MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Raynel Delgado (Miami Lakes, Fla.) knocked a bases-clearing double and was a home run short of the cycle, while Carter Young (Selah, Wash.) worked two walks and scored two runs as the Stars defeated the Stripes, 7-6, on Sunday afternoon at Miller Park. The Stars now hold a 1-0 series lead in the 2017 USA Baseball 17U National Team Development Program.
The Stars jumped out to an early 3-0 in the home half of the first inning in part by Delgado's bases clearing two-bagger. However, their offense would be largely quieted by the Stripes' pitching until their eighth inning rally.
A few wild pitches in the sixth inning would load the bases and light a fire under the Stripes, who put up a four-spot to take the lead, 6-3. The lone hit in the big inning came from Coleman Brigman's (San Jose, Calif.) in the form of an RBI-single.
Delgado laced a triple to lead off the seventh, and the Stars would manufacture a run a few batters later through Dutch Landis (Henderson, Nev.), who sent a fly ball deep enough to allow Delgado to tag up from third and chip away at the deficit.
It was a back-and-forth affair the rest of the way, but the Stars came out on top to slip away with a gritty victory. C.J. Abrams (Alpharetta, Ga.) would lead off the eighth inning with a single and then move over to when Young followed him with a walk. The Stars would plate three more runs on three consecutive walks to effectively seal the comeback win.
Shining in relief for the Stars was Grant Leader (La Grange Park, Ill.), who kept the Stripes hitless for the final two innings of the ball game to earn the win. In the opposing dug out, Cooper Benson (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) struck out seven - including five looking - and scattered one hit across 3.1 innings of work. Nate Wohlgemuth was charged with the loss as he was charged with the three runs the Stars used to take the lead in the eighth.
The Stars and Stripes are back in action tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Rocky Miller Park at Northwestern University. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m. CT and fans can follow along on Twitter at @USABaseballNTDP.