12U: CHAMPS! Team USA Wins Gold, Three-Peats as World Champions

With the win, the 12U National Team has captured its sixth U-12 World Cup trophy, ninth overall gold medal, and fifth first-place finish in international competition in the past four years. Championship Sunday featured the second leg in a back-to-back matchup between Japan and the United States, with Team USA coming out on top in both contests and outscoring Japan by a 15-1 margin.

After the last out was recorded just past 10 p.m. local time on Saturday, the stars and stripes took to the diamond just 12 hours later in the most crucial game of the week. The 18-player roster revealed no sign of weariness, however, as the defending champions took it to one of the top-performing teams in the tournament on a muggy Sunday morning.

Tallying only three hits and putting up a goose egg in the run column in the first matchup, Japan adapted to the hard-throwing arms of the United States and altered its lineup accordingly, sticking with its top bats in Taiki Toyama and Shinnosuke Yoshizuka in the first two slots while shuffling the bottom half of the lineup. Toyama came out swinging and belted the first pitch of the contest, banging off the wall for a long single. In what seemed to be a sign of success, Japan sent six batters to the plate in the first and was rewarded with its first run in its last seven innings of offense after a wild pitch brought Toyama around to score.

Just as the squad had done the night prior, Team USA came out of the gates swinging, this time putting up a three spot to rob Japan of any momentum it may have gained. Nolan Hatch got the frame started and battled with two strikes, winning the first at-bat of the game for the U.S. with a hard-hit single to center. After Kristian Valadez picked up his tournament-leading ninth walk and AJ Elliott drew a four-pitch free pass, Jack Carson came up big and golfed a 3-1 offering to deep right center, good for a two-out, two-RBI double. Jaxon Spray followed suit and drove in the third run, as for the second time in as many days, the United States’ bats proved too much to handle, forcing a first-inning pitching change from Japan.

Japan’s initial offensive success was short-lived, however, as the arms of Spray and Barret Schell rose to the occasion and smothered any glimmer of hope Japan may have had at revenge. Spray recalibrated in the second inning, needing only 15 pitches to flip the frame. The Tennessee native only got sharper as the contest progressed, throwing nine pitches and facing only four batters in the third.

Still 3-1, Japan managed to take advantage of a two-out error in the fourth and land a runner in scoring position. After Spray fired his 52nd pitch, Team USA turned the ball over to one of its go-to arms in Schell, who immediately induced a 4-3 groundout to leave a runner on. Spray’s night ended after 3.2 innings pitched, as he yielded three hits, one run, and struck out four in the process.

Similar to the start of the contest, Hatch got the U.S. started off the right foot and revitalized the dugout with a base knock. Christopher Chikodroff proceeded to notch his first hit of the game and plate Hatch, who flashed his speed and scored from first.

Schell threw six pitches in the fifth–all strikes–to send Team USA back up to the plate and add on to its 4-1 advantage. The red, white, and blue did just that, as Russell McGee doubled for his first hit of the ball game and scored Spray who reached on a single. Hatch, who was at the nucleus of Team USA’s offensive effort tonight, later won a seven-pitch at-bat to chalk his fourth hit of the night and tack on two insurance runs, making it 7-1.

Showing not an inkling of nerves, Schell mounted the bump in the final frame and shut the door on Japan, hurling 12 pitches and securing the final out of game via strikeout. In a total-team effort, the United States improved to 8-1 in the tournament and hoisted the WBSC U-12 World Cup trophy for the third time in four years.

TEAM USA AWARDS

• Most Valuable Player: Christopher Chikodroff (.533 BA, 1.263 OPS, 16 H, 10 RBIs, 5 2B)

ALL-WORLD TEAM

• P: Shotaro Hashimoto (Japan)
• C: Gaston Gaxiola (Mexico)
• 1B: Riku Sahashi (Japan)
• 2B: Jose Armenta (Mexico)
• 3B: Kristian Valadez (USA)
• SS: Cheng Hsieh (Chinese Taipei)
• OF: Christopher Chikodroff (USA)
• OF: Cheng-en Hu (Chinese Taipei)
• OF: Sean Garcia (Cuba)

SOCIAL MEDIA
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