THUNDER BAY, Canada - A five-RBI night from Triston Casas (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) paved the way for the USA Baseball 18U National Team as it opened the Super Round at the 2017 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup with an 8-3 win over Canada in front of a sell-out crowd of 3,107 at Port Arthur Stadium on Thursday.
The three-time defending World Cup champions, Team USA will have a quick turnaround as it is slated to take on the only other undefeated team in the tournament, Korea, at 9 a.m. on Friday. Casas finished 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a three-run double, an RBI infield single, and a walk.
The home run was his second of the competition, having also homered against Japan, while he pushed his RBI total to a team-leading nine.
The U.S. got the scoring started in the first after three walks by Canada starter Eric Cerantola loaded the bases and Casas brought a run in with a groundball back up the middle. Alek Thomas (Chicago, Ill.) then tacked on another tally with an RBI groundout to make it a two-run cushion.
Although Canada got one of the runs back in the second, two terrific defensive plays by Nolan Gorman (Glendale, Ariz.) and Thomas to cut runners down at the plate from third and left, respectively, kept the U.S. lead intact.
The 6-5 first baseman then came through for Team USA again in the third when he took a first-pitch fastball and deposited it over the wall in right-center to make it a 3-1 ball game.
That is where the score would remain until sixth when a pair of Canada errors allowed another U.S. runner to cross the plate to make it 4-1.
With the sellout crowd raucously cheering them on, Canada threatened in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with just one out but a well-turned 6-4-3 double play allowed the red, white, and blue to escape unscathed.
Team USA then responded with a run-scoring single off the bat of Thomas, his second RBI of the night, in the home half of the frame.
Canada was able to scratch across two in the eighth but Casas made that irrelevant in the bottom of the inning with a two-strike, two-out, three-run double that pushed the score to its final tally of 8-3.
On the mound, Kumar Rocker (Watkinsville, Ga.) started and struck out four while allowing one run on six hits over 3.2 innings. Landon Marceaux (Destrehan, La.) provided a strong effort out of the bullpen with six punchouts in 4.1 frames before Mason Denaburg (Merritt Island, Fla.) pitched a scoreless ninth to end the game.
Team USA is the three-time defending World Cup champion and is looking to become the second country to win four-straight gold medals in the tournament.
Continue to follow @USABaseball18U on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the 18U National Team.
QUOTES
USA Baseball 18U National Team Manager Andy Stankiewicz
(On Triston Casas)
"Not only did he have five RBIs but he made two great picks at first base at crucial parts of the ball game. Obviously the bat was fantastic tonight as well. He drove the ball real well and used the middle of the diamond, that is his strength. It was just a matter of time, he is a big boy, and we knew he was going to get it going. Certainly we needed it tonight, so great performance by Triston."
(On Canada)
"They are good. They are competitive at the plate, they know how to handle the bat, and their young starter did a great job. He had some command issues but once he settled in he did a nice job of mixing his pitches and the guy who came in out of the bullpen did a great job as well. They are good up-and-down the lineup. They put the ball in play, they put pressure on you, and make you play defense. The difference tonight was the three double plays we turned. They are tough and a competitive ball club. We had to make plays and fortunately we made the plays we needed to."
(On the environment in the sellout stadium)
"We knew coming in that this is their home turf. Playing Canada in the nightcap, kind of the highlight game, we knew there was going to be a sellout crowd and there was. But that's exciting, that is what we want. We want to play in the big arena with a bunch of fans and emotions. I'm proud of how the guys reacted. They settled in and played a real good game."
First Baseman Triston Casas
(On his offensive effort)
"I'm very happy that my team came out with a 'W.' Throughout the tournament I've just been missing a couple of balls. I've been taking good at-bats and finally everything culminated with a good performance. I've been trying to keep a level head and I knew eventually a couple balls would click and tonight was the night. I'm very fortunate that I was able to contribute as much as I did and am looking forward to getting after it tomorrow morning."
(On his two picks at first base)
"My defense is something that I have taken a lot of pride in ever since I was young. Playing a lot of innings over there at first base has definitely helped me out. I'm just glad those two picks landed in my glove because as easily as they did, I could have missed them just as easily. I feel very fortunate."
(On the team's defense)
"Our defense is definitely one of our stronger points, which gives our pitchers a lot of confidence to go out there and throw strikes. We work on defense a lot and take a lot of pride in our defense."