PANAMA CITY – Joshua Park hammered a three-run home run and the 12U National Team notched back-to-back wins with a 9-1 victory over Mexico in the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier Tuesday afternoon at Estadio Nacional Rod Carew.
Team USA improves to 2-0 in Group A pool play and is the first nation in the group to notch two wins. All team records and Group A standings can be found here.
The bats of Team USA stayed hot in the tropical climate of Panama, as the squad collected double-digit hits for the second game in as many days. A busy first inning saw a bit of everything, as patient at-bats strewn with base knocks and dotted with a pair of errors gave the U.S. an early 4-0 advantage. Team USA scored one more in the second inning before Park stole the show in the fourth frame with the team’s first jack of the World Cup Qualifier, a three-run bomb that extended the lead, 8-1. The stars and stripes put the finishing touches on in the fifth after Josh Pierre took home on a wild pitch, making it 9-1.
One of yesterday’s standout performers, Clayton Ratliff, got the nod in today’s competition and put forth a commendable effort, managing to escape tough situations. Ratliff tossed 2.0 innings and surrendered one run before passing the baton to Carlo Rivero. Rivero, a Tucson native, commanded the bump with ease and hurled 2.2 shutout innings of no-hit ball. Hudson Bills made his debut and closed out the contest without allowing any damage to be dealt.
The team’s ten hits were scattered among six players, led by the top half of the U.S. lineup. Park’s home run highlighted his 2-for-2, three RBI outing while Carlo notched his second consecutive multi-hit game with a 2-for-4, one RBI, one run performance. Gianni Donati and Jack Mattingly also stood out in today’s win and each picked up a pair of hits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Coming off a high-caliber performance at the plate, Ratliff took the mound in the first inning and quickly confronted adversity. With one out and two on in scoring position, Ratliff shook the nerves and escaped the jam, a sequence highlighted by a run-saving diving play by Mattingly.
- Team USA wasted no time getting on the board first, as a pair of defensive miscues allowed the first two batters to reach and the first run to score. Mattingly then picked up his second hit in as many days, plating Donati, who reached on a base knock.
- Ben Hamlin made his series-debut for the U.S. and did so in fashion, delivering a bases-loaded laser to center, driving in a run. After shutting out Mexico in the top of the first, Ratliff did his part at the plate and brought home the fourth and final run of the frame with a sacrifice fly.
- After reaching via hit-by-pitch in the second inning, Pierre came around to score as Rivero slapped a pitch through the right side of the infield for his first hit of the day.
- Despite two quick outs in the home half of the fourth, Team USA showcased its two-out approach at the plate. Back-to-back base hits by Rivero and Mattingly set the stage for Park, who proceeded to barrel the first pitch he saw for a three-run home run over the right field wall.
- It was then in the fifth that Pierre and Donati kept the inning alive with two-out base knocks. Pierre stayed active on the base paths, and later swiped home on a wild pitch to make it 9-1.
NOTABLES
- The 12U National Team is on a three game win streak against Mexico, dating back to 2022. The U.S. is now 7-3 all-time against Mexico.
- Four Team USA players posted multi-hit outings, as Donati, Mattingly, Park, and Rivero each collected two base hits today.
- Rivero leads all players in hits (5) while Pierre sits atop the stolen base and runs leaderboard with six runs scored and five stolen bags.
- As of Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. is the only nation to register multiple games with double-digit hits as a team, tallying 11 yesterday and 10 today.
- In 11 innings at the plate, Team USA has scored one run or more in nine of those frames.
QUOTABLES
- “Even though we won by eight runs, our team faced some adversity today,” Pitching Coach Wes Brooks said. “What mattered was that our guys battled back and overcame it. The team did a great job at focusing on being the very best they could be.”
- “This win was huge, we played great all around and had a lot of energy as a team,” Park said. “We were all seeing the ball well in today’s game. In my at-bat, I saw an inside pitch and just turned on it.” said Park about his fourth-inning homer.
ON DECK
Tomorrow, the 12U National Team will compete in a doubleheader, one of those being the rescheduled contest against Ecuador originally arranged for October 20. Team USA will first play at 10:30 a.m. local/11:30 a.m. ET against Colombia, then turn around and play Ecuador at 12:30 p.m. local/1:30 p.m. ET. Both games will be livestreamed and held at Estadio Municipal Andy Alonso.
SOCIAL MEDIA
To follow along with all the action with the 12U National Team, be sure to follow @USABaseball12U on Twitter and @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.
