HOKKAIDO, Japan – USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team (0-2) suffered an 8-1 loss in the second game of the 45th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series on Wednesday, July 9, to Japan (2-0) at Es Con Field in Hokkaido.
Like game one, Japan struck first with a pair of runs in the third inning on two hits and an error. Ayuto Matsushita drew a leadoff walk and managed to score from first on Nanato Sakakibara’s double to center field for the first run of the side. Two batters later, Japan doubled its lead when Sakakibara scored on a two-base error.
Team USA reached base for the first time in the contest in the bottom of the third courtesy of a Tyler Bell (Kentucky) walk, but the spark was short-lived when Japan scored a combined six runs across the fourth and fifth innings.
Matsushita reached base again on an RBI double, sending Ren Hirakawa home after he got on base thanks a dropped third strike wild pitch and moved into scoring position on a walk. Sakakibara then added to his day with a three-run home run to right field, giving him a game-high four RBIs in the contest.
In the fifth inning, a sacrifice fly to center field with the bases loaded, followed by an RBI single to right field by Matsushita, brought the final two runs across home plate.
In the bottom half of the fifth, Zion Rose (Louisville) broke up the no-hitter with a single to right field. He managed to deliver Team USA’s lone RBI of the game in the next inning when he drove in AJ Gracia (Virginia) on a line drive to right field after reaching base on a double to left field. The U.S. attempted to cut into its deficit when Ace Reese (Mississippi State) and Eric Becker (Virginia) drew back-to-back walks to load the bases, but a strikeout ended the stars and stripes’ threat.
Ryan Lynch (North Carolina) and Jacob Dudan (NC State) pitched two shutout innings each to keep Japan at bay the final four innings of the contest. They gave up one hit each while Lynch struck out two batters. Rose (2-for-4) turned in the team’s first multi-hit outing of the series while Becker, along with Gracia, tallied hits in the contest.
The 45th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series will continue Friday, July 11, at Hard Off Eco Stadium in Niigata, Japan. First pitch is set for 4:00 a.m. ET/5:00 p.m. local, and live stats and streaming can be found on GameChanger.
For the most up-to-date information on the Collegiate National Team, visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseballCNT and @USABaseball on Twitter/X, and @USABaseball on Instagram.
