CARY, N.C. –  Team Light Blue and Team Navy battled to a tie, while Team Red won its second game of the event on the final day at the USA Baseball 16U/17U National Team Development Program (NTDP) from the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.

Team Light Blue rallied for three runs in the sixth inning to tie Navy at four on the final day of play at the NTDP. A Trey Snyder (Liberty North, Mo.) RBI-single began the scoring for Navy as he drove home Elijah Clayton (Oak Park, Calif) to grab a 1-0 lead. The following at-bat, Snyder scored on a pair of throwing errors for a two-run advantage. Navy piled on two more after a PJ Morlando (Ladesn, S.C.) RBI double and was subsequently driven home on a sacrifice fly. Light Blue eventually got some production in the sixth on a bases-loaded wild pitch, and a two-run single off the bat of Michael Mullinax (Canton, Ga.). Neither team scored in the seventh as the game ended in a 4-4 tie.

After five scoreless innings, Red's Noah Franco (Downey, Calif.) broke the tie with a three-run home run to seal the victory for Team Red, 4-1. Pitchers on both sides controlled the game though five frames, allowing just two hits while punching out a remarkable 14 batters. A pair of walks from Talan Bell (Oviedo, Fla.) and Konnor Griffin (Florence, Miss.) set the table for the long ball in the sixth, which proved to be the difference in the game. Red also added a run in the sixth after the inning was rolled with one runner in scoring position.* With the win, Red, White, and Navy all finished with a 2-1 record while Light Blue dropped to 0-3.

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 4, Light Blue 4

Box Score | PxP

KEY MOMENTS

• Trey Snyder singled to left field and drove in Elijah Clayton to give Navy a 1-0 lead. After an overthrow to second base on a steal and a misfire from the outfield, Snyder scored to cap off a two-run first.
• Ford Thompson retired six of the first eight batters out of the gate for Team Navy, striking a batter out in each of the first two innings.
• Light Blue’s leadoff hitter Michael Mullinax tripled in the third inning and was subsequently driven home an RBI groundout by Michael Torres to cut the lead in half. 
• A pair of RBI-doubles from Navy’s PJ Morlando and Trey Snyder in the bottom of the third, pushed the lead to 4-1.
• Michael Mullinax delivered the Light Blue’s game-tying hit in the top of the sixth, driving in two and tying the game at four apiece.

NOTABLES

• Light Blue’s Michael Mullinax was phenomenal at the dish, as he finished 2-for-4 with the game tying two-run single in the sixth inning.
• David Hogg reached base in all three of his plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a double for Light Blue.
• Team Light Blue’s discipline was on display at the plate, as they recorded six walks from six different players on the afternoon.
• PJ Morlando built off his previous two games, slapping a double to left field. He has now recorded a double, triple, and a home run at NTDP over his three games.
• Navy’s Elijah Clayton (2-for-3) and Trey Snyder (2-for-3) were the only two batters to have multiple hits for their team and combined to score three of Navy’s four runs.

Game Two: Red 4, White 1

Box Score | PxP

KEY MOMENTS

• White made two spectacular plays defensively in the second, first gunning down Hayden Federico on a steal attempt and then picking off Tyler Inge at first base.
• Red's Noah Franco broke the scoreless tie in the sixth, mashing a three-run home run over the right field wall to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
• Red extended its lead to 4-0 after the inning was rolled with a runner in scoring position.*
• JJ Moran salvaged White's day offensively, coming through with an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-1 in the seventh.

NOTABLES

• White’s Tegan Kuhns was excellent in his start, stretching over three innings and fanning four batters. After allowing a leadoff single in the first inning, he struck out the side for three of his four strikeouts. 
• Team Red's Talan Bell kept White scoreless over two innings in relief of starter Tristan Bristow (2.0 IP, 2 K). Bell's’ four strikeouts on the day led all pitchers on the overall day.
• Red's pitchers dominated the afternoon as the four arms combined to allow just five hits and retired 11 via the strikeout.
• Noah Franco hit a home run in the sixth inning with an exit velocity of 98 mph and a distance of 381 feet.