SARASOTA, Fla. - Elijah Green (Windermere, Fla.) crushed two home runs and Paxton Kling (Roaring Spring, Pa.) added one of his own to pace Team USA’s 6-2 defeat of Canada on Sunday night at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. The victory is the third consecutive for the stars and stripes, giving them a 3-0 advantage in the seven-game friendship series.

For the third time in as many games, the U.S. broke onto the scoreboard first with two runs in the second inning, including Kling’s solo shot over the left field fence to start things off. The teams traded runs in the third and fourth before Green launched his first moonshot of the night to extend the U.S. lead to 5-1. Canada added one more in the top of the fifth to get within three but Green’s second homer of the night, an eight-inning solo bomb into the parking lot, sealed the 6-2 victory.

Green’s two home runs and three RBIs led the U.S. offense on the night while Kling finished 2-for-2 with his own homer and two walks. Termarr Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) drew a walk every time he came up to bat, tallying five in the contest, and Owen Murphy (Riverside, Ill.) went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Joe Allen (Hampton Falls, N.H.) got the ball to start the game for Team USA and went three strong innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out five. Jack O’Connor (Arlington, Va.) was credited with the win after striking out four batters and allowing just two hits and a walk in two scoreless innings of work. Owen Millar, who started on the bump for Canada and gave up three runs on four hits, suffered the loss.

Key Moments

• Kling opened the scoring in the contest for the U.S. with a 417-foot solo moonshot over the left-field wall to lead off the bottom of the second and give Team USA an early 1-0 advantage.
• Blake Mitchell (Sinton, Texas) drew a walk one batter later and stole second to put a runner in scoring position for Murphy who extended the U.S. lead to 2-0 with a ground-rule double that plated Mitchell.
• In the bottom of the third, Druw Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) knocked a leadoff double and moved to third on a passed ball before Walker Jenkins (Oak Island, N.C.) brought him in with an RBI groundout that made it a 3-0 game.
• Canada then cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth with a leadoff walk and an RBI triple off the bat of Louka Daoust.
• One frame later though, the U.S. answered when Green hit a 414-foot dinger of his own that added two runs to make it 5-1 in Team USA’s favor.
• Canada responded with another RBI triple in the top of the fifth that cut the U.S. lead to 5-2.
• Green added the final insurance run with his second home run of the night to give the red, white, and blue a 6-2 lead.
• RJ Austin (Atlanta, Ga.) came on in relief in the top of the ninth to close it out, striking out the side to secure the 6-2 victory.

Notable Information

• Green and Kling now lead the series in homers with two each.
• Johnson and Blake Mitchell have also hit one home run each in the series, bringing Team USA’s total longballs to six through three games.
• Five of the six U.S. home runs in the series have traveled over 400 feet.
• With his five tonight, Johnson leads Team USA in walks with six so far in the series, doubling the next closest mark (Jenkins, 3).
• For the second night in a row, Team USA’s pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts. Allen and Brennan Phillips (Owasso, Okla.) collected five punchouts apiece, O’Connor recorded four, and Austin had three.

On Deck

• September 6: USA vs. Canada (4:00 p.m. EDT; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Tropicana Field)
• September 7: USA vs. Canada (2:00 p.m. EDT; Bradenton, Fla.; LECOM Park)
• September 8: USA vs. Canada (1:00 p.m. EDT; Bradenton, Fla.; Pirate City)
• September 9: USA vs. Canada (2:00 p.m. EDT; Bradenton, Fla.; LECOM Park)

Social

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