Box Score

MARIETTA, Ga. – The 15U National Team concluded the 2024 International Friendship Series against Australia with a bang, no-hitting and beating its week-long foes, 21-0, Thursday afternoon at the East Cobb Baseball Complex. Team USA outscored Australia 62-0 over five games, all while allowing no runs and tossing two no-hitters in the process.

For the fourth time in five games, Team USA opened the scoring in the first inning and refused to slow down, scoring a run or more in nearly every inning while racking up 16 hits as a team. In a contest where new arms were seen nearly every inning, Team USA stayed poised at the plate and brought four or more batters up to bat every frame. Among the best of the U.S. bats today were some familiar names; Carter Shouse boasted a big performance as the left fielder went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and four runs scored. Andrew Jimenez supplemented his lockdown defense with a hot bat today, going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored apiece. Dexter McCleon Jr. notched two hits on the day while Nixon Warren went 2-for-2 and led the team in RBIs with four.

Four arms for the U.S. saw action on the bump, as today’s combined no-hitter ran through Griffin McKain, Isaac Vidal, and Luke Esquivel, each of whom hurled 2.0 spotless innings. Chase Cotton came in from the bullpen in the seventh, wasting no time by punching out all three batters he saw and securing Team USA’s second no-hitter of the week. The pitching staff combined for 12 strikeouts on the day, marking the fourth time this week double-digit strikeouts have been achieved. Each pitcher was efficient in their outing, as only three free passes were distributed as a staff.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The U.S. wasted no time in batting around the order, as back-to-back walks in the first frame presented an opportunity to take an early advantage. Team USA did just that, as a string of four base hits quickly made it 5-0.
• Two more runs came around to score after a bases-loaded walk plated Shouse who reached on an RBI base hit while a wild pitch later scored starting catcher Dariel Carrion.
• Team USA’s lone zero in the run column came in the second, yet the squad went right back to work in the third after Jacob Seamon notched his fifth hit in as many games with a two-RBI base knock.
• Parker Leoff drove in Seamon in the at-bat right after, as his ball in play scored the red, white, and blue’s tenth run.
• Another crooked number was posted in the fourth frame, as Team USA took advantage of a two-out error and proceeded to put up a six-spot, beginning with an RBI double off the hot bat of Jimenez.
• A trio of singles followed Jimenez, scoring four more runs for the U.S. Anthony Frausto III capped the six-run inning with a shot to the right center gap, good for an RBI triple.
• Warren tallied his first RBI of the day in the fifth frame with a two-out, base hit to left field to make it 17-0.
• Shouse kept his big day going, securing his third hit of the day by way of a line-drive RBI single to centerfield.
• The offense continued to put in work as Jimenez collected another RBI base knock while Warren drove in Team USA’s twentieth run on a sacrifice fly.
• Carrion, who reached via walk earlier that inning, came around and gave the U.S. a 21-0 lead after a wild pitch reached the backstop.

NOTABLES

• This win marks two years in a row Team USA has gone undefeated, as the squad extends its win streak to 14 games.
• For the first time in 15U National Team history, Team USA hurled two no-hitters in a single series.
• Team USA’s 21 runs were the most scored by a 15U National Team since 2022, when the U.S. beat South Africa 29-0.
• The pitching staff set records for the 15U National Team, as this squad is now the all-time leader in hits allowed (8), runs allowed (0), ERA (0.00), and least walks allowed (6).
• Team USA, for the first time in history, allowed zero runs as a team while its six free passes is the best since 2013, when the 15U National Team walked 10 batters in eight games.
• Jared Grindlinger led Team USA in batting average (.692), hits (9), and RBIs (13). On the other side of the ball, McKain threw the most innings (6.0) for the U.S. while he and Isaac Vidal each tallied 12 strikeouts with no hits allowed.
• Grindlinger hit at a .692 clip, making him the all-time 15U National Team batting average leader, surpassing Connor Ollio who hit .636 in 2015.
• Each position player for Team USA collected at least one hit throughout the series while 19 out of 20 players registered at least one RBI.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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