CARY, N.C. - The 15U National Team delivered a dynamic performance in their Team USA debut, downing the Best in Class Showcase squad 23-3 Sunday evening at Coleman Field at the National Training Complex.
The team pounded out 17 hits, led by four multi-hit performers. Outfielders Tyree Reed (Vallejo, Calif.) and Luke Leto (Portage, Mich.), second baseman Joe Brown (Petaluma, Calif.), and designated hitter Josh Hartle (King, N.C.) each registered two hits as Brown and Hartle doubled. Reed drove in three, while Brown, Leto, and catchers Charlie Saum (Ventura, Calif.) and Karson Bowen (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) each registered two. Shortstop Justin Colon (Carolina, P.R.) also drove in two, tripling in the fifth.
First baseman Ryan Clifford (Raleigh, N.C.) also registered three RBI after a walk (his first of four on the day) and bases-clearing triple. He scored and Hartle each scored four times, while Leto came home three, and the quartet of second baseman Davis Diaz (Pittsburg, Calif.), outfielder Thomas DiLandri (Las Vegas, Nev.), Bowen, and Reed all came home two times apiece.
USA attacked right away, plating five runs in the first, four in each the second, third, and fifth frames, and then added six in the sixth.
The red, white, and blue held the BIC squad hitless until the third, and scoreless until the sixth. Right hander Rheego McIntosh (Temecula, Calif.) picked up the win, tossing the first two frames allowing just one walk. Reliever Sam Dutton (Rainbow City, Ala.) continued to impress on the mound, striking out the side in the fifth inning on just 11 pitches.
USA returns to action Monday, facing off against the 16U NTDP Stars at 4:30 p.m. on Coleman Field.