CARY, N.C. - In the third year of the USA Baseball National High School Invitational (NHSI), The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.) became just the second team to claim the trophy following a 5-3 win over Clovis High School (Clovis, Calif.) on Friday, March 28th.
With the game still scoreless in the bottom of the third, The First Academy found themselves at the top of the order with two outs. Adam Haseley got on base with a hit to right field. Chadwick Word and Cody Oerther followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to give TFA a 2-0 lead.
Clovis's three runs of the game all came in the fourth inning, giving them a one run advantage heading into the second half of the game. On the first pitch of the inning, RJ Hartmann hit a stand-up triple into right field. On the next at-bat, Cody Murray drove a RBI single into right field, sending Hartmann home to open scoring for Clovis. With the bases loaded, Tevin Mitchell grounded to the left side for a RBI single to give the Cougars a one run lead heading into the second half of the game.
With The First Academy down 3-2 in the sixth and the bases loaded, Word launched a double down the left field line, to clear the bases and give the Royals a late 5-3 lead.
Clovis' seventh-inning rally fell short, sending The First Academy home with their first NHSI title.
The First Academy's Word (2-for-4, one run and four RBIs) excelled at the plate, and teammate Cody Oerther had a big game with three hits. Clovis' Cody Murray (1-for-4, one RBI), RJ Hartmann (2-for-3), and Keilen Araki (1-for-4, one RBI) were all strong in the Cougars' loss.
WP: Hopkins, 3.2 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
LP: Brar, 0.0 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 walk
Clovis: 3 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors
The First Academy: 5 runs, 11 hits, 3 errors