CHITRE, Panama - Starting pitcher Riley Cornelio's (Monument, Colo.) solid outing on the mound pushed Team USA past Venezuela 12-1 in game three of the Super Round at the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships on Friday at Rico Cedeno Stadium in Chitre, Panama. The stars and stripes are now 4-0 in Super Round play.
With the win, the U.S. clinched a spot in Sunday's gold medal game and qualified for the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup.
Venezuela got on the board first early in the game, scoring its lone run in the top of the first. Cornelio settled in after that though, pitching five shutout innings while only allowing three hits.
Venezuela's lead didn't last long as Team USA answered with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the first. RBI singles by Anthony Volpe (Watchung, N.J.), Riley Greene (Oviedo, Fla.) and Tyler Callihan (Neptune Beach, Fla.) gave the U.S. a 3-1 lead that it never relinquished.
Two more runs came across for Team USA in the second inning when Yohandy Morales (Miami, Fla.) scored on a groundout and Volpe singled through the right side to score Pete Crow-Armstrong (Sherman Oaks, Calif.). The stars and stripes added another a run in the third inning after an RBI single from Drew Romo (The Woodlands, Texas) to extend the lead to 6-1.
In the fourth frame, Greene recorded his second RBI of the day with a single that scored Carroll to give the U.S. a 7-1 advantage. The stars and stripes then plated five runs in the fifth when Volpe notched his third and fourth RBI with a single and Witt Jr. roped a two-RBI triple before Callihan plated Witt for the final score of 12-1.
Volpe led the way offensively with four RBI and three hits. Cornelio (2-0) earned the win for his efforts on the mound while allowing just five hits and striking out three. Max Rajcic (Fullerton, Calif.) entered the game in relief in the top of the seventh and final inning to close out the game, striking out one batter.
The United States (7-0; 4-0) will wrap up the Super Round of the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships against Nicaragua (4-3; 1-2) on Saturday, December 1. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. ET at Rico Cedeno Stadium in Chitre, Panama.
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