The 18U National Team spent its last day in the States in style, walking off Canada 4-3 at 18U Training before the squad jets off to Panama for the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier.

After posting a critical four-run fifth inning to lift itself over Canada in a 5-1 victory in the team’s first meeting on Monday, Team USA banded together for a late-game rally to take down Canada. This go-round, the United States pulled off a daring two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to save itself from a 3-3 draw.

A two-out walk from Brady Murrietta got Team USA’s rally started late in the ninth inning. Team USA stayed as calm and composed as can be, taking advantage of a hit by pitch and a walk drawn by Eli Willits to load the bases. With the momentum on its side, the U.S. was given a free pass home as Brayden Jaksa was hit by a pitch and Murrietta walked home to win the contest 4-3.

Despite its slow start, Team USA chipped away at Canada’s early lead and eventually found a way to win. Most importantly, the team continued to strengthen its bonds before it journeys to Panama.

“The last two games for us have been very useful for us to come together as a team,” said 18U National Team Manager Rick Eckstein. “Team Canada put up a really good fight, and we hung in there. We fell behind early, hung in there, and just kept chipping away and kept fighting. We found a little bit of our stride and our identity and we’re really just continuing to build.”

Early on, the team fell in a 2-0 hole after Canada’s side of the fourth inning. With limited success at the plate up until that point, a two-out, two-run homer from Nico Partida kickstarted the offense and tied things at 2-2. Meanwhile, Team USA’s pitching staff kept its cool and restricted Canada to just one more run for the rest of the game.

“They never gave in, they never backed down,” Eckstein said. “They just kept fighting, no matter whatever adversity came at them. They just kept plugging away. The guys on the mound came in, and if some traffic got in place, they calmed down and executed pitches. And it was great, a lot of good things to see.”

Gavin Fien, who racked up two doubles in yesterday’s bout with Canada, played hero once again for the United States. Team USA faced yet another deficit, trailing 3-2 late in the game, but Fien knotted things up with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth.

Eckstein mentioned Fien’s commitment to the finer details of the game, praising both his offensive and defensive abilities over the course of the 18U team’s training days.

“It was just the little things,” Eckstein said. “He's been very, very good about knowing the game and knowing where to be. And then his at bats have been really good, really solid, and it really has sparked us.”

Once Fien saved his team from the brink of a loss, the rest of his teammates kept their cool and racked up free passes to win the bout come the ninth inning.

Paired with a clutch offensive performance from batters like Partida and Fien, Team USA’s bullpen helped secure the late-game victory in a true team effort. Seven United States pitchers appeared in the bout with five hurling three punchouts by the end of the day.

As the players on the 20-man roster complement each other on the field, Eckstein and the rest of his talented coaching staff continue working on making sure their team gels before the squad leaves for Panama. At the end of the day, it all starts with Eckstein’s leadership.

“They're getting a feel for me, they're getting a feel for our coaching staff, they're getting a feel for each other, and it's just about creating that identity,” Eckstein said. “…From a leadership standpoint, I have to set that tone a little bit, and then they can pick up on my cues, and then we can kind of build and snowball off that.”

In order to win a gold medal overseas, Eckstein and his crew will have to bring focus, intensity, energy, and relentlessness to not just every game, but to each and every pitch.

“We just got to bring our focus to every pitch,” Eckstein said. “There's no letdowns — it’s every pitch. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first pitch of the game or last pitch of the game. It’s the intensity that we bring to every pitch. If we do that, we'll be right where we want to be.”

At the end of the day, the 18U National Team’s age-old goal is simple. Eckstein and his team’s one and only mission is to win gold.

“I'm excited to go to Panama,” Eckstein said. “The group has been really good. They have a professionalism about them that really inspires me to bring my best. This is our last game before we leave the States tomorrow, and we're looking forward to going to challenge for gold. That's our goal. We have one goal — to go win gold and we're doing everything we can do to prepare ourselves to meet that challenge.”