Team USA Downs Chinese Taipei, Secures Spot in Super Round

Matti Di Maggio homered as part of a three-hit performance and the United States handed Chinese Taipei its first loss of the week, 7-1, Monday evening at Estadio Sherwin-Williams Beto Ávila at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Baseball World Cup.

With the win, the United States improved to 4-0 in Group B pool play and secured a spot in the Super Round, which begins October 1 at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Mexico.

The United States faced its first deficit of the tournament after Chinese Taipei struck first in the second inning. The lead lasted just one inning, however, as Di Maggio swatted a leadoff home run over the right field wall to even the score in the fourth. Greyson Wuis completely shifted the momentum that same inning with a go-ahead, two-RBI triple to give the U.S. a lead it would never relinquish. Team USA added four more runs across the next two innings behind big hits from Di Maggio and Chris Worrell Jr.

Left-handed pitcher Michael Ohman made his second start of the week for the United States, turning in 2.2 innings with four punchouts. After a 13-pitch first inning, Ohman worked around traffic in the second and held Chinese Taipei to one run. With a runner in scoring position in the third, Lathan Boddie took over on the bump and needed just four pitches to get out of the inning unscathed. Boddie held Chinese Taipei scoreless over 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit to earn the win. Noah Vrzal struck out the side in a 1-2-3 sixth inning, while Jackson McAneely tossed a one-hit frame in the seventh to secure the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Chinese Taipei struck first, taking advantage of a leadoff walk issued to Cheng-Syun Huang in the home half of the second. After an error advanced Huang to third and a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners, Ohman induced a double play but conceded a run to put Chinese Taipei ahead 1-0.

• Di Maggio erased the deficit in the fourth, launching a 1-0 offering deep over the right-field wall for a leadoff homer to knot the score at 1-1.

• After Paxton Scoggin drew a walk and Tyler Early pummeled a double down the line, Wuis blasted a 2-1 pitch to deep center field for a two-RBI triple, putting the U.S. in front 3-1.

• Boddie delivered a six-pitch inning in the fourth and the U.S. went right back to work at the plate in the fifth. Once again, Di Maggio got the rally going, this time with a leadoff double.

• A bunt single from Scoggin put runners on the corners, while a sacrifice fly from Early made it 4-1.

• Wuis singled for his second hit of the day, once again putting runners on first and third, until a double from Worrell Jr. plated the pair and extended the advantage to 6-1.

• The offense kept rolling for the stars and stripes in the sixth, as Di Maggio collected his third hit of the contest with an RBI single that scored Raylen Hunter, who reached on a two-bagger, to give Team USA a 7-1 lead.

NOTABLES

• The 15U National Team is now 4-1 all-time against Chinese Taipei and has extended its winning streak against international competition to 22 games, dating back to 2022.

• Seven players combined for 11 hits in tonight’s win. Additionally, this is the third time in four games the U.S. has racked up double-digit hits.

• For the third straight game the United States has held opponents to three hits or fewer.

• After needing just six pitchers to get through the first three games, Chinese Taipei burned through six arms tonight.

• Di Maggio, Early, and Hunter are each riding four-game hit streaks.

• Hunter currently leads all players with a .706 batting average, while Di Maggio is a close second with a .700 average.

• The United States leads all teams in ERA (0.58), opponent batting average (.151), and has issued the fewest walks (nine).

ON DECK

The United States (4-0) wraps up group play tomorrow, September 29, against Venezuela (2-2) at 2:30 p.m. local/3:30 p.m. ET at Estadio Sherwin-Williams Beto Ávila in Cancún, Mexico.

To stay up to date with the USA Baseball 15U National Team, follow along with @USABaseball15U on Twitter/X, and @USABaseball on Instagram. For more information on the schedule including live statistics and streaming, visit HERE.