CHITRE, Panama - After facing its first deficit of the tournament, Team USA rallied to drop the host country Panama, 9-8 to open Super Round play of the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships on Wednesday at Rico Cedeno Stadium in Chitre, Panama.
Riley Greene (Oviedo, Fla.) opened the scoring when he singled through the right side as Corbin Carroll (Seattle, Wash.) crossed the plate to give Team USA a 1-0 lead. Anthony Volpe (Watchung, N.J.) then added a run after an error by Panama as the stars and stripes jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first.
The lead did not last long, however, as Panama plated four in the top of the second, prompting the U.S. to go to Ryan Hawks (Bowling Green, Kent.) out of the bullpen. With a runner at first and still no outs in the inning, Hawks forced a double play and a grounder to end the inning.
With Team USA facing its first deficit of the tournament, it scored three runs in the bottom of the third to regain the lead 5-4. Bobby Witt Jr. (Colleyville, Texas) drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI-double to right field. In the next at-bat, Tyler Callihan (Neptune Beach, Fla.) reached on an error as Witt Jr. scored to even the game. Drew Romo (The Woodlands, Texas) followed with an RBI-single to right field to retake the lead. 
After Panama scored a run in the fourth to tie the game, Team USA added three runs in the home half of the inning to regain its advantage. Greene continued his hot streak with an RBI-double to the right side to plate Carroll. With the bases loaded, the stars and stripes scored two more runs on a hit by pitch and a walk to take the lead, 8-5.
The red, white and blue added its final run of the game when Carroll hit a no-doubt home run in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to 9-5. 
In the seventh, Panama trimmed the lead to 9-8 and forced a U.S. pitching change. Jacob Meador (Burleson, Texas) came into the game to relieve Hawks and was stellar in his three innings of relief, earning the save while striking out four. With the Panamanian crowd buzzing in the top of the ninth as the game-tying runner at the plate, Meador sat Panama down in order to end the game.
For his efforts, Hawks (1-0) earned the win on the mound, striking out two batters in five innings pitched. All nine batters earned a hit in the contest for Team USA, while four players led the team with two apiece. Carroll paced the team with three runs scored on the day. 
The United States (5-0) will continue the Super Round of the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships against Canada (4-1) on Thursday, November 29. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. ET at Rico Cedeno Stadium in Chitre, Panama.  
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