HAARLEM, Netherlands – The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team exploded for eight runs in the fourth inning on Sunday as it defeated Italy, 9-0, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Honkbalweek Haarlem, held Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, Netherlands.
Kyle Teel (Virginia) got the scoring started in the fourth inning with a bases-loaded double that cleared the bases and saw him score on a throwing error on the play. Just moments later, Yohandy Morales (Miami) crushed an opposite-field home run to right to make it a 5-0 lead.
A two-run triple by Enrique Bradfield (Vanderbilt) and a sacrifice fly by Wyatt Langford (Florida) closed out the eight-run explosion. Bradfield later doubled in another run in the sixth to give him three RBIs on the day and account for the game’s final score.
Bradfield, Teel, and Morales each finished with a pair of hits in the contest, while Joseph Gonzalez (Auburn) picked up the win on the mound with four strikeouts in 2.1 scoreless innings.
Hunter Elliott (Ole Miss), Ryan Bruno (Stanford), and Zach Agnos (ECU) combined with Gonzalez on the five-hit shutout. Team USA has allowed just one run over its first 14.2 innings at Honkbalweek after falling in eight innings to Japan, 1-0, a day ago.
KEY MOMENTS
- Italy put two runners on base in the game’s opening frame with a single and a walk, but a three-pitch strikeout ended the threat.
- The Italians put more pressure on in the third inning when a bunt single, a walk, and a sac bunt quickly put two runners in scoring position with just one out. An intentional walk then loaded the bases but Hunter Elliott’s (Ole Miss) fifth strikeout of the game put two outs on the scoreboard. The U.S. then called on Joseph Gonzalez (Auburn) out of the pen and he needed just one pitch to get an inning-ending chopper to short.
- After being shutout by Japan in the tournament opener, the U.S. was held off the scoreboard the first three innings on Sunday as well, before exploding for eight runs on six hits in the fourth.
- Wyatt Langford (Florida) got the frame started with an infield single. A base hit by Jacob Gonzalez (Ole Miss) and a walk to Dylan Crews (LSU) promptly loaded the bases. Kyle Teel (Virginia) then proceeded to dump a 1-2 pitch down the line in left and took advantage of two Italy errors on the play to race all the way around the basepaths to give the U.S. a 4-0 advantage.
- Just two batters later, Yohandy Morales (Miami) took another 1-2 offering and deposited it over the wall in right-center for a solo home run.
- Pinch hitter Jack Payton (Louisville) followed the solo shot with a hard-hit double before a walk to Tre’ Morgan (LSU), a two-RBI triple by Enrique Bradfield (Vanderbilt), and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Langford closed out the eight-run inning.
- Bradfield struck again in the sixth with a run-scoring double to give him three RBIs on the day and Team USA a 9-0 lead.
- Italy took advantage of a pair of walks and a hit batter to load the bases against Ryan Bruno (Stanford) in the top of the sixth but a pop-out to shortstop and a swinging strikeout kept the U.S. shutout intact.
NOTABLE INFORMATION
- Hunter Elliott (Ole Miss) started for the U.S. and fanned five batters in 2.2 innings of two-hit ball.
- Joseph Gonzalez (Auburn) came out of the bullpen to strike out four while yielding two hits in 2.1 scoreless frames.
- Ryan Bruno (Stanford) and Zach Agnos (ECU) fired one shutout stanza each to close out the victory.
- Through the first two games of Honkbalweek, the U.S. pitching staff has allowed just one unearned run on nine hits with 19 strikeouts in 14.2 innings pitched.
- Yohandy Morales (Miami) hit just the second home of Honkbalweek so far with a solo shot in the fourth. Roger Bernadina of the Netherlands, a seven-year MLB veteran, is the only other player with a longball this week.
- Morales leads Team USA with three hits and a .600 batting average through the first two games.
- Nine different players each scored one run in Sunday’s 9-0 win over Italy.
- Italy stranded 12 runners on base in the loss, including two instances with the bases loaded.
- The U.S. has four of the six total stolen bases so far in the tournament and has yet to have a player thrown out stealing.
- Team USA’s first two games at Honkbalweek Haarlem have been played in front of a capacity crowd at Pim Mulier Stadium with more than 3,500 fans on hand each day.
ON DECK
- The Collegiate National Team will return to the diamond against Cuba at 7:30 p.m. local/1:30 p.m. ET on Monday at Pim Mulier Stadium.
SOCIAL MEDIA
- Stay tuned to @USABaseballCNT on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the 2022 Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
