead the way for both squads.
QUOTABLES:
- “I just trust all my pitches and I trust my training. Whenever I get on the field, it's really just, ‘Don't think, trust everything.’”
- “I just started throwing my changeup two weeks ago. I was never familiar with the pitch before. I threw a different type of changeup because I was never able to get a certain look on my pitch. So, I modified it and just started doing it two weeks ago. It's like one of my best pitches. So, this is my first time actually throwing it in a game.”
TEAM INFORMATION:
Both teams at the 2025 ADP are named after USA Baseball alums and former development program participants Bryce Eldridge and Aidan Miller. Eldridge, who was named USA Baseball’s 2022 Richard W. “Dick” Case Award winner, was a member of the 18U National Team that won gold at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2022. The young prospect was named WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup MVP and earned a spot on the All-World Team after his strong outing for Team USA. A year later, Eldridge was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants, where he is currently the No. 17 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline. Prior to his stint with the 18U National Team, Eldridge participated in the 16U/17U National Team Development Program (NTDP) in 2021.
Miller is a three-time USA Baseball alum, as he was first a part of the 2016 12U National Team that won silver at the COPABE Pan Am “A” Championships. He was also a member of the 2019 15U National Team, where he helped the stars and stripes secure a gold medal at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier after participating in the 2018 14U NTDP. In his third stint with USA Baseball, Miller earned a spot alongside Eldridge on the 18U National Team in 2022 after competing in the 2021 16U/17U NTDP. Miller guided his squad to a gold medal after batting .478 and being named to the All-World Team as a right fielder. He was later selected 27th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies and currently ranks as the No. 18 overall prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline.
ABOUT ADP SCORING:
USA Baseball utilizes a modified scoring system for its development programs to achieve load management and mitigate potential injuries due to overuse for its youth athletes. Pitchers are subject to a maximum pitch count of 25 per inning during game play. In the event an inning is rolled because a pitcher has reached their maximum pitch count, runners on base may be contributed to the game score.
