CARY, N.C. - Canes National used a three-run third and four-run fourth to stay undefeated and secure its spot in the 16U National Team Championships North Carolina gold medal game with a 10-6 victory over Elite Squad in the semifinal matchup on Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.

Ryan Clifford (2-for-2; 2 RBIs), Xavier Isaac (2-for-3; 4 RBIs) and AJ Shepard (2-for-4; 2 RBIs) led the Canes National offense, collecting six of the team's seven hits in the game and all eight RBIs. Elite Squad was paced at the plate by Derek Bermudez (3-for-4) who recorded the game's only three-hit performance and was responsible for three of Elite Squad's five RBIs in the game.

Tristan Smith (1-0) earned the win in the contest for Canes National after putting together a solid start, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four in three innings of work. The loss in the contest went to Patrick Galle (0-1) after he gave up five runs on four hits and three walks in his 2.1-inning start.

KEY MOMENTS

• Elite Squad jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first when two walks, a single and fielder's choice at the plate put runners at second and third for Ray Bermudez who came through with an RBI single to give Elite Squad a 1-0 advantage.
• Canes National tied the game with the first chance it got, scoring a run on a balk in the bottom of the first after getting batters to first and third with a two-out walk and single.
• With two outs, a runner at second and the game tied, AJ Shepard came up clutch with a double to give Canes a 2-1 lead heading into the second inning.
• Following a scoreless second inning, Elite Squad tied the game at 2-2 with back-to-back doubles from Blake Cyr and Derek Bermudez to start the second inning.
• After escaping a two-on, no-out jam in the top of the third, Canes National kept the momentum in the bottom half, drawing two walks to lead off the frame before Clifford singled through the right side to make it 3-2 in Canes National's favor.
• An RBI-groundout by Xavier Isaac and a second Shepard RBI-double chased the Elite Squad starter Patrick Galle and brought two more runs across to increase the Canes National lead to 5-2.
• A bases-loaded walk got the scoring started in the bottom of the fourth before Isaac came through once again, this time lacing a two-RBI single through the right side to give Canes National a commanding 8-2 lead.
• Canes National pushed one more across the plate in the inning when Clifford stole home to make it a 9-2 game heading into the fifth inning.
• A leadoff single by Freddy Oquendo and a one-out RBI-double by Derek Bermudez add a run for Elite Squad in the top of the fifth and cut the deficit to six.
• Elite Squad put three more runs on the board in the top of the sixth on a bases-loaded single, error and hit-by-pitch to make it a 9-6 game.
• Canes National strung together two walks and two singles to tack on one final run in the bottom of the sixth to finish off the 10-6 victory.

NOTABLE INFORMATION

• Canes National improved to 7-0 in the 16U National Team Championships North Carolina with Sunday morning's semifinal win and advanced to play the only other remaining undefeated team in the event, East Cobb Astros, in the gold medal game on Sunday at 11:20 a.m. ET.
• The gold medal game will be streamed live via PlaySight Interactive. Information on the live stream can be found here.
• Elite Squad fell to 3-1-3 with the loss and will play Florida Burn for the 16U National Team Championships North Carolina bronze medal on Sunday at 11:15 a.m. ET.E
• The bronze medal game will be streamed live with a single camera and broadcasted on the USA Baseball YouTube channel. The stream can be viewed here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

• • Follow @USABChamps_NC on Twitter for the most up-to-date information on the 2020 USA Baseball National Team Championships North Carolina.