FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CARY, North Carolina – Five pitchers combined on a one-hitter while striking out 19 and AABC broke open a close game with seven runs in the final three innings to blank Babe Ruth 9-0 June 18 during the second day of the 16th Annual USA Baseball Tournament of Stars presented by Major League Baseball.
The eight-team tournament, which showcases 144 of the nation’s elite age 18-and-under high school and college athletes, concludes June 22 with the-medal games and consolation-round play. Action is taking place at Thomas Brooks Park at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
In other June 18 contests, Ethan Bright (INF; Batesville, Miss.), Jacob Marisnick (OF; Riverside, Calif.) and Keifer Nuncio (UTIL; Katy, Texas) knocked in three runs apiece to power NABF to a 12-5 victory against the USA Stars. Dixie managed only four hits but capitalized on opportunities and used clutch pitching down the stretch in rallying to nip RBI 4-3.Two other teams – American Legion and PONY – did not play today.
Three contests are scheduled for June 19. PONY (0-1) takes on the American Legion (1-0) at 1 p.m. (Eastern time). The Stars (0-1) meet Babe Ruth (1-1) at 4 p.m. The day’s final game at 7 p.m. matches NABF (1-1) and AABC (1-0). Dixie (2-0) and RBI (0-2) do not have scheduled games on June 19.
AABC stifled Babe Ruth’s bats behind the combined efforts of hurlers Jacob Turner (RHP; St. Charles, Mo.), Tyler Matzek (LHP; Mission Viejo, Calif.), Christian Jones (LHP; Danville, Calif.), Josh Turley (LHP, Texarkana, Texas), and Brooks Pounder (RHP; Temecula, Calif.). Turner whiffed six and Matzek five in three innings each of mound duty. Jones and Turley fanned the side in their one-inning relief stints while Pounders closed out the one-hitter with two strikeouts. AABC led only 2-0 after six innings but put the game away with its strong finish. Jake Williams (UT; Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Jonathan Walsh (UT; Coppell, Texas) collected two hits apiece in AABC’s 10-hit attack. Max Stassi (C; Yuba City, Calif.) had Babe Ruth’s only hit-a one-out single in the fourth inning.
NABF jumped to a 10-0 lead against the Stars. Nuncio’s three-run double highlighted a five-run first inning while Marisnick cracked a three-run homer during a four-run sixth. Bright added RBI’s in three separate plate appearances. Leadoff hitter Ryan Curl (OF; Gahanna, Ohio) notched four hits while Reed Gragnani (INF; Richmond, Va.) chipped in three of NABF’s 16 hits. Lefthander Ethan Bornstein (LHP; Maitland, Fla.) tossed six-hit ball over 4.2 scoreless innings for NABF. Cody Stiles (OF; Coral Springs, Fla.) and Robert Refsnyder (OF; Laugna Hills, Calif.) registered a pair of hits each for the Stars.
Dixie fell behind 2-1 after RBI scored twice in the fifth. But Dixie answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning. LeVon Washington (INF; Gainesville, Fla.), who had two of Dixie’s four hits and scored twice, drove in the tying run in the fifth with an infield single then scored the go-ahead run on an RBI error. Dixie scored an unearned run in the seventh to move in front 4-2. That proved pivotal as RBI tallied a run with one out in the bottom of the ninth and had the tying run at third base before Dixie reliever Richie Shaffer (RHP; Charlotte, N.C.) recorded the game’s final out. Shaffer picked up a save after allowing three hits and one run while fanning seven over the final four innings. Al Williams (OF; Detroit, Mich.) had two hits and drove in a run for RBI.
USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The organization selects and trains the United States Olympic Baseball Team (and all other USA Baseball professional teams), the USA Baseball National Team (collegiate); the USA Baseball 18U, 16U, and 14U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women’s National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year.
