KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team’s Stars vs. Stripes series commenced on Sunday night at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis, North Carolina. The teams got through nearly five complete innings with the score knotted at 3-3 before inclement weather halted the rest of play.
The Stripes got on the board early when Chris Rembert (Auburn) led off the game with an outfield single, stole second, and scored on a base hit to right field by Juan Cruz (Georgia). In the second, the Stripes added two more runs to take a 3-0 lead, but the Stars answered with a pair of runs in the bottom frame to cut their deficit to one.
In the top of the inning, Myles Bailey (Florida State) and Broedy Poppell walked and singled, respectively, to allow Nolan Traeger (TCU) to drive in the first run with an RBI single to center field. With Poppell at third, KJ Scobey’s (South Carolina) sacrifice fly to right field brought him home.
In the bottom of the second, AJ Gracia (Virginia) sparked the scoring by drawing a leadoff walk and moving to second on a groundout, and then RBI doubles by Mulivai Levu (UCLA) and Zion Rose (Louisville) made the score 3-2 after two complete.
After two scoreless innings, the Stars knotted things up at 3-3 when Ryder Helfrick (Arkansas) launched a solo home run over the right field wall. Inclement weather then halted play and eventually kept the teams from finishing the contest.
Cruz and Rose led all players offensively with two hits each, while seven other players tallied a hit in the rain-shortened contest. On the bump, Landon Mack and Brett Renfrow (Virginia Tech) turned in scoreless outings, allowing just one hit each in two innings pitched. Additionally, Jason DeCaro (North Carolina) tossed a scoreless inning and fanned two batters.
USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team Training Camp Stars vs. Stripes series will continue on Monday, June 30, with game two at the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. ET, and the contest will be streamed on USABaseball.TV.
For the most up-to-date information on the Collegiate National Team, visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseballCNT and @USABaseball on Twitter/X, and @USABaseball on Instagram.
