CARY, N.C. – Powered by a five-run, fourth-inning rally and another strong performance from its pitching staff, the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team evened the 44thCollegiate All-Star Championship Series with an 8-5 victory over Japan Saturday night at Coleman Field.
One day after being held to its lowest run total of the CNT campaign, Team USA scored eight times over a two-inning span, highlighted byRodney Green Jr.’s(Cal) two-out grand slam that punctuated the decisive fourth-inning outburst.
The U.S. also benefited from a strong mound effort to avenge its game one setback to Japan, as three pitchers joined forces to allow just one run on three hits over the first eight frames.Drew Beam(Tennessee) permitted a single run over the first four frames, beforeFran Oschell III(Duke) andHagen Smith(Arkansas) combined to log 4.0 hitless innings of relief.
KEY MOMENTS
- Charlie Condon (Georgia) sparked the game’s key rally with a one-out solo shot that handed the U.S. a 1-0 lead in the fourth.
- **Jac Caglianone **(Florida) contributed a hit in each of the U.S.’s two scoring rallies, including a base hit following Condon’s homer to ignite the offense; Kaelen Culpepper (Kansas State) added a hit, and Seaver King (Wake Forest) beat out an infield single to load the bases with two out.
- Green then worked a full count against Sho Kusaka before launching a no-doubter over the right-field wall to extend the U.S. advantage to 5-0.
- Japan loaded the bases in the bottom half of the fourth, before Kuyto Ueda’s sac fly plated a run to snap Beam’s shutout bid.
- Team USA struck for three more in the fifth, as Griff O’Ferrall’s (Virginia) leadoff single started another scoring opportunity; JJ Wetherholt (West Virginia) drew a walk, and Caglianone’s second hit of the game brought in the sixth U.S. run of the night.
- King capped the rally with a two-run single to shallow right-center, stretching the U.S. lead to 8-1.
- Japan mounted a late charge, scoring four times in the ninth and putting the potential tying run on base before Brandon Neely (Florida) closed out the win with a strikeout to leave the bases loaded.
NOTEWORTHY
- Beam earned his second win of the CNT campaign, striking out four and allowing just one run on three hits in his four innings.
- Both O’Ferrall and Condon recorded hits, extending their CNT hit streaks to seven games apiece.
- The U.S. gashed Japan pitching for 12 hits, including two-hit performances from Ryan Stafford (Cal Poly), O’Ferrall, Caglianone and King.
- Japan put a runner in scoring position in just one of the first eight innings and didn’t record its first extra-base hit until the ninth inning.
- The six U.S. hurlers who appeared in the contest combined for 12 strikeouts, with Oschell matching Beam’s four K’s to lead the way.
ON DECK
- The USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., will host game three of the 44th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), Sunday (July 9) at 5 p.m. ET.
- Games four and five of the series will be played at Joseph Riley Jr. Park in Charleston, S.C., on July 11 and 12.
- Tickets for this year’s Collegiate National Team’s series with 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.
