CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball’s 2026 Collegiate National Team Training Camp hosted the Appalachian League Select Team for a doubleheader on Monday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. The Stars tied the Appy League Select Team 0-0 before the Stripes earned a 9-3 win in the second game.
Stars 0, Appy League Select 0
- Stars starting pitcher Tomas Valincius struck out two in the opening inning before adding another strikeout in the second to complete his outing.
- Luke Harrison took over in relief in the third inning, striking out four while allowing just one hit over two scoreless frames.
- Gavin Kelly recorded the Stars’ first hit of the game with a leadoff single to center field in the fourth inning. He finished with a team-high two hits after adding another single to left in the sixth.
- With two outs in the seventh, Brodie Johnston doubled to right field but the Stars were unable to bring him home.
- Walker Hooks, Easton Hawk, and Jackson Sanders each worked a scoreless inning with one strikeout in relief before Jackson Barberi closed the game with another shutout frame.
- Neither team was able to break through offensively, resulting in a 0-0 tie.
Stripes 9, Appy League Select 3
- Appy League Select opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, putting two runners aboard before an RBI single gave them a 1-0 lead.
- The Stripes answered in the second when Jacob Parker launched a game-tying solo home run to right field that traveled 411 feet and left the bat at 103 mph.
- Rett Johnson and Nico Partida led off the bottom of the third with back-to-back singles before Brayden Jaksa drove in Johnson with an RBI single to put the Stripes ahead 2-1.
- The Stripes added two more runs in the fourth. A leadoff walk put a runner on before Chris Ramirez lined an RBI single to score a run. Later in the inning, the Stripes executed a double steal, allowing Partida to take second and Johnson to avoid the tag and steal home to extend the lead to 4-1.
- Appy League Select got two runs back in the fifth as Garrett Luett tripled before Gunner Skelton singled him home followed by an RBI double that plated another, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
- The Stripes had an answer in the sixth. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Johnson, who singled to center and plated two runs. Partida followed with an RBI groundout, extending the lead to 7-3.
- Marcelo Harsch took the mound as relief in the seventh, recording a 1-2-3 frame with two strikeouts before Joshua Whritenour closed it out in the top of the eighth, striking out two in his own 1-2-3 inning.
- With two outs in the bottom of the frame, an error, a walk, and a Partida single loaded the bases as Jorian Wilson drew a walk to add another run to the Stripes’ advantage. Ethin Bingaman followed with an infield single, plating another run and finalizing the Stripes’ 9-3 victory.
Up next, USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team Training Camp will begin its Stars vs. Stripes series, with the first game set for 6:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 30 at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
