CARY, N.C. – Team Navy grabbed its first win while Team White remained unbeaten at the USA Baseball 16U/17U National Team Development Program (NTDP) on Wednesday from the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.

PJ Morlando’s (Ladsen, S.C.) big fly lifted Team Navy to its first win at the 2022 NTDP as it downed Team Light Blue, 7-1. Down two in the fifth inning, Light Blue rallied to cut the deficit in half courtesy of a bases-loaded walk from Micah Matthews (Bridweater, Va.). Navy fired back with four runs of its own, anchored by Morlando’s home run and back-to-back doubles from Trey Snyder (Liberty North, Mo.) and Gage Thompson (Puyallup, Wash.). Cade Arrambide’s (Tomball, Texas) then followed with a two-run double of his own to put the game away in the sixth inning to put Navy (1-1) in the win column.

In the final game of the day, a pair of errors scored the game’s only runs as Team White knocked off Team Red, 2-1. Back-to-back walks put two runners on base before a throwing error scored Danny Arambula (Redlands, Calif.) to give White a 1-0 lead. A leadoff double in the third for Chandler Murray (Honolulu, Hawaii) and a throwing error plated Murray to extend the lead to two. Red’s Sean Gamble (Des Moines, Ia.) tripled in the sixth and was driven home on a sacrifice fly to attempt a rally; however, it was not enough as White held on for the 2-1 win.

ABOUT NTDP LEAGUE SCORING*
USA Baseball utilizes a modified scoring system for its development programs to achieve load management and mitigate potential injuries due to overuse for its youth athletes. Pitchers are subject to a maximum pitch count of 25 per inning during game play. In the event an inning is rolled because a pitcher has reached their maximum pitch count, runners on base may be contributed to the game score. As a result of this system, the final game score may not match the overall statistics.

Game One: Navy 7, Light Blue 1

Box Score | PxP

KEY MOMENTS

• Navy jumped out to a two-run lead after the inning was rolled with two runners in scoring position.*
• Navy starting pitcher Ryan Sloan escaped jams in the first and second innings, stranding a runner on third in the first and leaving the bases loaded in the second.
• Bryce Navarre struck out the side in the third frame for Navy after entering in relief. He tallied another strikeout in the fourth inning to record a game-high four strikeouts.
• Light Blue's Micah Matthews drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in its first run of the day in the fifth inning, cutting the deficit in half.
• PJ Morlando launched a ball to right-centerfield for a solo homer in the sixth inning to extend Navy’s lead to 3-1.
• Trey Snyder and Gage Thompson recorded back-to-back doubles in the sixth and came around to score on a two-run double by Cade Arrambide to make it a 6-1 game.
• Brendon Bennett recorded the final three outs for Navy, touching 91 mph on the mound, to give his team its first win of the NTDP.

NOTABLES

• After a 3-for-3 day, Light Blue's Bryce Rainer leads all players with five hits during the event through the first two games. Rainer is hitting .714 (5-for-7) at the plate with an RBI.
• Both teams combined to leave 14 runners on base throughout the contest. At the plate, the two teams combined to strikeout 20 times over the seven-inning game.
• Ryan Sloan and Bryce Navarre pitched four scoreless innings to begin the game for Team Navy, combining for eight strikeouts.
• Joey Tonnotti threw two innings of relief for Light Blue, striking out three to keep Navy’s lead at two.
• PJ Morlando hit a home run in the sixth inning with an exit velocity of 98 mph.
• As a team through its first two games, Navy boasts an event-leading ERA of 2.84. The squad has also punched out 19 batters and has allowed just nine hits.

Game Two: White 2, Red 1

Box Score | PxP

Key Moments

• Danny Arambula turned a one-out walk into a run, scoring from second on a throwing error in the bottom of the first, giving White a 1-0 lead
• Chandler Murray laced a double to right-center and came around to score on Team Red’s second error of the day to extend the Team White lead to two.
• Following a leadoff single from Boston Bateman, Team White’s defense protected its two-run lead in the fourth inning after he was thrown out trying to steal home.
• Seth Gamble tripled to right-centerfield and came home to score on a Tyler Inge’s RBI-sacrifice fly to pull Team Red within one in the sixth inning.

Notables

• Team White’s Cooper Williams kept Red scoreless over two innings in relief of starter Cohen Gomez (3.0 IP, 2 K). Williams’ three strikeouts on the day places him atop the leaderboard for White.
• Chandler Murray reached base in all three of his plate appearances for White, going 1-for-1 at the dish with a pair of walks. Through two games, Murray boasts a team-high .800 on-base percentage.
• Jackson Sanders fanned four batters in a spectacular relief outing for Red, tossing two innings of hitless baseball.
• Pitchers dominated the afternoon for both teams as the six arms combined to allow just six hits and retired 13 via the strikeout.
• The game was called after the sixth inning due to inclement weather.

ON DECK

The teams will match up one final time on Friday, July 29, in a doubleheader at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Team White (2-0) and Team Navy (1-1) will square off at 1 p.m. ET, while Team Red (1-1) and Team Light Blue (0-2) will face each other at 4 p.m. ET.