KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Another dominant pitching performance and a 13-hit barrage carried the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team to its third consecutive victory over Chinese Taipei—a 10-0 rout on Sunday evening at Atrium Health Ballpark.
Ryan Johnson (Dallas Baptist) retired the first 11 batters of the game, before four U.S. relievers dispatched the final 15 Chinese Taipei hitters in succession to finish the one-hit shutout. In all, Team USA pitching allowed just one baserunner in the game—a two-out single by Han Lin in the fourth—to help secure the International Friendship Series win.
The U.S. turned in a strong effort at the plate as well, with Griff O’Ferrall (Virginia) leading the pack with his second three-hit performance of the series. The Virginia shortstop sparked Team USA’s first inning scoring rally with a leadoff single, swiping second then coming around on Charlie Condon’s (Georgia) RBI single.
Condon added a pair of doubles in back-to-back innings, including Team USA’s four-run third that turned a 1-0 game into a five-run U.S. advantage.
O’Ferrall doubled as part of that rally as well, finishing the night just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. He clubbed his first home run of the series in the sixth—the first of three Team USA round-trippers in the contest. Jac Caglianone (Florida) followed suit later in the sixth, before Braden Montgomery (Stanford) launched a two-run shot in the seventh to stretch the lead to double digits.
KEY MOMENTS
- Condon lined an RBI single down the left-field line to open the scoring, after O’Ferrall’s leadoff single and steal of second started the Team USA first.
- The U.S. inflicted its biggest damage in the third, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring four times; O’Ferrall once again sparked the scoring opportunity, this time with a leadoff double to left, before Jace LaViolette (Texas A&M) brought him home with a run-scoring single.
- A Condon double and a Caglianone sacrifice fly made it a 3-0 game, before Duce Gourson’s (UCLA) RBI single and a two-out wild pitch chased home two more baserunners.
- Condon ignited the offense with a two-out double in the fourth and Kaelen Culpepper (Kansas State) brought him in with a base hit to left for a 6-0 U.S. bulge.
- O’Ferrall led off another U.S. scoring rally in the sixth with a home run to left, and Caglianone lofted a 435-foot moon shot to center for an eight-run lead.
- Montgomery’s two-run shot to right-center capped the scoring in the seventh, cementing the victory for the U.S.
NOTEWORTHY
- Johnson struck out five over 4.0 near-perfect innings, before Hagen Smith (Arkansas) sat down six straight hitters in his 2.0 innings.
- **Jay Woolfolk **(Virginia), Omar Melendez (Alabama State) and Xavier Meachem (NC A&T) each turned in a perfect inning to close out the victory.
- Montgomery added a 2-for-4 night to complement the multi-hit performances of O’Ferrall and Condon.
- The five U.S. hurlers combined for nine strikeouts without issuing a walk; through three games in the series, Team USA pitching has totaled 29 punchouts while handing out just three free passes and limiting Chinese Taipei to a collective .140 batting mark.
- Through three games in the series, O’Ferrall has batted .538 average (7-for-13) after finishing 3-for-4 in game three, while Culpepper leads all hitters with his .571 batting mark.
- Condon doubled twice as part of his 3-for-4 effort and has hits in 6-of-12 at-bats in the series.
- LaViolette has driven in at least one run in each of the three contests and leads all hitters with five RBIs.
- The U.S. has outscored Chinese Taipei 22-4, including a 6-1 advantage in home runs in the series.
ON DECK
- Game four of the 20th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) will be held Monday (July 3) at 6:35 p.m., at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham.
- The five-game International Friendship Series will continue through Tuesday (July 4), with the two clubs squaring off at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville.
- The National Training Complex will host the opening three games of the 44th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series from July 7-9, while games four and five of the series will be played at Joseph Riley Jr. Park in Charleston on July 11 and 12.
- Tickets for this year’s Collegiate National Team, including all tickets to Team USA’s games against Chinese Taipei and Japan, can be found HERE.
SOCIAL MEDIA
- Stay tuned to @USABaseballCNT on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the 2023 Collegiate National Team.
