TAIPEI, Taiwan – Team USA mounted a furious two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh but ultimately fell just short, losing 4-3 to Japan in Opening Round action at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup on Sunday night at Tianmu Baseball Stadium.
The loss drops the U.S. to 2-1 in Group B. Japan improves to 3-0 and sits atop the group standings.
Japan put the U.S. in an early hole with a two-out, two-run triple in the top of the first before building a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. Trailing by four and down to their final out, the stars and stripes rallied for three runs and put the tying run in scoring position before coming up just short. The rally began when–after coming in as a pinch runner–Bryce Clavon (Kennesaw, Ga.) scampered home on a wild pitch to get the U.S. on the board. Manny Marin (Miami, Fla.) and Coy James (Advance, N.C.) followed with RBI singles to make it 4-3, but Japan’s Kodai Mora was able to get a game-ending strikeout to strand the tying run at second and end the game.
Cooper Williams (Alvin, Texas) started on the mound for the United States, pitching four innings and allowing just the two early runs but ultimately suffering the loss. Williams got into trouble again in the second inning but escaped before turning in two perfect frames to finish his night. Tegan Kuhns (Hagerstown, Md.) allowed a pair of runs in two innings of relief before Joey Oakie (Ankeny, Iowa) tossed a scoreless seventh. Japan’s Yugo Maeda proved to be a difficult task for the U.S. offense, striking out eight in 5.2 shutout innings to earn the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Japan struck for two early runs on a two-run triple to left center by Haruto Morita. The three-bagger brought home Ren Ogata and Hayaka Kobayashi, who reached on a hit-by-pitch and a fielder’s choice, respectively.
- Team USA got singles in each of the first two innings off the bat of Derek Curiel (West Covina, Calif.) and Carter Johnson (Oxford, Ala.), but Maeda was able to strand the runners each time.
- PJ Morlando (Summerville, S.C.) led off the top of the fourth with a double; however, after a long umpire review, he was then doubled up on a Konnor Griffin (Florence, Miss.) ground out to thwart the U.S. rally.
- Japan’s Syuya Yamada drew a one-out walk in the fourth, and–after back-to-back singles by Ogata and Kobayashi–he came home to score on a wild pitch to increase the Japan lead to 3-0.
- The Japan advantage became 4-0 in the fifth when Ryusei Terachi hit an RBI double to left center to bring home Koga Hashimoto.
- Levi Clark (Marietta, Ga.) singled with one out in the seventh to kickstart the U.S. rally; he was replaced by pinch runner Clavon, who later came home on a wild pitch to make it 4-1 Japan.
- Marin hit an RBI single to plate Team USA’s second run of the seventh, socking a line drive into center field as the U.S. deficit became just two.
- Japan’s lead dwindled to 4-3 with two outs in the seventh as James kept the rally alive with an RBI single of his own to center field, scoring Bryce Rainer (Simi Valley, Calif.).
- Curiel put together a strong at-bat with the tying run on second base and battled to a full count before striking out to end the game.
NOTABLES
- Curiel went 2-for-4 with a double to pace the U.S. offense. Morlando’s fourth-inning double was Team USA’s only other extra-base hit of the night.
- Clark picked up a hit in the seventh-inning rally and has now collected a knock in each of his two starts.
- The stars and stripes’ three runs in the seventh inning were the first that Japan has allowed all tournament. Japanese pitchers had tossed 19 scoreless innings prior to the three-run rally.
- With five combined strikeouts from Kuhns and Williams on Sunday, the U.S. pitching staff has now struck out exactly 21 batters in 21 innings pitched.
- The United States is now 7-2 all-time against Japan at the U-18 level.
ON DECK
The stars and stripes take on Panama on Monday at 2:30 p.m. local/2:30 a.m. ET as they continue Group B play. Catch all the action from Tianmu Baseball Stadium by watching live on Gametime.sport.
SOCIAL MEDIA
To follow along with all the action with the 18U National Team, be sure to follow @USABaseball18U on Twitter and @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.
