KINGSPORT, Tenn. — Three pitchers combined to throw a combined two-hitter and the Stars launched four home runs, including two from Gavin Cross, as they cruised to a 7-0 shutout over the Stripes on Saturday night at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport, Tenn.
Stars starter Blade Tidwell (Tennessee) retired all nine batters that he faced to open the game before handing the ball over to Parker Messick (Florida State) who yielded just a walk and a double in his three scoreless innings.
Carson Palmquist (Miami) closed out the contest by putting a zero up on the board in his one inning of work to seal the first shutout for either team this summer.
At the plate, all seven of the Stars’ runs came via the longball. Cross (Virginia Tech) finished the evening 3-for-4 with home runs in the third and seventh innings to go along with a base hit and a stolen base. The Bristol, Tenn., native is now hitting at a blistering .480 clip through the first eight games of the summer.
In addition to Cross’ two blasts, Jacob Berry (LSU) and Logan Tanner (Mississippi State) also hit home runs in the win. Berry’s three-run bomb came in the top of the first and was his fourth of the summer, which is tied with Cross for the team lead.
KEY MOMENTS
- The Stars wasted no time at all offensively Saturday with Kyle Teel (Virginia) jumping on the first pitch of the game for a leadoff double. Robert Moore (Arkansas) followed with a single before Berry crushed a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right for a three-run home run.
- Caden Grice (Clemson) made the defensive play of the day in the bottom of the second when he made a leaping grab up against the wall in right to rob Brock Jones (Stanford) of a home run.
- Cross kept the momentum going in the third unleashing a monster 434-foot two-run shot to make it a 5-0 game.
- Tanner tacked on another run in the top of the fourth which he led off by rocketing a 107-mph line drive off of the left field foul pole for his first Team USA home run.
- Cross tied the ribbon on the win with his second home run of the game, a solo shot in the seventh.
NOTABLE INFORMATION
- Stars pitchers faced just three batters over the minimum in the win, yielding only two hits and one walk.
- With three more hits on Saturday, Cross now has a team-high 12 this summer, three more than any other player.
- Cross is also leading the team in batting average (.480) and OPS (1.559) and is tied for the team lead in stolen bases (3) and home runs (4).
- Berry also has four home runs, including his three-run shot Saturday which upped his team-leading RBI total to 11.
- Stripes pitchers Jaxon Wiggins (Arkansas) and Drew Thorpe (Cal Poly) both added three strikeouts Saturday to tie them with Chris Villaman (NC State) for the team lead with nine punchouts.
- Saturday’s contest marked the first time in eight games in which the Stars scored the first run of the contest.
ON DECK
- The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will have two days off before it next takes the field again in Pulaski, Va., on Tuesday, July 13. The ninth game between the Stars and Stripes will be played at 7 p.m. at Calfee Park, home of the Appalachian League’s Princeton WhistlePigs.
SOCIAL MEDIA
- Follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter for the most up-to-date information on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
