CARY, N.C. - On the final day of the USA Baseball 16U National Team Development Program, the Stars squad took down the 15U National Team, 11-3, in an exhibition matchup at Coleman Field on Tuesday.
The offense exploded for 13 hits in the contest behind strong pitching performances from the entire staff, handing Team USA their first loss in three games.
Roc Riggio and Hunter Haas led off the top of the first with back-to-back singles before Dylan Crews smashed a ball to short to score the first run. Marcelo Mayer followed with a ground ball that was misplayed at second to cross Haas, and Ian Moller drove in Crews on a sacrifice fly to put the Stars up 3-0 early.
Stars starter Grant Taylor kept the momentum going, striking out the side in the second.
In the second, Christian Moore walked to start the inning, and Evan Maldonado singled to advance him to third. A wild pitch allowed Moore to score, and Hunter Teplansky lined a two-RBI single to right to increase the lead to six.
Team USA starter Cale Lansville was replaced by Timothy Williams after two innings, but the Stars bats kept pace. A double steal by Mayer and Walter Ahuna after a pair of singles put two runners in scoring position in the third, but a pair of strikeouts stopped the offense from adding on.
After a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, Taylor exited. He allowed no runs on just two hits and two walks, striking out six.
After a leadoff walk by Crews, Mayer tripled deep in the right-center gap to drive in the first run of the fifth. Moller followed with a double to left to cash in Mayer from third, forcing a mid-inning change on the mound for Team USA.
A wild pitch, an error and a passed ball brought home another trio of runs before the end of the fifth, pushing the lead to double-digits.
The Stars let the first runs of the game score for Team USA in the sixth after a two-RBI triple by Brady House off of reliever Alex Edmonson. A passed ball brought home a third, making the score 10-3.
Moore drove in one more run in the sixth on a single to right to extend the lead to eight before Edmonson shut down the top of the seventh to give the Stars the win.
"To end this way is really good," Field Coordinator Eric Kibler said. "We saw a lot of things that we were working on during the week that they did very well in the game. I'm really pleased with this group. I think they have a good future, and I think our intent got accomplished."
The Stars finish the 16U NTDP with a 2-1 record.