PANAMA CITY – Team USA responded to an early deficit with 11 unanswered runs to beat Brazil, 11-1, in group play at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier on Tuesday night.
The win moves the United States’ record to 4-0 ahead of its group play finale on Wednesday.
As they have all tournament, Kayson Cunningham and Gavin Fien steered the U.S. offense in the win. Brazil (1-3) jumped ahead with a run in the bottom of the first, but the U.S. answered back in the next half, taking advantage of a pair of miscues to grab a 2-1 lead. Cunningham then delivered his first big hit of the night, a two-run double that one-hopped the right field wall to make it a 4-1 lead. Then, leading 5-1 in the fourth, Fien ripped a bases-clearing, three-run triple to put the game out of reach at 8-1. Along with Eli Willits, Cunningham and Fien then put the finishing touches on the run-rule victory with RBI hits in the top of the fifth.
After a trio of walks gave Brazil a run in the bottom of the first, U.S. starter Ethin Bingaman kept the opponent off the scoreboard in the second inning. He worked around a pair of baserunners, striking out three to finish his outing. Josh Owens then took over on the hill and spun three shutout innings to earn the win, allowing just one hit and facing the minimum. Brazil’s Willian Takaki suffered the loss, pitching two innings and allowing four unearned runs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Brazil cracked the scoreboard first with a bases-loaded walk in the opening inning, but Bingaman limited the damage by retiring three consecutive batters with the bases loaded to keep the deficit at one.
- Nico Partida reached on an error to begin the top of the second and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Grady Emerson, tying the score at one.
- With two outs in the second, Trent Grindlinger drew a seven-pitch walk and eventually scored on a fielding error to give his team a 2-1 lead.
- Cunningham got his barrel on the first pitch he saw and smoked a two-run double to right field, bringing home Slater de Brun and Willits and extending Team USA’s lead to 4-1 in the second.
- The stars and stripes took a 5-1 lead in the top of the third when Quentin Young skied a sacrifice fly to shallow right field to bring home Fien.
- Grindlinger walked, de Brun reached on an error, and Cunningham was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out for Fien in the fourth. The U.S. three-hitter delivered in a big way, smoking a bases-clearing triple to left field to give Team USA an 8-1 lead.
- The U.S. used a two-out rally in the fifth to put the game into run-rule territory. Willits got the scoring started in the inning with an RBI triple past a diving center fielder, plating de Brun and making it a 9-1 game.
- Cunningham produced his second RBI double of the night and made it 10-1 Team USA in the fifth, grounding the ball down the right field line to bring Willits home.
- Fien continued the rally with an RBI single to left that brought Cunningham around to score and gave the U.S. a 10-run cushion in the fifth.
- Owens tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth inning to finish off the run-rule victory for the United States.
NOTABLES
- Cunningham is now tied for the tournament lead with nine RBIs through four games. He has driven in a run in every game played and has had multiple RBIs in two contests.
- Fien hit his second triple of the tournament in the victory. Four of his six hits have gone for extra bases, and he leads the World Cup Qualifier with a .923 slugging percentage.
- Willits scored two more runs on Tuesday to put himself in a tie for the tournament lead with seven runs scored. The U.S. leadoff hitter has scored at least once in all four of the team’s games.
- Not only did de Brun reach base in three of his four plate appearances, but he also scored each time to have a game-high three runs scored.
- The U.S. allowed just one run in the contest to lower its team ERA to 1.17. The pitching staff has struck out 33 batters in 24 innings of work.
- The United States now owns a 17-1 all-time record against Brazil at the U-18 level.
ON DECK
Team USA wraps up group play against the only remaining unbeaten team in Group B, taking on host Panama on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. local/8:00 p.m. ET from Estadio Nacional Rod Carew.
