PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico - The 15U National Team secured its spot in the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier gold medal game with a 6-5 comeback victory over Cuba on Saturday at Unidad Deportivo Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Team USA will play Panama for the gold medal on Sunday, September 22 at approximately 11 a.m. CT. 

Aidan Miller (Trinity, Fla.) finished 2-for-2 on the day, hitting the game-winning RBI-single in the sixth inning to lead Team USA's offense in its win over Cuba. Karson Bowen (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) finished the day going 1-for-2 with three RBIs after he kickstarted the U.S. rally with a bases clearing triple in the fifth inning. Termarr Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) later picked up his lone RBI on the day with a single to score the tying run. Joe Brown (Petaluma, Calif.), Mikey Romero (Menifee, Calif.), Dylan Lina (Carson, Calif.), Nolan Schubart (Durand, Mich.) and Steven Milam (Las Cruces, N.M.) also collected hits on the day.  

Logan Saloman (Chandler, Ariz.) got the start for Team USA on the mound and allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits through 4.1 innings in a no decision. Brandon Olivera (Hialeah, Fla.) came on in relief and earned the win, pitching 1.2 strong innings of hitless baseball, striking out two. The loss was tagged to Cuba's Danell Molina.

Key Moments
• Cuba jumped out to an early lead in the contest after three singles made it 2-0 in the top of the first.
• he Cubans added to their lead when they scored three runs on three hits and an error in the top of the second to make it a 5-0 ballgame.
• After four scoreless innings, the bats got going for Team USA as a walk, a fielder's choice and two singles loaded the bases for Bowen, who then sent a three-RBI triple to centerfield to bring the score to 5-3.
• A Milam RBI-double pulled the U.S within one and Johnson's RBI-single tied the game at 5-5 the bottom of the fifth inning.
• Miller stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth with runners in scoring position and knocked an RBI-single into right field to score the game-winning run for the score of 6-5.
• The game was called after the sixth inning due to darkness.

Notable Information
• Team USA improved to 7-1 in the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier and finished Super Round play with a 4-1 record, earning a spot in the gold medal game on Sunday.
• The win clinched Team USA's berth to the 2020 WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup.
• Karson Bowen led the stars and stripes offensively during Super Round action, batting .429 (6-for-14) with one double, one triple, one home run and eight RBIs.
• Brandon Olivera collected the win over Cuba after pitching 1.2 innings of hitless baseball and striking out two batters.

Up Next
The 15U National Team will face Panama in the gold medal game of the 2019 WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier on Sunday, September 22 at approximately 11 a.m. CT on Field One at Unidad Deportivo Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Social
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