CARY, N.C. - The Stars won their first game of the 2021 16U/17U National Team Development Program in the Stars vs. Stripes series finale on Monday afternoon at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina. After only scoring a combined four runs in the first two games of the series, the Stars offense put 12 runs on the board in Monday's contest, holding off a Stripes comeback to win 12-6.

Dylan Cupp went 2-for-3 for the Stars and scored a run while a three-run home run off the bat of Daniel Cuvet highlighted the team's offense. Gavin Grahovac came in later in the game and picked up a hit, two RBIs, and scored a run to spark the Stripes push.

Walter Ford had a solid outing on the mound for the Stars, allowing just one hit and no runs and striking out four batters through the game's first three innings. Ryan Speyshock got the win, pitching after Ford while Chance Mako suffered the loss on the mound for the Stripes.

Key Moments

• Cupp jumpstarted the Stars offense in the second inning, hitting a leadoff single before stealing second and coming around to score on a Ryder Helfrick RBI double, putting the Stars on top 1-0.
• After Helfrick stole third and Bryce Rainer drew a walk, Cuvet sent a three-run blast over the left field wall to stretch the lead to 4-0. The Stars would add two more runs in the inning to go up 6-0 early in the game.
• An inning later, the Stars took advantage of some walks and tough slow rollers to add two more runs and make it an 8-0 lead.
• The Sripes offense got going in the fourth after Blake Balsz and Matthew Clark hit back-to-back leadoff singles. Balsz would come across to score on a wild pitch to put the Stripes on the board and make it 8-1.
• In the bottom of the fifth, the Stripes continued their push for a comeback, scoring five runs, started by a Zach Anderson double that brought in Steven Milam who had drawn a walk to start the inning. Anderson came in on an RBI single into right from Derek Curiel to make it an 8-3 game.
• Dean Curley, who reached on a hit-by-pitch and moved into scoring position on Curiel's single, advanced to third thanks to a fielder's choice off the bat of Matthew Clark. Clark and Curley then both come in to score on a Gavin Grahovac single up the middle to make it 8-5.
• The Stripes brought one more across in the inning to cut the deficit to two, 8-6, heading into the sixth.
• The Stars responded, using several walks and a timely hit from Sebastian David to add four insurance runs in the sixth to reach the final score of 12-6.

Notable Information

• The Stars finished the series 1-2 while the Stripes walked away with the series win, having won the first two contests on Friday and Sunday.
• Cupp (5-for-8) finished with a team-high batting average of .625 for the Stars while Helfrick stole a team-best three bases in the series.
• Clark (4-for-8) led the Stripes offense with a .500 batting average while Grahovac (3-for-7) had a team-high three RBIs.

Social

• Stay tuned to @USABDevelops on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the 2021 NTDP.