West Palm Beach, Fla. - Richmond Braves 16U National and Elev8 Select both had strong showings during their matchup on the first day of the 16U 2019 National Team Championships in Florida, resulting in a 6-6 tie.
Elev8 Select struck first when Rene Lastres (1-for-3) blasted a two-run home run to left field to put Elev8 up 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning. A third run came in the second inning after Fabio Ferrer (1-for-1) drew a walk, advanced to third on a Richmond error and scored on a single from Brady Strelitz (1-for-3).
The runs kept coming for Elev8 Select, with two more in the third inning. A single from Cristian Perello (1-for-4) put him on base and a balk by the pitcher moved him into scoring position. Carlos Rey (1-for-2) singled to bring Perello home and put himself on first with one out. Rey advanced to second base on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on a Richmond error to increase Elev8's lead to 5-0.
Richmond Braves 16U National plated a run of its own in the top of the fifth inning. Jaron McNeil (0-for-1) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a groundout. McNeil scored on a double from Witt Scafidi (2-for-3), making the score 5-1.
Elev8 Select responded when Rey reached base on a Richmond error then stole second and home, regaining a five-run lead.
The top of the sixth inning brought two runs for Richmond, one by Tristan Shoemaker (1-for-3) on an Elev8 error and the other by Elijah Lambros (1-for-4) on a groundout from Kyle Fields (0-for-3).
Richmond tied the game at six in the seventh inning after an Elev8 error and pair of singles scored Cameron Murray (0-for-2) with runners on the corners then a stolen base by Bryce Suters (1-for-4) and double from Shoemaker scored both Scafidi and Suters.
Sebastian Garrido got the start and the most time on the mound for Elev8 Select, pitching for five innings. In his time, he threw for one run on one hit and struck out four batters. Ethan Ketron started for Richmond Braves 16U National and had five runs on four hits with two strikeouts in his 2.1 innings.
The game ended in a 6-6 tie due to the time limit at the National Team Championships in Florida. Both teams will head into the second day of gameplay with a 0-0-1 record.