WAKUNI, JAPAN – Three USA Baseball Collegiate National Team pitchers combined on a one-hitter Friday to lead Team USA to a 2-0 win over Japan in Game 3 of the 43rd USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series at Kizuna Stadium. Reid Detmers (Louisville) started and threw the first five innings, Cole Wilcox (Georgia) went 2 2/3 innings in relief, and Andrew Abbott (Virginia) earned the saved by throwing the final 1 1/3 innings.
“Reid Detmers gave us a great start, then Cole (Wilcox) and (Andrew) Abbott were really good,” said manager Dan McDonnell (Louisville). “We were dominant on the mound.”
Detmers struck out four, while allowing only hit, in the first five innings to set the tone for Team USA. Wilcox followed with three strikeouts and Andrew Abbott got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth before pitching a 1-2-3 ninth.
Japan’s only hit came in the first inning from No. 3 hitter Tatsuru Yanagimachi.
Heston Kjerstad (Arkansas) hit an inside-the-park homer in the fourth inning and Alika Williams (Arizona State) lined a two-out RBI single in the fifth to provide enough offense for Team USA. Kjerstad’s homer hit high off the left field wall and the Japan outfielders could not corral it in time as Kjerstad easily ran home for a stand-up inside-the-park homer.
Many Americans were in the stands, including families stationed at the United States Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni located nearby.
“We really appreciate the Americans who came out today,” said McDonnell. “Especially knowing they are over here sacrificing so that we can live in a great country.”
Team USA is now one win away from clinching the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series in Japan for the first time in 40 years. Japan has won 15 straight series against the Collegiate National Team on its home fields.
The Collegiate National Team and Japan fly to Tokyo this afternoon and buses to Koriyama, Japan, for Game 4 of the series Saturday at Kaiseizan Stadium.
Key Moments
• Heston Kjerstad (Arkansas) hit an inside the park homer fourth on a fly ball off the wall in left field. It got away from the left fielder and Kjerstad easily scored on a stand-up inside-the-park homer.
• Luke Waddell (Georgia Tech) doubled with two outs in the fifth and Alika Williams (Arizona State) drove him in with a line drive single to right field to make it 2-0.
• Andrew Abbott (Virginia) induced a fly out to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning.
Notable Information
• The Collegiate National Team played at Kizuna Stadium for the first time ever.
• All-Star series: USA leads, 24-18
• Series in Japan: Japan leads, 17-3
• Team USA has lost 15 straight series in Japan dating back 40 years.
• Team USA lost its last series in Japan, 3-2, including a 5-4 loss in 10 innings in the deciding Game 5 on July 17, 2016 at Kusanagi Stadium in Shizuoka.
• All-Star series games: Collegiate National Team leads, 133-105-2
• Overall games: Collegiate National Team leads, 156-124-2
• The last four series (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018) have all finished 3-2. Japan won in 2013 and 2016 in Japan, while the Collegiate National Team won in 2017 and 2018 in the United States.
• Team USA has won two straight series vs. Japan, a 3-2 win in 2017 throughout the Northeast United States and a 3-2 win in 2018 in North Carolina and Georgia.
• The longest series winning streak in the series is five by Team USA from 1973-77.
On Deck
• July 20 vs. Japan (5 a.m. ET; Koriyama, Japan; Kaiseizan Stadium)
• July 21 vs. Japan (5 a.m. ET; Tokyo, Japan; Meiji Jingu Stadium)
