Marcus Littlewood (St. George, Utah) added three hits and two RBI while Ladson Montgomery (Jacksonville, Fla.) contributed with two hits and two runs. Every Team USA starter scored at least one run, and eight of the nine starters recorded a hit.
It took the Team USA offense three innings to come Friday afternoon. There was no score until the bottom half of the third.
In the first inning, Panama starting pitcher Andy Otero walked Tony Wolters (Vista, Calif.) before recording three-straight strikeouts. Buckel (Simi Valley, Calif.) matched Otero's effort in the top-half of the second, striking out the side.
Christian Lopes (Canyon Country, Calif.) and Michael Lorenzen (Anaheim, Calif.) each recorded a single in the USA-second inning, but Otero got his third strike out of the inning against Buckel to end USA's threat. Buckel pitched a perfect third inning, and the game was still scoreless before Team USA's at-bat in the bottom of the third.
Littlewood sparked Team USA's third-inning offensive outburst with a one-out single to right field. Harper (Las Vegas, Nev.) came to bat next and took an Otero offering deep to right center field, recording his first home run of the inning. Rodriguez (Elk Grove, Calif.) then powered a back-to-back solo shot to left field, giving Team USA a 3-0 lead. After Montgomery reached on a walk and Lopes was hit by a pitch, Nicky Delmonico (Knoxville, Tenn.) knocked a double to left field off of relief pitcher Amilcar Ayauz that scored Montgomery.
Lopes then scored on a passed ball by Panama catcher Ricardo Perez, making the score 5-0. Delmonico scored on an error by Ayauz and Lorenzen, after walking and advancing on the error, scored on another passed ball. After Ayauz issued walks to both Buckel and Wolters, Littlewood recorded his second hit of the inning when he hit an RBI double to left center, scoring Buckel.
Then it was time for a repeat performance from Harper and Rodriguez. Harper came to the plate for his second at-bat of the inning and launched a three-run homer to right field, upping the score 11-0. Rodriguez then hit a home run off of Panama's new pitcher Augustin Mayorza, making the score 12-0 and giving Harper and Rodriguez their second back-to-back home run of the inning.
The twelve-run third inning set a new record for home runs in a game by a 16U National Team. The previous record was three home runs, which had occurred in six previous games. Harper and Rodriguez also tied the record for home runs in a game with two each, shared by four 16U National Team alumni, including DJ Hicks and Lastings Milledge.
The third inning would prove to be all the offense Team USA needed the rest of the afternoon. Buckel shut Panama down in his final two innings of work and retired six of the seven batters he faced over the same span. In five-shutout innings, Buckel allowed only one hit and one walk in the win.
Team USA added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after Wolters brought Buckel in from third with a double to left, and Littlewood collected his second RBI of the day when he drove Wolters in with a single to left center, making the score 14-0. After a Montgomery single to right, Matt Lipka (Frisco, Texas) tripled to right center in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring Montgomery and making the score 15-0. The game ended after Montgomery crossed the plate in the innings shortened 15-run rule game.
Team USA moves to 1-0 at the 2008 COPABE "AA" Youth Pan American Championships. After a scheduled off day on Saturday, Sept. 13th, Team USA will take the field against Cuba Sunday night at 7:00PM CST at Estadio Beto Avila in Veracruz, Mexico.
USA Baseball is the National Governing Body of amateur baseball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The organization selects and trains the United States Olympic Baseball Team (and all other USA Baseball professional teams), the USA Baseball National Team (collegiate); the USA Baseball 18U, 16U, and 14U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women's National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year.
Log on to http://16u.mlblogs.com to follow the 16U National Team from the Trials in Miami, FL to the COPABE "AA" Pan American Championships in Veracruz, Mexico (Sept. 12-22).
