CARY, N.C. – The action began at the 16U/17U National Team Development Program (NTDP) on Thursday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Both contests were high-scoring games, as the four teams combined to score 43 runs on the program’s opening day.

TEAM LIGHT BLUE VS. TEAM WHITE

AS IT HAPPENED

• Orion Gonzalez began the game with a leadoff single back up the middle before later coming around to score on a wild pitch, opening the scoring and giving Light Blue a 1-0 lead.
• Team White was able to put up a four-spot in the bottom of the second to take a 4-1 lead. A leadoff walk, error, and single loaded the bases for Colton Floyd, who drew a walk to bring in the tying run. Due to NTDP scoring rules, the inning was later rolled and three more runs were added to Team White’s tally.
• Griffin McKain singled through the right side with one out in the Light Blue half of the third before eventually crossing home on an error to trim his team’s deficit to 4-2.
• Ethan Gustus put together a shutdown inning in the bottom of the third for Light Blue, striking out two in a perfect inning to end his outing.
• Team Light Blue tied the game in the top of the fourth with a two-out rally, capped by a two-run single up the middle by Dariel Carrion to plate Charlie Sarsfield and Leo Nockley.
• Gonzalez kicked off the top of the fifth with a walk and eventually scored on a sac fly by Derek Vazquez to put Light Blue in front, and two more runs scored when the inning was rolled to put Light Blue in front, 7-4.
• Chase Fuller tripled to center field and scored on an RBI groundout to shortstop by Hudson Oliver to bring Team White back within two runs in the bottom of the fifth.
• Team White used a single and two walks to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and with one out in the inning, a throwing error allowed all three runs to score to knot the game at seven. The inning was then rolled, and Team White took a 9-7 lead.
• With the international tiebreaker in effect for the eighth and final frame, Frank Thomas III soared a sacrifice fly to deep right to add a run to Team Light Blue’s tally and make it a 9-8 game.
• Carter Hadnot wrapped up the scoring with a well-struck single through the left side to make it a 10-8 final score in favor of Team White.

NOTABLES

• Nockley and McKain each picked up a game-high two hits in the contest. McKain reached base three times and scored two runs.
• Both Fuller and Gonzalez scored three runs in the NTDP’s opening game.
• Matthew Fernandez drew three walks in four trips to the plate for Team White.
• On the mound, Jose Partida tossed three innings in relief for Light Blue and surrendered just one hit and a run, striking out four. Chase Gockenbach was the top arm for Team White, spinning two frames with just one hit allowed.

TEAM RED VS. TEAM NAVY

AS IT HAPPENED

• After Bobby Villa began the game with a single and a stolen base, he came around to score the game’s first run on a ground ball to second base to put Team Navy on the board.
• Dexter McCleon Jr. smoked an RBI triple and came around to score on a throwing error, giving Navy a 3-0 advantage in the top of the opening inning.
• In the bottom of the first, Jacob Seamon roped a triple down the right field line and executed a double steal with Max Hemenway to plate Team Red’s first run.
• Two consecutive hit batters brought two runs home to knot the game at three, and the bottom of the first inning was then rolled as Team Red ended the frame with seven runs on the board.
• Two consecutive doubles kicked off the top half of the second, as Jordan Ayala and Graham Houston combined to score Navy’s fourth run.
• Houston came home on an RBI groundout by Carter Shouse, followed by Anderson Kaufmann crossing the plate on a wild pitch to get Navy within a run at 7-6 in the second.
• Team Red extended its lead to 10-6 in the bottom of the second when Hemenway drew a bases-loaded walk and the inning was rolled.
• Team Red’s Jared Grindlinger and Team Navy’s Cade Allen entered in relief and settled the game down, combining for four scoreless innings in the middle frames.
• The game became tied at 10 in the top of the sixth; McCleon Jr. drew a bases-loaded walk, Ayala drove in a run with an RBI groundout, and two more runs came in as the inning was rolled and the score became locked at 10.
• Connor Balazic delivered a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the fifth after Navy pitcher Jace Duckett nearly escaped a jam, putting Team Red in front 12-10.
• Both teams exchanged runs in the final frame as the contest ended 14-11 in favor of Team Red.

NOTABLES

• The two teams combined for nine hits in the contest; Red’s Balazic had a game-high three RBIs, while McCleon Jr. drove in two runs for Team Navy.
• Eight players scored multiple runs in the game, including Hemenway, who drew three walks.
• Team Navy’s pitching staff combined for 13 strikeouts, led by Allen’s five punchouts in two innings. Duckett and Carter Shouse each picked up three strikeouts for the Navy squad.
• Grindlinger and Grant Sperandio were the key arms out of the Red bullpen, combining for four hitless frames. Grindlinger struck out five batters in his two innings of work.

ON DECK

The 16U/17U NTDP returns to on-field action on Saturday, July 26. Team Light Blue will take on Team Red at 1:30 pm ET and Team White will play against Team Navy at 4:30 pm ET. All of the action will take place on Coleman Field, and games will be streamed live via AWRE Sports on USABaseball.TV.

ABOUT NTDP 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.