EVANSTON, Ill. - A three-run first inning kick-started a strong showing for the Stars in their 11-4 win over the Stripes on Wednesday afternoon at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois at the 2019 USA Baseball 17U National Team Development Program (NTDP).

Braylon Bishop (Texarcana, Ark.), Brady House (Winder, Ga.) and Charlie Saum (Ventura, Calif.) led the Stars behind the plate, tallying two hits each in the contest. Ryan Clifford (Raleigh, N.C.), Cody Schrier (San Clemente, Calif.) and House all tallied two RBIs, combining for six of 11 for the Stars. Luke Leto (Portage, Mich.) led the Stripes offense, going 2-for-4, scoring one run and earning one of the team's three RBIs. 

The Stars had five pitchers throw throughout the game and six spent time on the mound for the Stripes. All five athletes threw at least one strikeout for the Stars, with Grant Taylor (Florence, Ala.) leading the pack with three of his own in two innings

Key Moments
• The Stars scored first, bringing three runners home in the top of the first inning led by a double from Clifford to take an early 3-0 lead. 
• The Stars increased their lead to 5-0 in the sixth inning when a walk and pair of Stripes errors loaded the bases and Jordan Lawlar (Irving, Texas) and Bishop scored on a sacrifice fly and single, respectively. 
• Adding two more runs in the top of the seventh, the Stars led 7-0 after Saum and Kurtis Reid (Hamilton, Ohio) both scored on ground outs. 
• Schrier scored on a bases-loaded ground out and House followed, scoring on a single from Saum to give the Stars a 9-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. 
• The Stars' final two runs came home in the top of the ninth when Michael Braswell (Mabelton, Ga.) scored on a fielder's choice and Lawlar scored on a sacrifice fly to take an 11-0 lead. 
• The Stripes got on the board in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring off a Leto single, a Roc Riggio (Simi Valley, Calif.) ground out, a single from Mike Bello (Oak Ridge, N.J.) and a Stars error. 

Notable Information
• The Stars take a 2-1 series lead with the win. 
• The two teams combined for 14 total strikeouts, with the Stars tallying nine and the Stripes getting five. 
• The Stripes out-hit the Stars 10-7 in the game. 

On Deck
• The final game in the Stars and Stripes series will take place on Thursday, July 25, at 3:30 p.m. CT at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Social
• Stay tuned to @USABaseballNTDP on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the 17U National Team Development Program.