Red/Blue split Wednesday twinbill
Blue takes game one, 5-0; Red wins night cap, 3-1
Game Two
• VIDEO: Logan Shore post-game interview
• VIDEO: Keegan Thompson post-game interview
The Red team returned to the park Wednesday evening after dropping its second straight game to the Blue team that morning. The team resonded with dominate pitching and clutch hitting to pick up the win, 3-1.
With the game tied, 1-1,in the bottom of the eigth inning, the Red team scraped together two runs to seal its first victory of the 2012 18U National Team Trials. Second baseman Ro Coleman worked a lead off walk to get the rally started. With Ryan Boldt up to bat, Coleman stole second, before Boldt was eventually walked. Eugene Vazquez executed a successful sacrifice bunt to push the runners up. After Willie Abreu was walked to load the bases, Logan Shore stepped to the plate with the opportunity to put his team ahead.
Blue team hurler Kevin Davis got Shore down 0-2, but then Shore watched a ball, before hitting a hard ground ball to the second baseman. Nico Giarratano could not handle the ball, and it rolled away into the outfield, scoring Coleman and Boldt to give the Red team a 3-1 lead.
"He got me down 0-2," said Shore. "I was just looking for a fastball away, I got my hands to it, hit a hard ground ball that went through and scored a couple of runs."
The blue team had jumped out to an early lead in the second inning when Drew Ward came around to score on an Reese McGuire ground out to the shortstop. Up 1-0, the Blue pitching staff seemed in complete control early.
Starter Rob Kaminsky fired three shut out innings, allowing just two hits while fanning three. He was relieved by Keegan Thompson, who was perfect out of the bullpen. Thompson retired all nine hitters he faced, including five on strike outs. "The first inning I felt great," said Thompson. "The last two innings my arm was kind of tired, but I worked through it and got the guys out."
The Red team did not get on the board until the seventh inning when Christian Arroyo crushed a duble down the left field line for a two-out RBI-double. Chris Okey, who singled to center, came around to score from first on the play and tie the game, 1-1.
Stephen Gonsalves, Carson Sands and Billy Roth combined to allow just six hits while striking out 11 and walking just three for the Red team. Roth picked up the win with three innings of relief.
Davis was hit with the loss for the Blue team, allowing the three runs--two earned--over two and one-third innings of work. The Blue pitching staff also combined to strike out 11 hitters on the night.
Game One
The 18U National Trials Team kicked off Tuesday morning with a six inning game at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. The Blue team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, shutting out the Red team, 5-0.
Ian Clarkin allowed just two hits over two and two-thirds innings to collect the victory for the Blue team. Reliever Cameron Varga was equally as dominant, allowing just three hits over three innings while striking out two and not issuing a walk.
After trading zeros in the first inning, the Blue team offense got to Red team starter Hunter Green.
Catcher Reese McGuire worked a lead off walk for the Blue team, to get the rally started. Garrett Williams walked, and Andy McGuire sacrificed the runners over to give the Blue team runners on second and third with one out. After Cavan Biggio walked,--including a ball four wild pitch that scored, McGuire--Dom Nunez saw four balls, loading the bases. The National Team coaching staff elected to roll the inning and move to the bottom of the third because of pitch counts.
The Red team responded with a rally of their own. After Logan Shore grounded out to start the inning, Clarkin issued back-to-back walks to Nick Ciuffo and Willie Abreu. However, Ciuffo was erased when he was picked off, and the National Team coaching staff rolled the inning following a Christian Arroyo hit-by pitch, perserving the shut out.
The boys in blue extended their lead in the top of the third inning when Jeremy Martinez and Reese McGuire hit back-to-back RBI-doubles to give them a 3-0 lead. Again the inning was rolled to perserve pitch counts.
The Blue team would put their final two runs on the board in the top of the fourth inning when Dom Nunez cranked a two-RBI double down the left field line, bringing around Williams and Andy McGuire who both walked to lead off the inning.
That would end the scoring for the day as pitchers Dominic Taccolini and Cameron Varga would trade zeros the rest of the day.
The 18U National Team Trials continue on Thursday morning with a Red/Blue game at 11:00 a.m. Following Thursday's action, the players will be seperated with members of the College National Team to play the first two games of the Prospect Classic at the Durham Bull's Athletic Park. Members of the 18U and CNT will be split into two teams--the stars and the stripes--and play Friday at 3:05 p.m. and Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.
Following game two of the Prospect Classic, the 18U National Team Trials roster will be cut from 40 players to 28, who will take on the College National Team in the final two games of the Prospect Classic.
