CARY, N.C. - The Stars saved their best for last in the finale of 18U Training Camp, pulling away late to earn a 4-0 victory over the Stripes on Wednesday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. After the Stars took an early one-run lead, the Stars broke through in the top of the eighth frame with a three-run surge to extend the lead and win the finale.

On the other side, the Stars’ pitching staff was in command from start to finish. Their five-man pitching staff combined for seven innings of scoreless baseball and yielded a single hit and four walks.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Stars started the game early with Coleman Borthwick plating the first run of the contest in the top of the first frame to give his side a one-run advantage in the opening frame.
• After the opening run in the first inning, both starters, Denton Lord (Stripes) and Gio Rojas (Stars), kept opposing offenses from crossing the plate in their three innings of action apiece.
• Pitching continued to dominate as both squads were held scoreless throughout the ensuing four frames. The Stars’ Wilson Andersen and the Stripes’ RJ Cope both tossed an inning of strong baseball, allowing just one hit.
• In the bottom of the seventh, Andrew Costello broke up the Stars’ no-hitter after he struck a laser to the right field wall to threaten a tie game. Joseph Contreras (Stars) settled in on the mound though and nullified the push with a strikeout.
• Trey Ebel put the finishing touches on the Stars’ victory when he struck an RBI single back up the middle to extend his side’s lead to two runs. The Stars’ Cole Koeninger followed up Ebel shortly after with an RBI single of his own.
• Brady Harris continued the rally and pushed home another run when he cracked a line drive up the middle to put the finishes touches on the 4-0 win.

NOTABLES:

• Trevor Condon, Harris, and Koeninger all finished with a game-best two hits as the Stars combined for 13 hits throughout the contest.
• Stars’ starter Rojas went three innings and registered a game-high four strikeouts. Rojas faced 10 batters and needed only 41 pitches to keep the Stripes scoreless.
• Eric Booth Jr. (Stars) was the only player in the contest to draw two walks, his second consecutive game with two bases-on-balls.
• For the Stripes, Costello cracked a triple late in the contest making him the only player to collect an extra-base hit in the contest.
• Stars’ Condon went a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate. With the performance, he increased his batting average to .500 (4-for-8) on the week.
• Cope went another strong inning for the Stripes in today’s contest. He finishes the week with three innings of one-run baseball while also notching four strikeouts.

ON DECK:

The 2025 18U National Team roster will be announced later this evening. After the selection, the 18U National Team will complete two days of workouts before flying to Okinawa, Japan to compete in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup.