Team USA edges Canada 1-0 to advance to Championship Game

FROM TEAM USA RELEASE

(PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia) – Andy Wilkins hit an RBI triple in second inning and Gerrit Cole (UCLA) pitched a complete game two-hitter as Team USA beat Canada, 1-0, at the 2009 Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline World Baseball Challenge at Prince George Citizen Field.

Yasmani Grandal (Miami) hit a single to right field with two outs and Wilkins followed with an RBI triple off of the scoreboard in left center to put the U.S. (18-5; 5-1) up 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning.

The one run cushion was all USA starting pitcher Cole (4-0) needed as he pitched all nine innings giving up only two hits. Cole hit two batters and walked one but did not allow a runner to reach third base. He finished the game with seven strikeouts and struck out the side in the top of the ninth.

Canada starting pitcher Jordan Rawlyk pitched four innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out two U.S. batters. Reliever Eric Brown came in for four innings and only allowed one hit.

Both benches cleared in the top of the eighth inning when Canadian base runner Nic Lendvoy slid hard into second base on a double play that caused Team USA captain and starting shortstop Christian Colon (Cal State Fullerton) to be carried off the field. The umpires contained the situation and the game promptly restarted.

With the win, Team USA automatically advances to the Championship game, Sunday, July 26, at 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET). The U.S. will face the winner of Team Canada and a play in game between British Columbia and Germany. Drew Pomeranz (Ole Miss) is expected to take the mound for Team USA.

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About Brian Foley

Brian Foley is the founder and Lead Editor of College Baseball Daily since its inception in 2005. He has covered two CWS, multiple NCAA Baseball Regionals, and other special events across the country. In addition to his duties with College Baseball Daily, he has covered games for Inside Lacrosse and been featured in USA Today, Wall Street Journal among other publications. He can be contacted by email at editor at collegebaseballdaily.com and followed on Twitter @BFoley82.

http://tbirdbaseball.net/ Bob Broughton

More affilations: Rawlyk – Monterey Peninsula JC, transferring to Sonoma State
Brown, Lendvoy – British Columbia

The second base umpire said that Lendvoy’s slide into second was 100% clean.
alohaball

What is your opinion as to Team USA refusing to form the congratulatory line with Canada at the end of the game?
http://thecollegebaseballblog.com Brian Foley

Both benches cleared during the game, so I can understand why Team USA would refuse to shake hands as they didn’t want an incident to happen.
Bob Broughton

Alohaball, I was in Bellingham, WA, last night, not Prince George, but what I heard is, the bench clearing that Brian referred to was defused fairly quickly. However, there was a LOT of hostility between the (very pro-Canada) crowd and the US team, and the US players, shall we say, responded with hostility. It’s not surprising that they didn’t want to stick around after it was over.

I HAVE seen a lot of Nic Lendvoy over the past three seasons. He missed most the 2008 season with an injury, hit .288 in 2009, .341 in 2007. He’s a good ballplayer, and not the sort of guy who’s going to think, “That’s Christian Colon covering second, maybe I shouldn’t try to break up the double play.”

And, while I’ve got the microphone, here’s the box score: http://www.ballcharts.com/teams/files/W/worldbaseball/photos/jul24c.txt
It says the attendance was 1,500; I heard 1,800. And, it says that Colon completed the DP, despite what turned out to be two broken bones.
http://thecollegebaseballblog.com Brian Foley

He might have gotten hit after releasing the ball to first base!

Team USA edges Canada 1-0 to advance to Championship Game

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