Big Hits from Grindlinger, Hammond Lift Team Navy to 5-3 Comeback Win over Team Light Blue

Trent Grindlinger and Josh Hammond sparked a four-run outburst in the seventh inning as Team Navy defeated Team Light Blue 5-3 at 18U National Team Training Camp

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Dean Moss opened the day by leading off with a double into center, reaching third on a groundout, and scoring the first run of the game for Navy on a wild pitch.
• Andrew Costello raked a triple off the right field wall to begin the second inning, the first Light Blue hit for extra bases. Jacob Lombard delivered Costello home for the tying run with an RBI single driven into right.
• Caleb Burnett swatted the second RBI single of the inning for Light Blue to give his side a 2-1 lead, this time into left field.
• Light Blue Starter David Ramirez had a solid showing on the mound in the opening two innings, striking out four batters during his shift. Johnny Slawinski kept the momentum rolling in relief, matching Ramirez with four punchouts of his own over the third and fourth innings.
• Lombard rounded the bases for the second time to make it 3-1 Light Blue in the bottom of the fourth inning, taking advantage of a pair of wild pitches after he stole second base.
• Navy loaded the bases to begin the top of the seventh inning, setting the stage for Trent Grindlinger to tie the game by lining a two-RBI single through the middle.
• Josh Hammond blasted a double all the way to the left field wall for another two RBIs, putting Navy ahead 5-3.
• Aiden Stillman and Seth Hernandez secured the win for Navy, with both pitchers hurling lights out innings down the stretch. Stillman struck out three of the four batters he faced in the seventh inning, while Hernandez retired both hitters faced for the save in the eighth frame.

NOTABLE STATS

• Navy’s foursome of Landon Harmon, Samuel Harris, Stillman, and Hernandez combined for nine strikeouts and just five runners allowed on base over the final six innings.
• Light Blue’s tandem of Ramirez and Slawinski tied for the game high with four strikeouts apiece.
• Another Light Blue pair on the mound, Connor Essenburg and Mason Pike, pitched an inning each in relief and combined for three strikeouts and a lone walk.
• Navy’s CJ Sampson was the only player to tally more than one hit, finishing with two.
• Grindlinger and Hammond tied for the game high with a pair of RBIs each.
• Navy’s Charlie Buckles drew a game-high two walks.

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Five Late Runs Carry Team Grey to 5-4 Win over Team Red

Team Grey plated a pair of runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to top Team Red 5-4, led by a clutch double from Gavin Fien

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brayden Jaksa plated the first run by reaching home on a wild pitch in the top of the first inning, handing Team Red a 1-0 lead.
• Jaksa helped double the lead in the third inning, this time blasting an RBI double off the right field wall for the second run of the game.
• Josiah Hartshorn built Team Red’s lead to 3-0 in the same frame, delivering Jaksa home on an RBI single through center.
• Team Grey catcher Alonzo Alvarez and shortstop Grady Emerson were synced up defensively in the top of the fourth inning, with the pair successfully catching a pair of runners attempting to steal second for outs.
• Team Red’s Austin Weiss was electric across the third and fourth innings, striking out six of seven batters he faced in a dominant outing.
• Team Grey’s first run of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Quentin Young smacked an RBI double into left field that allowed Alec Blair to cruise home all the way from first.
• Young reached home to cut the Red lead to 3-2 on another ball raked into left field, this time an RBI single from RJ Holmes.
• With two runners on, Team Red turned an impressive double play that featured successful tags on both players to preserve the lead.
• Gavin Fien gave Team Grey its first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, slashing a two-RBI double to go up 4-3.
• Emerson tacked on a fifth run for Team Grey in the bottom of the seventh inning, driving a sac fly into right.
• The final run of the game came in the eighth inning, a bases-loaded walk drawn by Team Red’s Slater De Brun.

NOTABLE STATS

• Both teams finished with four hits apiece, with no player having more than one.
• Jaksa (Red) and Blair (Grey) tied for the game high in runs, as both players rounded the basepaths twice.
• Fien’s two RBIs led all players.
• Blair and Jaden Fauske (Red) both drew a game-high two walks.
• Weiss’ six strikeouts in two innings of work were the most of any player in the opening two days of this year’s 18U Training Camp.
• Team Grey had four pitchers all tally two strikeouts: Tyler Wood, Cameron Appenzeller, Xavier Mitchell, and Luke Hemric.