CARY, N.C. -- The Blue team overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Red team 7-6 in the first game of the USA Baseball 14U National Team Development Program at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

The Red squad jumped out to an early lead when it pushed across five runs in the third inning, which was punctuated by an RBI single from Nick Allen and a two-run single from Maverick Handley.

In the top of the fifth however, the Blue team began its comeback. Christopher Rodriguez plated two when he smashed a double to right field, and Michael Richey made it a 5-3 game when he drove Rodriguez in with a base hit.

Red fired back with an RBI single from Johnny Mendoza which gave the team a 6-3 lead in the top of the sixth, but Blue narrowed the gap to 6-5 when it scored two runs on an error from Brandon Moore in the bottom half of the inning.

After a scoreless seventh inning, Gian Luca Dilatri made the most of his only at-bat of the game as he led off the top of the eighth with a booming home run to left field to knot the game at six. Later in the inning, Dominic Foscalina broke the tie and gave the Blue team the lead when he drove in Andrew Vaughn with an RBI single.

Garrett Hodges pitched a scoreless eighth inning to shut the door and pick up the save while Russell Smith earned the win for the Blue team. Nick Gallardo was tagged with the loss for Red.

The game was ended early due to limited pitching availability

Rodriguez had a team-high three RBIs on the night and Jordan Williams led the team with two base hits. For the Red team, Maverick Handley was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.

Mason Thompson and Kevin Milam were the starting pitchers for the Blue and Red teams respectively, and both pitched equally well. Each of them threw two innings and only allowed one hit while only combining for three walks.

The 14U NTDP will resume on-field action Sunday morning at the NTC with practice in the morning and the second Red vs. Blue game in the evening.

All practices and games are open and free to the public.