ECUADOR – The United States scoreless streak was threatened by the host country, but in the end they were no match for the high-powered U.S. offense. Cameron Miller, Ryan Kirby and Jake Jarvis all homered, as the 14U National Team secured the top seed for the semifinals with a 19-0 win over Ecuador, Thursday morning at La California Stadium.

It was another balanced offensive effort for the U.S., as six players had multi-RBIs and six others had multiple runs. J.P. Crawford, Nate Mondou and Kirby all had two hits for the U.S.

Jarvis hit the team’s second grand slam in as many games with his first home run in the fifth inning. Crawford stole three bases and scored two runs, while Chris Rivera scored four runs and stole two bases of his own.

The 14U Team faced its biggest threat of the tournament in the second inning. Ecuador led off with a hit, and two Joe Dudek walks loaded the bases with nobody out. However, Dudek struck out the next batter and induced a 1-2-3 double play to get out of the inning.

Dudek (1-0) pitched four scoreless innings to get the win, increasing the 14U Team’s scoreless streak in international play to six games and 25 innings. The 14U Team has shut out its opponents in nine of its last 10 games.

It was also Dudek’s second win in international competition, as he was the winning pitcher in a 12-1 win over El Salvador on Dec. 3, 2008; which was also the last time a team has scored against the 14U Team.

The U.S. took a 3-0 lead in the first. After a J.P. Crawford single and Chris Rivera walk, the pair stole third and second respectively. Nate Mondou then singled through the left side for the game’s first run. One batter later, a wild pitch would score Rivera and send Mondou from first to third to make it a two-run U.S. lead. Mondou would come around on a two-out error for the third run of the frame.

After the scare in the second, the U.S. responded with three runs in the third. Rivera was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Miller hit his second home run of the tournament for a 5-0 U.S. lead. Dudek would help his own cause by driving in Mondou with an RBI groundout for a six-run cushion.

The U.S. put up five more runs in the fourth. Rivera posted a two-run double and Mondou brought him home with a groundout to short. Kirby followed that with a towering home run to right for the fourth U.S. run, and Dempsey Grover capped the scoring with an RBI double for an 11-0 U.S. lead.

The U.S. continued the rout with an eight-run fifth inning. Jake Jarvis’ grand slam capped the inning, as Kirby added an RBI walk, Miller scored on a wild pitch and Cole Bedford had a two-run single to precede the home run.

The U.S. will play in tomorrow’s first semifinal game against an opponent to be determined. The team has secured the number one seed and will play at 10:00 a.m.

Photo: J.P. Crawford stole three bases and scored two runs for the U.S. on Thursday. (Andrew Norden)

Source: USA Baseball

Tags: USA Baseball