OKINAWA, Japan – Team USA scored four runs in the first inning en route to a 9-3 win over Germany in World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Group B action on Sunday afternoon at Nishizaki Stadium.

The win improves Team USA’s record to 3-0, making it the only undefeated nation remaining in Group B.

All four of the first-inning runs came with two outs in the frame. Grady Emerson drew a walk to start the contest and stood on second base with two outs before coming around to score on an RBI single by CJ Sampson for the game’s first run. Anthony Murphy followed with a walk and wreaked havoc on the basepaths, stealing and then scoring from second base on a wild pitch to make it a 3-0 lead. Andrew Costello capped the two-out rally with an RBI single to center field to give the United States a four-run cushion before Germany’s (2-1) first at-bat.

Matthew Sharman got the nod on the mound and made quick work of Germany early on. He retired the first nine batters he faced, continuing Team USA’s run of dominant pitching in tournament play. He ran into a bit of trouble in the fifth when he allowed three singles and a throwing error, but U.S. reliever Trey Rangel entered and limited the damage to keep the team comfortably in front. Emerson and Aiden Ruiz added insurance with RBI singles in the seventh, and Rangel struck out two in the bottom of the inning to secure the 9-3 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sampson singled up the middle to open the scoring in the top of the first, bringing home Emerson, who drew a walk to lead off the game.
• With Sampson on third and Murphy on second, a wild pitch sailed to the backstop and both runners came home to score to make it a 3-0 advantage for the United States in the first.
• The U.S. lead became 4-0 in the first inning when James Clark walked and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches before scoring on a base hit by Costello.
• After Sharman faced the minimum in the first three innings, he got more run support in the fourth on a two-run single by Ruiz, giving Team USA a 6-0 lead.
• Murphy singled up the middle and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Clark to extend the U.S. advantage to seven in the top of the fifth.
• Three singles and an error knocked Sharman out of the game with two runs on the board in the fifth for Germany, but Rangel entered in relief and stopped the bleeding as the U.S. lead became 7-3 after five.
• Emerson and Ruiz smacked back-to-back RBI singles to right field with the bases loaded in the seventh for a pair of insurance runs to make it 9-3 in favor of the United States.
• Rangel returned to the mound and notched a pair of strikeouts to finalize the third-consecutive win for the stars and stripes.

NOTABLES

• With three hitless frames to begin Sunday’s game, Team USA’s pitching staff held opponents hitless for 10 consecutive innings after no-hitting Chinese Taipei on Saturday.
• Team USA has a collective WHIP of 0.71 to lead all 12 teams. Its 0.33 ERA and 29 strikeouts are also leading the tournament field.
• Murphy (2-for-3, BB) and Ruiz (2-for-4, 3 RBI) paced the U.S. offense with their multi-hit days. Ruiz has now driven in five runs, good for second-most in the tournament.
• Murphy also stole two bases in the win and now leads all players at the World Cup with three swiped bags.
• The United States’ offense collected 10 hits and now has had double-digit knocks in two of its three games after notching 11 hits in the tournament opener against Panama.
• The U.S. and Japan are the only two unbeaten teams remaining at the World Cup.
• Team USA improves to 2-0 all-time against Germany at the U-18 level. Sunday marked the first contest between the two nations since 2004.

QUOTABLES

“I think our team went out today and played as we should. I think we brought a lot of energy in the game for all seven innings and came out with a purpose. I’m feeding off my teammates’ energy when I get in the batter’s box.” - Anthony Murphy

ON DECK

Team USA is back in action on Monday for a meeting with China. First pitch from Okinawa Cellular Stadium is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. JST/9:30 p.m. ET (Sept. 7), and all the action can be streamed live on Gametime.sport.