USA's Ryan Ward Shines with Game-Winning Homer
Early Dominance by Team USA
Team USA got off to a strong start, with starter Touki Toussaint dialed in from the first pitch. Chandler Simpson drove in the first run in the top of the second with an RBI single, giving Team USA a 1-0 lead. Matt Shaw followed with a fielder's choice that brought Drake Baldwin home, extending the lead to 2-0. Toussaint continued to shine, erasing a leadoff walk in the second with a 5-4-3 double play and working out of a bigger jam in the third.
From there, Toussaint struck out two batters in a perfect fourth and was lifted after a leadoff walk in the fifth. Antonio Menendez took over and fanned his first batter on three pitches and induced a 5-3 double play to keep the U.S. in the lead.
USA's Offensive Explosion
In the top of the sixth, Baldwin kicked off the inning with a double, Luke Ritter walked, and Justin Crawford advanced the runners to second and third with a ground out. Simpson and Shaw followed with their second RBIs of the afternoon, hitting a sacrifice fly and a single respectively, extending the lead to 4-0. Carson Williams then crushed a double off the left field wall to bring Shaw home and give Team USA a five-run cushion.
Venezuela began its comeback in the bottom of the fifth, chipping into the deficit with an RBI single by Herlis Rodriguez. An inning later, Carlos J. Perez hit a two-out, solo home run to get Venezuela within three runs.
Venezuela's Dramatic Comeback
Venezuela's bullpen kept the U.S. in check in the seventh and eighth, setting the stage for the dramatic bottom half of the eighth. Hernan Perez and Carlos E. Perez both singled, and Venezuela manager Omar Lopez went to Diego Castillo off the bench to pinch-hit with two outs. Castillo hit a 1-2 pitch over the fence in left center to tie the game at five apiece.
But Ryan Ward flipped the momentum back in the United States' favor with his towering shot over the center field wall in the top of the ninth. He worked a full count against Venezuela reliever Enderson Franco before sending his 3-2 offering over the wall, giving Team USA a 6-5 lead. Zane Mills then returned to the mound and retired the first two batters before issuing a pair of two-out walks. But he locked back in and got 10-year MLB veteran Hernan Perez to pop out to first base to secure the victory.
Team USA got multi-hit games from Baldwin, Shaw, and Simpson in the victory. Shaw added two RBIs to extend his tournament lead to 14 runs batted in. Simpson now leads the tournament in hits with 15 and has swiped two more bases on Saturday, bringing his total to nine for the tournament, the most stolen bases for a U.S. player in a single tournament in team history.
Toussaint continued Team USA's trend of strong starting pitching, tossing four shutout innings and allowing two hits. U.S. starters now own a 1.38 collective ERA in 26.0 innings pitched. Menendez turned in his third scoreless outing of the tournament and Mills (1-0) earned the win, getting the final four outs of the contest. Franco (0-1) was the losing pitcher for Venezuela.
The two nations will meet for the third time of the 2024 Premier12 on Sunday for the bronze medal game. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. local/10:00 p.m. ET (Nov. 23) and the action can be streamed live on DAZN.