FLOWER MOUND, Texas – The Stripes used an eight-run eighth inning to rally past the Stars, 18-13, in an offensive battle in the second game of the 2021 12U National Team Trials at Bakersfield Park in Flower Mound, Texas. 

Trailing 11-9 entering the top of the eighth, the Stripes tied the game on an RBI single by Jared Grindlinger (Huntington Beach, Calif.) before rattling off six more runs to take a commanding lead. The rally was capped by a double to left field by Jacob Seamon (Rolling Meadows, Ill.), which plated Brayden Landry (Puyallup, Wash.) to give the Stripes a six-run lead they would not relinquish.

Brodie Campbell (Newnan, Ga.), Grindlinger, and Kekahupono Kong (Mililani, Hawaii) all had three hits in the 18-hit outburst for the Stripes. Campbell was one of five Stripes to drive in two runs in the win. He also added a stolen base.

The Stars were paced offensively by Hudson Brown (Iola, Texas), Caleb Hudson (Carrollton, Ga.), and Isaac Vidal (Miami, Fla.), who all had multi-hit performances. Brown, who hit a two-run homer in the fourth, had a game-high three RBIs. Aaron Garcia (Pico Rivera, Calif.) scored three runs and stole three bases for the Stars.

Seamon earned the win for the Stripes, allowing one run and striking out three in 2.2 innings of work. Adan Diaz (Gavilan Hills, Calif.) surrendered the loss for the Stars.

Key Moments

• Both teams got off to quick starts, with the Stripes striking for three runs in the opening frame. Campbell drove in the first two runs with an RBI double, and Konnor Briggs (Oxford, Fla.) plated him with an RBI single to give the Stripes an early 3-0 lead.
• Brown drove in the Stars’ first run, doubling home Garcia, before Diaz added the second run with an RBI groundout to trim the Stars’ deficit to 3-2 in the first.
• The Stripes’ offense continued its strong start in the third inning, scoring four more runs. Briggs drove in the first run of the frame with an RBI bunt single before Seamon and Easton Brunson (Highlands, Texas) tallied back-to-back RBI hits to extend the Stripes’ lead. Duncan McLeod (Huntington Beach, Calif.) drove in the final run of the inning to give the Stripes a 7-2 advantage.
• The Stars scored two runs in four consecutive innings, starting with the third. Landon DeRouen (Delcambre, La.) drove in a run for the Stars in the bottom half of the inning, and another run came around to score on an error as the Stars cut the Stripes’ lead to 7-4.
• With a runner on third and two outs in the fourth, Brown hit an opposite-field, two-run home run as the Stars got within a run to trail 7-6.
• After the Stripes added a run on an error in the top of the fifth, DeRouen hit a sacrifice fly and Levi Kerr (Holly Springs, N.C.) followed with a game-tying, RBI groundout in the bottom of the inning for the Stars to make the score 8-8.
• The Stars took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Derek Vazquez (Charlotte, N.C.). Vazquez later scored on a groundout to extend the Stars’ lead to 10-8.
• Brunson scored on a wild pitch to trim the Stripes’ deficit to a run in the seventh, but Hudson hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to extend the Stars’ lead back to two runs.
• The Stripes’ first run of their eight-run eighth inning came on a balk, before Grindlinger hit a game-tying RBI single to score Kong. Three batters later, Brunson was hit by a pitch to give the Stripes a 12-11 lead.
• After Angel Gonzalez (Whittier, Calif.) walked to drive in a run, Landry hit an RBI single to grow the Stripes’ lead to three. Two more runs scored on an error before Seamon put the finishing touches on the rally with an RBI double to give the Stripes a 17-11 edge.
• The Stars scored twice in the eighth on a walk and error to make it 17-13, and the Stripes added the final run of the day in the ninth on a fielder’s choice to give them an 18-13 edge that they would hold on to.

Notable Information

• With the win, the Stripes are now 1-0-1 through the first two games of the series. The Stars fall to 0-1-1.
• The Stripes tallied 18 hits in the win just one day after totaling just four in game one. Six players had two-hit games on Wednesday, and eight players drove in at least one run for the Stripes.
• Led by Garcia’s three stolen bags, the Stars had seven total steals in the game. There have now been 27 stolen bases in the first two games of the series.
• Both the Stripes’ Jacob Gray (Benicia, Calif.) and the Stars’ Julian Rodriquez (Boca Raton, Fla.) walked three times in today’s game.
• Grindlinger has a series-most four hits through the series’ first three games.

On Deck

• November 11: Stars vs. Stripes (9:00 a.m. ET/8:00 a.m. CT, Bakersfield Park)

Social

• Stay tuned to @USABaseball12U on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the 12U National Team Trials.