DANVILLE, Va. — Jordan Sprinkle set the tone in the series opener for the 2021 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, scoring a run, driving in another and playing a flawless shortstop to lead the Stripes to a tiebreaker victory over the Stars Friday evening at American Legion Field in Danville, Va.
At the completion of seven full innings, the two teams found themselves deadlocked at 3-3. The Stripes walked away victorious due to a predetermined tiebreaker rule, however.
The Stripes earned two tiebreaker points for winning both the first three innings (1-0) and innings four through six (2-1). The Stars earned only one point after winning the seventh inning (2-0).
Sprinkle led the way for the Stripes, finishing 2-for-2 at the plate with a single and a double, an RBI on a sacrifice fly and a stolen base.
A pair of University of Texas products helped maintain the Stripes lead on the mound as Tanner Witt and Aaron Nixon combined to throw five innings of one-run ball. Witt fanned two batters in three scoreless innings, while Nixon yielded just one run on two hits in his two frames of work.
Witt’s effort was particularly impressive as he found himself in a jam straight out of the gate as the Stars loaded the bases in the bottom of the first. He was able to get Kyle Teel (Virginia) swinging to escape unscathed and then retired the side in order in the next two innings.
Sprinkle got the scoring started in the top of the third, using his speed to create a run. The UC Santa Barbara standout led off the frame by hustling out a double before stealing third and scoring on an error.
Just two innings later, Sprinkle came through for the Stripes again. After a leadoff walk, a stolen base and a passed ball put a runner on third with just one out, Sprinkle lifted a sacrifice fly to center to put his team up 2-0.
The Stars answered right back in the bottom of the fifth though, when Hayden Dunhurst (Ole Miss) lined out sharply to right. Although Dylan Beavers (California) made a terrific diving grab on the play, it went down as a sacrifice fly with Gavin Cross (Virginia Tech) tagging and scoring from third.
The great outfield defense continued in the sixth when Teel made an incredible throw from left field to cut down a runner at the plate, but a walk and an error in that same inning allowed the Stripes to score an unearned run and take a 3-1 advantage.
Undeterred, the Stars’ bats came alive in the bottom of the seventh when a walk and a single put two runners on for Dylan Crews (LSU) who drove them both in with a game-tying double.
The Stars and Stripes will take the field again at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday when they travel to Burlington Athletic Stadium in Burlington, N.C.
