PANAMA CITY – The 12U National Team will compete in one final six-inning game. This time, in a heavyweight clash against undefeated Dominican Republic in the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier Championship. On Friday, Team USA beat Cuba 6-0 in the semifinal to keep its gold medal aspirations alive and put the squad one step closer to the prized seventh win.

First pitch will be thrown at 12:00 p.m. local/1:00 p.m. ET at Estadio Nacional Rod Carew. Team USA has been designated as the away team; therefore, they will don navy blue tops with white embroidering.

The U.S. has successfully qualified for a berth to the 2025 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan, Taiwan.

PITCHING MATCHUP

RHP Carson Schoener (USA) vs. RHP Cosme Caonabo (DOM)

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

The Dominican Republic won a closely contested semifinal game against Panama, slapping a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the sixth to send the nation to the gold medal match. The team is 6-0 in the World Cup Qualifier and has outscored opponents 44-7. The Dominican Republic has scored 10 or more runs in half of its games and tossed one shutout.

Much like the U.S., the Dominican Republic is well-rounded with its fair share of big bats and quality pitching. Four Dominican players have two home runs apiece while the squad is batting .314 as a whole. Seven different batters have hit a home run while Abrahan Florian and Yariel Pinales are both slugging over .800.

Meanwhile, the starter for the Dominican Republic, Cosme Caonabo, has made two appearances out of the bullpen and is 2-0. Caonabo has thrown 3.2 innings, struck out seven batters and has yet to concede a hit. The Dominican pitching staff owns a 0.33 ERA and has given up 12 hits over six games. 12 different players have stepped on the mound for the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic is managed by Benjamin Heredia, who was part of the Dominican National Team that lost to Team USA’s Collegiate National Team, 2-1, in a 15-inning affair in the 1991 Pan American Games Bronze Medal Game.

HISTORY AGAINST DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

The 12U National Team has played the Dominican Republic once, winning 10-0 in the 2022 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup. In that game, Team USA’s Levi Kerr tossed a complete game shutout.

TEAM USA STAT LEADERS

HITS: Carlo Rivero (9)

RBIs: Carlo Rivero (10)

RUNS: Josh Pierre (12)

TB: Carlo Rivero (15)

BB: Daylon McCants (4)

IP: Carlo Rivero (7.1)

K’s: Carlo Rivero (14)

GOLD MEDAL MOMENTS

Team USA has had its fair share of gold medal moments in the World Cup Qualifier up to this point and is far from being finished. Take a look at how Team USA landed in the championship with some of the stars and stripes' clutch performances:

• Vs. Nicaragua - Carson Schoener began the week for the red, white, and blue and punched out nine batters in Team USA’s 9-1 win against Nicaragua. Josh Pierre, Clayton Ratliff, and Carlo Rivero each had three base knocks while Pierre showed off his speed and swiped four bags in the tournament opener.
• Vs. Mexico - Team USA’s bats were scorching hot in the squad’s 9-1 victory over Mexico, as four players produced multi-hit performances. Joshua Park drove in three runs and hammered a three-run home run in the win.
• Vs. Colombia - An all-around team effort highlighted the third game of the World Cup Qualifier, as Park and Daylon McCants each posted multi-hit performances while Bronx Holbron and Jack Mattingly split pitching duties and delivered a shutout.
• Vs. Ecuador - Team USA secured the doubleheader sweep behind dominant pitching from the arms of Ethan Palacios and Jayden Portes. The two pitchers combined to toss a no-hitter and two-out base hits from the team’s bats ensured a U.S. victory.
• Vs. Panama - Miles Lockridge and Portes shined bright under the lights of Estadio Nacional Rod Carew and powered the U.S. to a 7-0 shutout of Panama on their home turf. Portes launched two home runs into the night sky while Lockridge hurled a complete game.
• Vs. Cuba - Rivero stole the show in Team USA’s 6-0 win against Cuba in the World Cup Qualifier Semifinals. Rivero went yard for a two-run jack and struck out 11 batters in 4.2 innings.

A GOLDEN PAST

Since 2013, the 12U National Team has participated in nine gold medal games and has come home with golden hardware in seven of those contests. In only two of Team USA’s nine gold medal games has the score been decided by three runs or less.

Team USA is the defending WBSC World Cup Americas Qualifier champion, as the 2023 squad defeated Venezuela, 29-28 in the title game. Even more recently, the 2023 12U National Team won gold in the 2023 WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup,

The 12U National Team holds a 67-9 all-time record and is currently on an eight-game win streak.

INSIDE THE ROSTER

The 2024 12U National Team features players from eight different states with more than half of the squad hailing from California or Florida, as those states boast five representatives apiece. Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, and Texas are responsible for the other eight players named. The 18-player roster features a range of bats offensively, as a third of the team bats left-handed while the squad proves its versatility on the mound with 13 players listed as viable arms. More information on the 2024 12U National Team roster can be found here.

AT THE HELM

Managing Team USA and at the forefront of the charge is Bryan Madsen, who will be making his first appearance as manager and second time on staff. Madsen previously helped lead the 2023 12U National Team to capturing gold in 2023. Assisting Madsen is Roger Wright, who will be on the 12U National Team staff for the second consecutive year. Making their first appearances as an assistant coach will be Josh Ellison and Wes Brooks; Brooks has made stints as 12U National Team Training Camp coach and as USA Baseball Task Force in the past while Ellison has helped coach in 2023 at 18U National Team Training Camp.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG

Fans can watch the game here and also follow live stats, while highlights and updates can be found on the 12U National Team Twitter. The schedule can be found here.

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.