OKINAWA, Japan – Japan scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to beat Team USA, 6-2, in extra innings in the first game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Super Round on Thursday night at Okinawa Cellular Stadium.

The U.S. drops to 5-1 overall and carries a 2-1 record in the Super Round, per WBSC tournament rules.

Thursday night’s contest was a classic pitcher’s duel deep into the game. For the U.S., Carson Bolemon delivered another stellar outing, tossing six innings of shutout baseball. Bolemon retired the first 11 batters he faced and allowed just two hits, escaping two jams to keep Japan (6-0, 3-0) scoreless. In the fourth, Japan hit back-to-back two-out singles to threaten, but Bolemon induced a ground out to end the rally. Shintaro Sakamoto then reached on an error in the sixth and advanced to third with no outs, but Bolemon locked in and got two strikeouts and a fly out to maintain his shutout.

On the other side, Japan’s ace Ryosuke Sueyoshi pitched 4.1 no-hit innings. He was relieved by Saku Hayase in the fifth and the U.S. got to the right-handed reliever, as Jaden Jackson greeted him with a single and scored on a two-out throwing error to give Team USA a 1-0 lead. The stars and stripes carried that lead into the seventh, but an RBI single by Yu Yokoyama tied the score at one before Japan exploded for five in the eighth to pull away and win, 6-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The U.S. had its best scoring opportunity against Sueyoshi immediately in the first when he issued walks to Grady Emerson and Coleman Borthwick, but the lefty got a strikeout and fly out to keep it 0-0.
• The second and third innings were dominated by Bolemon and Sueyoshi, who both got six outs in order.
• Japan’s first threat came on a two-out rally in the fourth. The middle of its order–Kazuki Takahata and Yota Abe–singled on back-to-back pitches, but Bolemon got a ground out to first to halt the threat.
• Jackson singled to left, advanced to second on a passed ball, and raced home on a throwing error in the bottom of the fifth to put the first U.S. tally on the board and make it a 1-0 score.
• Sakamoto reached on a fielding error, advanced to second on a throwing error, and scampered to third on a passed ball to put the tying run 90 feet away with no outs. But Bolemon did not flinch, punching out the next two batters before coaxing an inning-ending fly out to ignite the Team USA crowd and keep his team in front.
• A single and an error on the first two pitches thrown by Jared Grindlinger in the seventh put the tying and go-ahead runs on base, and Ryota Okumura eventually scored on an RBI single to tie the game at one.
• Emerson put together a strong at-bat in the bottom of the seventh with the winning run on second base and two outs, fouling off five pitches before flying out to right field as the game entered extra innings.
• With the international tiebreaker in effect, Hyuma Okabe hit a three-run double to right center field to give Japan a 4-1 lead before two more runs made it a five-run advantage going to the bottom of the eighth.
• CJ Sampson drew a bases-loaded walk as Team USA inched closer, but Japan flamethrower Genki Ishigaki came out of the bullpen and got the final two outs of Japan’s 6-2 win.

NOTABLES

• Bolemon has now pitched 11 shutout innings at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup. He has struck out a tournament-high 17 batters and allowed just two hits while issuing only two walks.
• James Clark, Jackson, and Sampson accounted for Team USA’s only three hits in the game. Sampson was also one of five U.S. hitters to draw a walk.
• Cole Koeninger pitched a hitless relief inning and was charged with one unearned run.
• The United States is now 7-5 all-time against Japan at the U-18 level.

ON DECK

The Super Round continues on Friday as the United States will take on Korea. First pitch from Nishizaki Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. JST/5:30 a.m. ET, and all the action can be streamed live on Gametime.sport.