OKINAWA, Japan – Matthew Sharman tossed six shutout innings and six different U.S. hitters had multi-hit games as Team USA beat Puerto Rico, 7-0, in its Super Round finale at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup on Saturday afternoon at Okinawa Cellular Stadium.

The U.S. improves to 7-1 overall and sits at 4-1 in the Super Round standings, per WBSC tournament rules. Team USA has already secured its spot in Sunday’s World Championship Game against Japan.

Sharman used three key double plays to continue the United States’ dominant stretch of starting pitching. He erased baserunners in the third, fifth, and sixth innings by inducing double plays, halting any threat Puerto Rico’s (4-4, 1-4) lineup put together. Sharman allowed two hits in the game–both in the fifth inning–but snagged a line drive for a double play in between hits to maintain his shutout. After hitting a batter with one out in the sixth, the Georgia native’s defense helped turn a 1-6-3 double play for the final two outs of his outing.

Coleman Borthwick and Brody Schumaker stood out among the six players who had two hits. Borthwick singled in his first two at-bats, driving in a run with his second knock before an RBI fielder’s choice gave him his second RBI. Schumaker went 2-for-4 with a key two-run single to ignite the stars and stripes’ rally in the fifth. James Clark, Andrew Costello, Grady Emerson, and Aiden Ruiz joined Borthwick and Schumaker with two hits in the 7-0 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ruiz and Borthwick singled and CJ Sampson walked to load the bases for Costello, who ripped a single to left to give Team USA an immediate 1-0 lead in the first.
• Borthwick singled yet again in the second inning, this time to bring home Schumaker and extend the lead to 2-0.
• A one-out walk gave Puerto Rico some life in the top of the third, but it was quickly erased as the U.S. defense turned two and held onto its 2-0 advantage.
• Yandiel Reyes entered in relief for Puerto Rico in the fourth and the stars and stripes put runners on second and third with nobody out against him, but the righty escaped the jam to keep Puerto Rico within two.
• Costello led off the fifth with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on an Anthony Murphy base hit. That set the table for Schumaker, who singled back up the middle to bring both runners home and make it 4-0 Team USA.
• Clark followed immediately with a single of his own in the next at-bat, sneaking a ground ball through the right side as Schumaker scored and the U.S. lead grew to 5-0 in the fifth.
• A Puerto Rico pitching change did not interrupt the offensive outburst in the fifth, as it continued when Emerson plated the sixth tally on an RBI double into the right field corner.
• Ruiz kept the fifth-inning rally alive with a single, and Borthwick capped it with an RBI fielder’s choice as the U.S. pulled away with a 7-0 lead.
• Sharman finished his day by coaxing his third double play of the game in the sixth, and Cole Koeninger came in and slammed the door with a scoreless seventh to polish off the win.

NOTABLES

• Sharman finishes his tournament with a 2-0 record and a 0.70 ERA in two starts. He tossed four innings of one-run ball in the Opening Round against Germany before his six scoreless frames today against Puerto Rico.
• U.S. starting pitchers own a 0.17 ERA through eight World Cup games. The staff has allowed just one earned run in 40.0 innings of work.
• Saturday marked Team USA’s fourth game with double-digit hits, meaning it has collected at least 10 hits in half of its games.
• Borthwick had a stretch of five consecutive at-bats with a hit, dating back to Friday’s 3-for-3 performance against Korea.
• The United States improves its all-time record against Puerto Rico at the U-18 level to 8-1.

ON DECK

The U.S. now turns its focus to the World Championship Game against Japan on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. JST/3:00 a.m. ET from Okinawa Cellular Stadium, and all the action can be streamed live on Gametime.sport.