U-18 Baseball World Cup: Canada comes up just short against U.S.
Photo: Baseball Canada/Twitter
September 12, 2022
Baseball Canada
SARASOTA, Florida - Team Canada gave the United States everything they had but fell short in a 7-6 loss to remain winless at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup.
Team USA took the early lead, thanks to a wild pitch in the bottom of the second inning that would score Bryce Eldridge who had singled.
The Juniors responded with four runs in the top half of the third. After Myles Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) walked with the bases loaded to tie the game 1-1, Hugh Pinkney (Toronto, Ont.) stepped up to the plate and smashed a two-RBI single to make it 3-1 for Canada. Sam Shaw (Victoria, BC) followed with an RBI single to put Canada ahead 4-1.
The United States responded with a run in the bottom of the third, as Kevin McGonigle scored after the juniors couldn’t complete what would’ve been a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play. The Americans added another run in the bottom of the fourth.
Pinkney would collect his third RBI in the top of the fifth with a ground ball that scored Sam White (Aurora, Ont.) who had reached on an infield single to make the score 5-3 Canada.
The Americans, however, would flip the score in the bottom of the fifth when Max Clark delivered a two-run home run to tie the game 5-5. A McGonigle triple and a wild pitch then allowed the U.S. to take a 7-5 lead.
Zak Szabo (Whitby, Ont.) was electric on the mound for the juniors. After working out of trouble in the bottom of the fifth, the right-hander struck out the side in the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, Pinkney singled to load the bases, after an error allowed White to reach and a walk was issued to Naylor. Ty Hamilton (Orleans, Ont.) then registered a one-out walk that made the score 7-6. But the U.S. pitching staff bounced back and struck out the last two hitters to secure the win.
Canada will now play South Africa on Tuesday at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota with the first pitch set for 3 p.m. E.T.