CARY, N.C. - The East Coast Clippers were crowned the 2019 USA Baseball 16U Cup champions on Sunday after rallying for four runs in the fifth inning and defeating the Virginia Cardinals 6-2 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. 

Neither team wasted any time getting on the board as Johnny Oates tripled to the center field wall in the top of the first to get the Virginia Cardinals on the board and put them out to a 1-0 lead, but the Clippers answered back in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of their own. The Cardinals then went on to tie the game at two apiece in the fourth courtesy of a Drue Hackenberg single down the third base line. 

The turning point in the game came in the fifth, as the East Coast Clippers rallied for four runs after starting the inning with three of their first four batters reaching base. In total, the Clippers capitalized on three walks and three hits to score the four runs. Austin Williams and Colin Scoggins were the standouts offensively for the East Coast Clippers. The duo combined to go 3-for-5 at the dish and were responsible for four of the East Coast Clippers six runs. The Clippers accumulated 12 hits in total in the the championship game.

East Coast Clippers starting pitcher Blake Hanly turned in a four-inning performance on the bump, allowing two runs (one earned) while striking out one. He was relieved by Thomas Welton, who was equally effective as he allowed no baserunners and struck out one in three innings of work. Welton (1-0) earned the win while Clay Scott (0-1) was the losing pitcher.

With the win, the Clippers finished the 2019 16U Cup with a perfect 5-0 record while the Virginia Cardinals finished 3-2.

Key Moments
• Johnny Oates tripled to the center field wall to get the Virginia Cardinals on the board and put them out to a 1-0 lead in the first.
• Colin Scoggins doubled to left-center to drive in the first run of the game for the East Coast Clippers and tie the game at one apiece in the bottom of the first.
• Two batters later, Joey Bouck grounded into a fielder's choice, bringing home Scoggins in the process and extending the East Coast Clippers lead to 2-2.
• Drue Hackenberg singled down the third base line to drive in a run for the Cardinals in the fourth, tying the game at two.
• Ethan Velasquez singled to drive in a run and give the East Coast Clippers the 3-2 lead after they started the inning with three of their first four batters reaching base.
• Two batters later, Austin Williams singled to right to drive in a pair and extend the East Coast Clippers lead to 5-2.
• Cole Schiff hit an RBI single in the following at-bat to extend the East Coast Clippers lead to 6-2.
• Thomas Welton didn't allow a baserunner to close out the last three innings of the game and secure the 6-4 win for the East Coast Clippers.

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