Game 1 Recap
CARY, N.C. — Tanner Houck (Missouri) fired a summer-long 5.2 innings and Ryan Howard (Missouri) drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning, lifting the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team to a 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei in seven innings, on Friday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
Team USA (3-3) jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the third, before Chinese Taipei answered with a two-out, two-run homer in the fourth inning. Howard then smacked a one-out RBI single to leftfield to score Nick Banks (Texas A&M) with the go-ahead run.
Houck (1-0), a 6-foot-5, 215-pounder, worked a summer-long 5.2 innings, allowing four hits and two runs, not issuing a walk and striking out three. Houck, a 2015 Freshman All-America selection, threw 80 pitches, with 50 going for strikes, facing the minimum through three innings.
With the game-tying run on second in the sixth inning, Team USA turned to Ryan Hendrix (Texas A&M) in relief. Hendrix got a groundout to escape the inning, getting a pair of outs, before handing the ball to Baseball America Freshman of the Year Brendan McKay (Louisville), who retired two hitters to earn the save.
Team USA was paced at the plate by two-hit games from Howard, Corey Ray (Louisville), Buddy Reed (Florida) and JJ Schwarz (Florida). Ray finished 2-for-4 with a pair of steals, giving him seven on the summer, with Schwarz ripping a double. Team USA also got hits from Banks, Bryson Brigman (San Diego) and an RBI from KJ Harrison (Oregon State).
Banks leads the club with a .409 average (9-for-22), adding a pair of steals and two doubles. Howard has hit .353, with Ray batting .318, leading the team with four walks and seven steals. On the mound, Houck has worked a staff-leading 8.2 innings.
The finale of the day-night doubleheader will be streamed live USAbaseball.com with Joe DiRienzo and Baseball America’s John Manuel voicing the action. First pitch at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park is slated for 7 p.m. between the clubs.
Team USA mounted a rally in the bottom of the third inning, as Ray smacked a single up the middle and stole second base two pitches later. Reed followed with a perfect bunt single to put runners on the corners for Harrison. Harrison chopped a grounder to the right side, with the throw to attempt to get Reed at second base sailing into leftfield, with Ray scoring on the RBI from Harrison and Reed scampering to third. Banks then hit into a double play, with Reed plating to give Team USA a 2-0 lead.
Chinese Taipei evened up the game with a two-out, two-run homer in the fourth inning from Kai-Wen Cheng, scoring leadoff hitter Chu Lin.
The Red, White and Blue regained the lead in the fifth inning, as Banks reached on a one-out single on a 2-2 offering. After stealing second base, Banks scored on a RBI single from Howard to leftfield.
Chinese Taipei (2-1) starter Tzu-Peng Huang (0-1) worked five innings, allowing nine hits and three runs – two earned – not issuing a walk and striking out four. Wei-Chih Lin worked the sixth inning.
Game 2 Recap
DURHAM, N.C. — Second baseman Bryson Brigman (San Diego) collected a pair of hits and helped turn two double plays, sparking the USA Collegiate National Team to a 5-2 win over Chinese Taipei, on a gorgeous Friday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Complex.
A native of San Jose, Calif., Brigman helped Team USA escape a pair of jams with double plays, the first two twin killings of the summer for the Collegiate National Team. He was 2-for-3 at the plate, with a key RBI double in the seventh inning. Team USA rallied from a one-run hole with a three-run sixth and the RBI knock from Brigman in the seventh. Chinese Taipei plated single runs in the third and sixth inning.
The win extends Team USA’s winning streak to three games, including a doubleheader sweep on Friday. Team USA posted a 3-2 win in the opener of the day-night doubleheader, behind a strong start from Tanner Houck (Missouri). Team USA and Chinese Taipei are playing a seven-game series, with the series even at 2-2 through four contests.
Brigman has hit .350 (7-for-20) in his first seven games with Team USA, after batting .339 as a freshman for coach Rich Hill, Team USA’s third-base coach, at San Diego in 2015.
Team USA (4-3) starter A.J. Puk worked 3.2 innings, allowing six hits and one run, walking one and striking out two. He threw 51 pitches, with 35 going for strikes, and nine of the 16 hitters he faced started with first-pitch strikes.
With two runners on and two outs in the fourth, Team USA turned to righty Robert Tyler (Georgia) in relief, with the native of Cordele, Ga., getting a strikeout to escape the jam. Tyler (2-0) worked two innings, allowing a run on two hits and two walks, striking out one. With the tying run in scoring position and two outs in the seventh, Team USA utilized righty Stephen Nogosek (Oregon) to escape the jam. Nogosek struck out the first three hitters he faced, working 3.1 shutout innings, totaling six strikeouts and throwing just 37 pitches for his first save of the summer.
Team USA collected nine hits in the game, with Brigman and Corey Ray (Louisville) each charting two-hit games that included a double. Team USA also got a two-RBI double from Buddy Reed (Florida) and an RBI hit from Nick Banks (Texas A&M). KJ Harrison (Oregon State), Ryan Howard (Missouri), Brendan McKay (Louisville) and Garrett Hampson (Long Beach State) each had hits.
Team USA will return to action on Saturday, hosting Chinese Taipei in a 1:05 p.m. first pitch at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Chinese Taipei took a lead in the third inning, as Kai-Wen Cheng led off with a double off the wall in leftfield.
Yu-Hung Chen then lined a single to rightfield, with Cheng scoring for a 1-0 lead. Banks threw out Cheng at second base for the first out, before Yu-Ning Taso singled up the middle, taking second on a fielding error.
Team USA took the lead in the sixth inning, as Hampson led off with a bunt single, taking third on Ray’s double off the leftfield wall. Reed followed with his own double off the Blue Monster in leftfield, scoring Hampson and Ray. After a productive groundout from Harrison, Banks rifled a single up the middle with the infield in to score Reed.
Taiwan got a run back in the sixth inning, as Po-Jung Wang singled to leadoff and Chih-Hsien Lin replaced him at first on a fielder’s choice. Chih-Chieh Su then ripped a double off the wall in right-centerfield, scoring Wang.
In the top of the seventh, Team USA got a leadoff single from Howard, who was sacrificed to scoring position by Brendan McKay (Louisville). Brigman then smacked a double off the ball of the wall in left-centerfield, scoring Howard for a 4-2 lead.
Team USA added a run in the ninth inning as JJ Schwarz (Florida) drew a walk and pinch runner Anfernee Grier (Auburn) replaced him at first. Grier immediately stole second on a ball-in-dirt read, taking third on a sacrifice bunt from Howard. McKay then ripped a single up the middle with the infield in to give USA a 5-2 lead.
Chinese Taipei (2-2) starter Chia-Hao Sung worked 5.1 innings, allowing six hits and two runs, walking one and striking out six. Wei-Fan Tsai, Ming-Chien Lin, Shih-Ying Peng and Kai-Hsiang Hsu each worked in relief.
