Game one of 12U National Team Training Camp got off to a strong, albeit brief start on Tuesday, as several young players made an impact for the Stars and Stripes before the clouds rained down on Thomas Brooks Park. The game, which was pushed four hours early to 10:00 a.m. on account of the anticipated storms, lasted almost four innings and ended with the Stripes holding a 3-0 lead.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Team Stripes wasted no time getting on the board in the intrasquad matchup, with the roster’s two Laredo, Texas, natives -- Jerry Hennessey and Rogelio Garcia -- singling to leadoff the top of the first. Hennesey’s base-knock came on a scorching line drive through the left side, while Garcia smoked a hard grounder up the middle to give the Stripes two on with no outs.
• Hennessey moved to third on a sac fly from Noah Kirk and then scored on another from David Thomas II to give the Stripes a 1-0 lead.
• Leo Fisher-Gil took the mound in the bottom of the first for the Stripes and deftly worked his way around a leadoff walk from Cooper Thissen. The right-hander got his first out on a four-pitch strikeout of the next batter, then induced consecutive fly outs to escape the inning without damage.
• Kohen Davis, who started the game on the bump for the Stars, began settling in during the second frame. Davis retired the side on thirteen pitches, including one punchout and two groundouts. He finished the day with two innings pitched, two strikeouts and zero walks.
• Meanwhile, Fisher-Gil continued cruising in the bottom of the second, completing his day with a stellar line of zero earned runs, zero hits and two walks.
• The Stripes struck again in the top of the third frame after Aiden Izquierdo singled on a line drive to right center. Rogelio Garcia, already 1-for-1 on the day, stepped to the plate with Izquierdo on second and two outs. The lefty slugger smacked his second single of the day down the left field line to bring Izquierdo home and put Team Stripes up 2-0.
• Noah Kirk followed up with his first base-knock off the day, a drive to left center that brought Garcia around to score. By the time Stars reliever Jonathan Pierre notched a strikeout to end the inning, the Stripes held a commanding three-run lead.
• Fresh off his title-clinching performance in the 11U Futures Invitational gold medal game, Noah Dent took the mound for the Stripes in the third to relieve Leo Fisher-Gil. Dent made quick work of the Stars hitters, retiring each of the first three batters he faced in order. The young flamethrower recorded two punchouts in the inning, then lucked out when a line drive from his MVP Hustle teammate Taz Tulowitzki flew straight into the glove of Koda Graziadei at second base.
• Pierre returned to the rubber in the top of the fourth for the Stars and pitched a clean inning for the visiting team. The Stripes came to the plate in the bottom half, but the rain soon began to sprinkle. After Dent recorded the first out of the inning, a downpour ensued and the game was called. The teams spent the remainder of the day practicing indoors in the High Performance Training Center at the National Training Complex.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Garcia paced all hitters with his two hits on the day. Hennessey, Kirk and Izquierdo recorded the only other hits of the ballgame.
• Fisher-Gil and Dent combined to hold the Stars lineup hitless over 3.1 innings pitched, with three punchouts shared between the pair.
• Both teams put on a show defensively, with each squad posting zero errors. Kai Rios starred at shortstop for the Stars, making several smooth plays up the middle.

UP NEXT

• The Stars and Stripes will return to the field tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. for game two of the series. The matchup will take place on Field 6 at Thomas Brooks Park.