PANAMA CITY – Team USA shut out Panama, 5-0, to complete a sweep of group play at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier on Wednesday night.
The U.S. is now 5-0 and has secured the top seed out of Group B ahead of the quarterfinal round.
Nico Partida started on the mound for the stars and stripes and was lights-out for the second consecutive appearance. After pitching the first four innings of a no-hit win over Costa Rica on Saturday, Partida yielded just one hit in his four innings of work on Wednesday. He pitched to contact all night long, striking out just one as his team played sparkling defense behind him. The biggest play of the night came with the U.S. leading 4-0 in the third, as Partida found himself in a jam when Panama (4-1) put runners on the corners with one out. But second baseman Grady Emerson leapt for a line drive and turned a crucial double play to maintain Partida’s shutout.
As Partida shoved on the mound, Team USA’s offense gave him several runs of support early on. Josh Owens and Kayson Cunningham each supplied runs with sacrifice flies in the second and third innings, respectively, before Gavin Fien socked a two-run double to make it a 4-0 lead in the third. The U.S. added insurance off the bat of Slater de Brun, whose RBI single in the fourth gave his side a 5-0 cushion that was preserved by Dylan Wood and Xavier Mitchell out of the bullpen to close out the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Ethan Holliday drew an eight-pitch walk to get things started in the top of the second and eventually came home on a sacrifice fly by Owens to put the U.S. in front by a run early.
- Down in the count 0-2, Brady Murrietta muscled a leadoff single in the third. A bunt single by de Brun and an Eli Willits hit-by-pitch filled the bases for Cunningham, whose sacrifice fly to center made it 2-0 in favor of Team USA.
- Fien continued his blazing hot tournament with a two-run double to left field, giving the United States a 4-0 advantage when de Brun and Willits came home to score in the third.
- A walk and single placed runners on first and third with only one out in the third for Panama. But Partida coaxed a line drive to second base that Emerson jumped for and caught before throwing over to first for a clutch inning-ending double play.
- Emerson began the top of the fourth with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error, and then touched home plate on an RBI single by de Brun to put the U.S. in front by five.
- Wood entered out of the stars and stripes’ bullpen in the fifth and spun two hitless innings, working around a two-out walk in the sixth to maintain the 5-0 U.S. edge.
- Despite issuing a leadoff walk in the seventh, Mitchell picked off a runner and was able to lock down the 5-0 win.
NOTABLES
- The bottom of the U.S. order had a productive night, as the 7-8-9 trio of Emerson, Murrietta, and de Brun combined for five hits and three runs scored.
- Fien drove in two runs and Cunningham added an RBI to his ledger in the win; the duo is now tied for the tournament lead with 10 runs batted in.
- Willits (8) and de Brun (7) are atop the tournament leaderboard in runs scored after each touching home plate once on Wednesday.
- Through eight innings of work on the mound, Partida is 2-0 with a spotless 0.00 ERA and just one hit allowed. He has struck out 12 batters and walked four so far in tournament play.
- Team USA’s team ERA lowered to 0.93 through five games, and its three shutouts are tied with Cuba for the most in the tournament field.
- The U.S. has now gotten off to a 5-0 start in 12 of the 15 World Cup Qualifiers it has competed in.
- In 27 all-time matchups at the U-18 level, the United States is 25-2 against Panama.
QUOTABLES
“The boys are rolling,” said Cunningham. “We played hard and that’s all we can ask for. We battled and we deserved it. We are feeling really good going into bracket play.”
“Just like against Costa Rica, I threw strikes,” said Partida. “My defense made a lot of good plays tonight, so shoutout to them. Grady Emerson turned an amazing double play, and our offense got barrels and runs, and that’s all I can ask for.”
ON DECK
Team USA awaits its opponent in the quarterfinal round of the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier. The quarterfinal round will take place on Friday, August 9, at a time and place to be determined.
