OKINAWA, Japan – Team USA scored seven runs in the sixth inning to beat Australia by run-rule, 11-1, and finish World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup pool play undefeated on Tuesday morning at Okinawa Cellular Stadium.

The U.S. wraps up Group B play with a 5-0 record ahead of the Super Round, which begins on Thursday.

Coleman Borthwick started on the mound on Tuesday and was unhittable, turning in three perfect innings with six strikeouts. As the big righty shoved, the U.S. offense capitalized on wild pitching and defensive mistakes, getting a run in the first and three more in the second. Australia (2-3) scratched one across in the fifth to make it a three-run contest, but an offensive onslaught by the stars and stripes in the sixth put the game away.

The first two tallies of the seven-run frame came courtesy of a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and an RBI fielder’s choice. After that, three straight hits by Andrew Costello and Jaden Jackson produced four runs, and Aiden Ruiz drew a bases-loaded walk to complete the run-rule win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Team USA scored a first-inning run for the third consecutive game when CJ Sampson brought home Grady Emerson with an RBI ground out.
• Borthwick struck out the side in the second frame, racking up half of his strikeout total in that inning alone.
• The U.S. showed patience at the plate and took advantage of a pair of defensive miscues in the second, as RBI walks by Emerson and Sampson sandwiched a run-scoring throwing error to make it a 4-0 United States lead.
• Australia was able to muster a run across in the fifth, loading the bases against Brody Crane and scoring on a wild pitch by Kaden Waechter. Waechter got a strikeout and pop out to halt the threat and keep the U.S. in front by three.
• Leading by three in the bottom of the sixth, Team USA’s offense rattled off seven runs to win by run-rule. Jacob Lombard started the inning with a single and later scored on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, followed by an RBI fielder’s choice from Jorvorskie Lane Jr. to make it 6-1.
• Costello came to the dish with the bases full and blooped a single into no-man’s land in center field, bringing all three runners around to score and giving the United States a 9-1 advantage.
• Jackson singled to plate Costello for the team’s 10th run, and a pair of bases-loaded walks to Emerson and Ruiz led to the final tally of the 11-1 win.

NOTABLES

• Borthwick, Crane, and Waechter combined to allow just two hits and two walks in the six-inning contest, lowering the United States’ team-best WHIP to 0.63 and batting average against to .123.
• Borthwick joins Carson Bolemon and Trey Rangel as the three United States pitchers who have tossed at least three innings and allowed zero hits.
• Costello entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the fifth and finished with two hits, including his bases-clearing knock in the sixth. Emerson (2-for-3, 2 BB) and Lombard (2-for-4) also picked up two-hit days.
• Team USA is batting .344 as a team and reaching base at a .491 clip, both the highest marks at the World Cup. Its 43 runs scored are also tops in the tournament.
• This marks the 10th time in 31 trips to the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup that Team USA has started 5-0.
• The U.S. improves its record against Australia to 17-5 at the U-18 level. The red, white, and blue have won 15 of the last 16 matchups dating back to 1992.

ON DECK

Team USA awaits its first WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Super Round matchup. The Super Round, which consists of three games, begins on Thursday, September 11, and can be seen live on Gametime.sport.