STOCKTON, Calif. -- The 12U National Team picked up a pair of wins in exhibition action on Wednesday afternoon at Billy Hebert Field in Stockton, California. The team competed in a pair of five-inning games in a tune-up for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan, Taiwan, from July 29-August 7.
Team USA competed against the Challenger Squad, which comprised travel players from around the area, some who have competed in past USA Baseball programming. The U.S. rallied for seven unanswered runs in the opening game to win, 9-8, and then picked up a 12-3 win in the nightcap to secure the perfect day.
Several players had standout performances for Team USA throughout the day, highlighted by Trent O'Malley (Great Falls, Va.), who hit a pair of homers and drove in five runs across the two games. O'Malley's first round-tripper came in the form of a two-run blast in the first game before he clobbered a three-run dinger to extend Team USA's lead in game two.
The stars and stripes also got home runs from Levi Kerr (Marvin, N.C.) and Mateo Mier (Sylmar, Calif.) in the wins. Kerr's homer came in the first game and was a big one as he mashed a go-ahead, three-run homer to give Team USA the one-run lead it would eventually win by. Mier's four-bagger was part of a five-run first inning in the second game of the day.
Anthony Ramon (Phoenix, Ariz.) led the offensive attack for the U.S. with a team-best three hits on the day, including a double in the second game. Anthony Frausto's (New Braunfels, Texas) two RBIs made him the third player with multiple runs batted in as he drove in two in the opener. Dylan Mercado (Houston, Texas) was one of six U.S. players to drive in one run, with his coming on an RBI double in the nightcap.
On the mound, Team USA had five pitchers turn in scoreless performances. Major Ciers (Conroe, Texas), Levi Kerr (Marvin, N.C.), Jordan Leon (Northridge, Calif.), Trent O'Malley (Great Falls, Va.), and Hibiki Suzuki (Cypress, Calif.) all posted zeroes for the stars and stripes, with Leon striking out a pair of batters in 1.1 innings of work. Mercado started game one and had a team-best three punchouts on the mound.
Team USA will continue training before departing for the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup on Saturday, July 23. The team will play in its first game on Friday, July 29, at 2:30 am ET against Czech Republic.
