BRADENTON, Fla. - The 18U National Team and Canada are set to go head-to-head in the finale of a seven-game friendship series on Thursday, September 9, at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Florida. Team USA leads the series 5-1 with first pitch of the final contest set for 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Right-handed pitcher Louis Rodriguez (Long Beach, Calif.) will make his second appearance of the series in Thursday's finale. Rodriguez also came on in relief for Team USA in game two on September 4, striking out 10 and allowing just three hits in five scoreless innings of relief.

The 18U National Team is taking on international competition for the first time this week since competing at the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup in Gijang, South Korea, where the U.S. took home the silver medal. Team USA and Canada also last went head-to-head in the Super Round of that tournament, with the red, white, and blue coming out on top, 10-0, in seven innings..

The 18U National Team will be led in 2021 by Manager Jason Maxwell, who is serving as a national team manager for the second time after guiding the 15U National Team to its first world championship in 2018. He will be joined on staff by assistant coaches Michael Cuddyer and Jack Wilson, as well as Brad Penny, who will serve as the team’s pitching coach.

Notable Information

• Team USA leads the 2021 seven-game friendship series against Canada 5-1 and has already clinched a series victory.
• Elijah Green (Windermere, Fla.) and Paxton Kling (Roaring Spring, Pa.) both currently own four-game hitting streaks in the series.
• The U.S. hitters have launched eight dingers through the first five games of the series, seven of which have traveled over 400 feet. Elijah Green’s (Windermere, Fla.) 456-foot home run on Monday evening’s win leads the way in distance traveled. Green also leads the team in total home runs with four so far in the series.
• Blake Mitchell (Sinton, Texas) recorded the red, white, and blue’s first homer in a 16-2 victory on Friday.
• Termarr Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) hit a go-ahead grand slam in Saturday’s 10-2 defeat of Canada.
• Paxton Kling (Roaring Spring, Pa.) has two bombs through four games so far, having hit his first on Saturday and his second on Sunday.
• The U.S. pitching staff has recorded 80 total strikeouts through the first five games of the series and have tallied double-digit punchouts in five of the six contests, including 17 in both Saturday and Sunday’s victories, 11 in the series-clinching win on Monday, 12 in Tuesday’s loss, and 13 in a shutout win on Wednesday.
• With 10 punchouts in five scoreless innings of relief on Saturday, Louis Rodriguez (Long Beach, Calif.) leads both Team USA and Canada in strikeouts so far in the series.
• The 2021 18U National Team was announced on Tuesday and features 26 of the best 18-and-under athletes in the country.
• The 26 members of Team USA represent 15 different states across the country.
• The 2021 18U National Team features four players that have suited up for Team USA at least once in their careers, including four-time alum Karson Bowen (Anaheim Hills, Calif.), three-time alum Ryan Clifford (Raleigh, N.C.), two-time alum Termarr Johnson (Altanta, Ga.), and three-time alum Louis Rodriguez (Long Beach, Calif.)
• Bowen (2018 & 2019 15U) and Clifford (2015 12U, 2018 15U) have both won two gold medals with Team USA, while Johnson and Rodriguez both also helped lead the 2019 15U National Team to a gold medal.
• The roster also features four athletes selected from the 2021 16U/17U National Team Development Program that took place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex August 6-9.
• All three of the coaches joining Maxwell on staff are former MLB All-Stars. Cuddyer earned the honor in 2011 and 2013, while Penny was named to the All-Star Games in 2006 and 2007, and Wilson was an All-Star in 2004.
• All seven of Team USA’s games against Canada will be streamed live on the USA Baseball Facebook page.

Social

• Stay tuned to @USABaseball18U on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the 18U National Team.