OKINAWA, Japan – Carson Bolemon struck out 11 batters in five innings and Jared Grindlinger got the final six outs in a 4-0, no-hit victory over Chinese Taipei at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup on Saturday night at Nishizaki Stadium.

It marks the fourth no-hitter in 18U National Team history and the first in a World Cup since 1995.

Bolemon was dominant from the first pitch on Saturday night. He retired the first six batters he faced, with four coming via the strikeout. A leadoff walk in the third gave Chinese Taipei one of its four baserunners all game, but Bolemon picked up another two strikeouts to end the inning. He struck out the side in the fourth and then picked up two more punch outs in his fifth and final frame. Grindlinger then took over and despite hitting a batter in both the sixth and seventh innings, he got the final out of the no-hitter on a broken-bat ground out to seal it.

At the plate, Coleman Borthwick’s big third inning provided Team USA (2-0) with all the offense it would need. Singles by Grady Emerson and Aiden Ruiz put runners on the corners with one out, and Borthwick blooped a fielder’s choice into right field to plate Emerson for the game’s first run. Borthwick later sprinted home on a wild pitch for the second tally, and the U.S. tacked on two more in the late innings for some insurance in the 4-0 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Bolemon’s quick first inning, Emerson was hit by a pitch to begin the first and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt but was stranded there.
• Bolemon struck out two batters in the second and the U.S. again put a runner on second with one out, but Chinese Taipei starter Jen-Yu Liu punched out the next two batters to keep it scoreless.
• The stars and stripes were able to break through in the bottom of the third. Emerson and Ruiz notched back-to-back singles and Borthwick hit a blooper for an RBI fielder’s choice to put Team USA in front 1-0.
• Gio Rojas singled to advance Borthwick to third, and he then scored on a wild pitch in the next at-bat to make it a 2-0 U.S. lead in the third.
• Armed with a two-run advantage, Bolemon won a seven-pitch at-bat to punch out the leadoff hitter in the fourth before striking out the following two hitters for his eighth and ninth strikeouts.
• The red, white, and blue had a chance to blow the game open in the bottom of the fourth when Jaden Jackson, Jacob Lombard, and Emerson all walked to load the bases, but Taipei’s Yi-Shiang Wang notched a big strikeout to keep his side within reach.
• Bolemon worked around a leadoff walk in the fifth and struck out the final batter of his outing on a nasty breaking ball to finish his big night.
• Borthwick reached on a throwing error to start the U.S. half of the fifth and later scored to make it 3-0 when Will Brick socked an RBI double to left-center field.
• Emerson drew his second walk of the game and scored on an error to plate Team USA’s fourth and final run in the sixth.
• With three outs left in the no-hit bid, Grindlinger worked around a one-out hit batter and got Kai-Qi Li to hit a broken-bat ground ball to second, which Lombard fielded and fired over to first to cap off the no-hitter.

NOTABLES

• The no-hitter is the fourth in 18U National Team history and the first in a World Cup since 1995 against Italy.
• The 18U National Team has now thrown a no-hitter in two consecutive tournamentsafter Nico Partida and Xavier Mitchell combined to allow zero hits against Costa Rica in last summer’s World Cup Qualifier.
• Over two starts against Chinese Taipei in WBSC Baseball World Cups, Bolemon has pitched 10 innings and allowed just one hit with 15 strikeouts. The southpaw pitched against Chinese Taipei with the 15U National Team in 2022.
• Emerson reached base in all four of his plate appearances, picking up a hit, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch.
• Brick’s RBI double in the fifth was Team USA’s first extra-base hit of the World Cup.
• The U.S. offense combined to draw six walks, paced by Emerson and Jackson’s two each.
• The United States improves to 19-8 all-time against Chinese Taipei at the U-18 level.

QUOTABLES

“I was trying to give my team a chance and keep putting up zeros. It’s hard to lose when you don’t give up a run. It was fun going out there and doing my job and giving my team a chance. I felt like I had my good stuff today.” - Carson Bolemon

ON DECK

Team USA returns to Nishizaki Stadium on Sunday for a matchup with unbeaten Germany. First pitch of the pivotal Group B matchup is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. JST/1:30 a.m. ET and can be watched live on Gametime.sport.