CARY, N.C. – The finale of the 15U National Team Training Camp Stars vs. Stripes series on Saturday afternoon at the National Training Complex was a back-and forth contest, which featured 23 hits and four lead changes. The Stripes managed to earn a 9-8 comeback win to improve to 4-0 on the week and sweep the series.
The Stars got on the board early with a pair of runs in the first inning. Trey Ebel reached on a two-out single to second and scored on Jorvorskie Lane Jr.’s triple to center field. During the next at-bat, Lane Jr. crossed home plate on a passed ball.
The Stripes used timely two-out hitting to take the lead in the third with three runs on two hits. Teagan Scott drew a walk and Drew Davis reached on an outfield single, then Grady Emerson’s 2-RBI triple brought them home to tie things up at 2-2. Emerson came home on a passed ball for the go-ahead run and give his team a 3-2 advantage.
In the bottom frame, the Stars responded with five runs to take a 7-3 lead. A Josiah Morris RBI double knotted the score at 3-3, and then a fielder’s choice with the bases-loaded followed by Lane Jr.’s bases-clearing triple extended the lead to four.
Drew Davis cut the Stripes’ deficit to two in the fifth, making the score 7-5, as his two-run single to right field scored Kevin Roberts Jr. and Garner Rodriguez after they both drew walks and moved into scoring position on a passed ball.
In the sixth, the Stripes made it a one-run game thanks to a Nate Davis bases-loaded walk, but the Stars retook its two-run lead in the eighth when Taytum Reeves laced an RBI double to right field with runners at first and second.
The Stripes managed to tie things up at 8-8 in the ninth with a pair of runs. Conor Rae and Brody Jindra reached on a single and double, respectively, to start the threat, and a two-run error brought them across home plate.
Brady Harris came up clutch in the 10th to provide the game-winning RBI for the Stars. A one-out single by Drew Davis followed by Emerson’s double put runners in scoring position, and Harris flew out to right for the sacrifice fly.
Drew Davis (3-for-4) and Emerson (3-for-5) led all players at the plate, while four other players turned in multi-hit performances. Lane Jr. paced all players with four RBIs, while Nate Davis tallied three.
On the mound, Stripes’ Tucker Long tossed four shutout innings in relief and tallied a game-high five strikeouts. Additionally, Kaden Nicholls and Jael Castillo fanned three batters apiece across seven innings for six of the Stars’ seven strikeouts.
The 20-man 15U National Team roster will be announced tonight via USABaseball.com and USA Baseball’s social media platforms.
