FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
NEWPORT, R.I. – Deven Marrero (Arizona State) tallied three hits and drove in two as the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team rolled to a 8-4 win over Newport Tuesday night at Cardines Field.
Marrero doubled twice and singled once as Team USA improved to 4-1 in its tour of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Marrero drove home both his runs with a two-run double in Team USA’s seventh in which the club scored three times to take an 8-2 lead.
Michael Lorenzen (Cal State Fullerton) also drove in two with a triple to the right-center gap in Team USA’s three-run fourth, giving the club the lead for good.
Josh Elander (Texas Christian), Tyler Naquin (Texas A&M) and Ronnie Freeman (Kennesaw State) all had two hits for Team USA in the win as the club finished with 12 overall.
Michael Wacha (Texas A&M) appeared in his first game for Team USA and started, allowing just three hits and two unearned runs in five innings of work. He struck out six to pick up the victory.
Both teams scored runs in the first. Elander put Team USA up first with a single through the left side that scored Marrero from second. However, Newport answered with a single by Matt Foat that allowed Robbie Ort to advance to third and score when Lorenzen had trouble fielding the ball cleanly in center.
Team USA took the lead for good in the fourth when Erich Weiss (Texas) drove in the club’s second run on an infield single. Lorenzen’s two-run triple eventually followed and Team USA scored the next seven runs before Newport managed two off reliever Matt Boyd (Oregon State) in the seventh.
Newport rallied in the eighth, loaded the bases with two out against reliever Mark Appel (Stanford). Appel, who played for the Gulls last summer, got out of the jam, however, on a 4-6 fielder’s choice to hold an 8-4 lead.
The Gulls rallied again in the ninth, putting runners at second and third with two outs against Corey Knebel (Texas) but he was able to close out the win via a strikeout of Newport’s Jack Reinheimer.
Newport’s Daniel Wright was touched for three runs in the fourth and took the loss. He was the third of eight Newport pitchers on the night.
Team USA plays in its final game in New England Wednesday when the club visits New Bedford in a game that starts at 6:30 p.m. ET. Make sure and visit usabaseball.com for a live stats link prior to the game a full recap and box score after the contests’ conclusion.
USA Notes: Virginia’s Branden Kline joined the club before the game but did not play … He last pitched against South Carolina in the College World Series … Wacha struck out the side in the third inning … Marrero’s three-hit night was his second for Team USA … His first three-hit game came in the opener against Keene … Team USA leaves for North Carolina Thursday and will fly into Charlotte before playing at Gastonia that night.
