Cary, N.C. - A power surge highlighted the final day of action in both the bronze and gold medal games at the 2017 Tournament of Stars on Saturday. Jeremiah Jackson hit a three-run home run to help lead Pride to gold with a 5-3 defeat of Free in the championship game.
Free's Alexander Binelas crushed a home run in the gold medal game and Brave benefited from long balls courtesy of Triston Casas and Ryder Green in its 7-2 bronze medal victory over United.
Gold Medal Game: Pride 5, Free 3
After a quiet start to the game by both teams, Jackson's home run opened the scoring in the top of the third inning and gave Pride a 3-0 lead that it never relinquished.
Pride added some insurance runs in the fourth with the help of the speedy Kameron Ojeda, who singled and stole a base before racing home from second on a groundout to shortstop. One more run came in the top of the sixth when Jared Poland pinch-hit for Pride and ripped a RBI triple into the gap in right-center to give Pride a 5-1 lead.
Free looked to rally in the bottom half of the inning, getting within two thanks to Binelas' huge two-run home run that landed all the way up the left field berm. That was all Free could get off of Pride's Chander Champlain though, who went four strong innings for Pride, allowing just three hits and striking out five.
Adam Kloffenstein and Mason Denaburg finished out the eighth and ninth innings for Pride to secure the win, each tossing one inning without allowing a hit or a walk.
Five players on Pride recorded hits, including Alek Thomas, Christian Robinson, Poland, Ojeda and Jackson, while Bobby Witt, Binelas and Carter Young finished with two hits apiece for Free in the contest.
Bronze Medal Game: Brave 7, United 2
Through the first half of the bronze medal game, Brave and United appeared evenly matched. Brave capitalized on an early United error to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first but United didn't take long to respond.
Hunter Watson drew a walk to lead off the top of the third and Michael Perez followed with a single to put a runner in scoring position for United. A clutch two-out single from Elijah Cabell and a timely error then allowed both runners to score to give United the 2-1 lead.
Another homer, a solo shot off the bat of Ryder Green, even things up in the bottom of the fourth though and Brave never took its foot off the gas from there. A wild pitch from Bret Soulages allowed Matthew McLain to score and break the tie in Brave's favor, before Casas' three-run homer to put Brave up 6-2 in the fifth inning. Jacob Pfennings got the win while Dennis Boatman and Jake Moberg tossed a combined five innings, giving up just two hits and no runs to close it out.
The USA Baseball Tournament of Stars (TOS) is made up of 80 of the nation's best ballplayers that are international age-eligible for 18U National Team consideration (born in 1999 or later). The 40-man Trials roster will be announced on Monday, July 10, during the 2017 MLB All-Star Fanfest festivities in Miami, Florida.
Those 40 players will then compete in USA Baseball's 18U National Team trials process in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in August for a spot on the final 20-man roster which will travel to Thunder Bay, Canada for the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 World Cup, Sept. 1-10. Team USA is the three-time defending World Cup champion and will look to become the second country to win four-straight gold medals in the tournament.
