RESULTS & PxP | CUMULATIVE STATISTICS

PANAMA CITY – Team USA defeated Panama 4-2 in the gold medal game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier on Sunday afternoon at the Estadio Nacional Rod Carew.

The gold medal is the USA’s seventh consecutive title in World Cup qualification.

After a back-and-forth, the game went into the sixth inning with a tie, but Team USA (8-0) filled the bases with a single from Brayden JaksaA Trent Grindlinger Walk, and a Eli Willits Hit-by-pitch. It was the USA’s best hitter’s turn in the biggest moment of the game, and as had been the case throughout the tournament, Kayson Cunningham The US shortstop hit a 2-2 pitch into right-center field for a base hit, bringing Jaksa home and giving the Stars and Stripes the lead. Gavin Fien The next pitch was a sacrifice fly to right, giving Team USA a 4-2 lead.

Cooper Rummel then came out of the U.S. bullpen and retired the first two batters in just three pitches. With two outs in the seventh inning, Rummel threw a 2-1 pitch that was shot into Cunningham’s glove as the U.S. team streamed out of the dugout celebrating its seventh consecutive qualifying gold.

Before Team USA scored two runs in the sixth inning to break the tie, the United States and Panama (6-2) traded blows in the first five innings of the gold medal match. Josh Hammond started for the USA against Panamanian starter Joset Herrera. Both starting pitchers brought the team to the lead in a quick first inning before the Stars and Stripes scored the first points in the second inning. Nico Partida hit a hard grounder that slipped under the glove of Panamanian third baseman Victor Jimenez and put a runner on second base with one out, and Josh Owens laid down a perfect bunt to single and put runners on the corners. Jaksa followed with a well-hit single to left that brought Partida home and put the U.S. on the scoreboard, but Herrera managed a pop out and strikeout, putting two U.S. runners on base and keeping the game at one run.

Hammond then bypassed a two-on-one situation to bring the USA back to bat with a one-run lead in the third inning, and it looked like Team USA was ready to extend that lead. Willits hit a single to left and stole second base on the heart of the USA team, but he was thrown out trying to steal third base. Cunningham then reached second base on an error and advanced to third on a balk, but Olmedo Barria came out of Panama’s bullpen, scored a big strikeout, and then induced a groundout to end the inning as Panama continued to trail by one.

Barria’s work proved important for the host nation, which hit three consecutive singles with one out in the third inning to tie the game. A walk followed to load the bases, but Hammond came out on top and won an eight-pitch duel with Julio Casas. The Panamanian five-hitter managed to hit a crucial double play to end the inning, giving Team USA momentum back and keeping the score at 1-1.

This momentum continued until the start of the fourth inning. Owens managed a one-out walk and got to third base on a single by Jaksa, followed by a perfectly placed ground ball single by Grady Emerson to give the USA the lead back, 2-1. But again, Barria limited the damage, getting the Stars and Stripes to leave two more runners on base and limit Panama to one run.

After Austin White entered the game in the bottom of the fourth inning and pitched a scoreless inning, Team USA had another chance to extend its lead in the fifth. Fien and Partida both hit singles to put runners on the corners, but Barria hit a flyout to left to keep his team in the game. With newfound momentum, Panama managed to score the tying run in the decisive bottom of the fifth inning. Joey Wood and Jael Escobar both got walks to start the inning and a double steal put them on second and third base with no outs. Weiss then got Abel Valdez to make a groundout to shortstop, allowing Wood to score and tie the game at 2-2. With the lead run on third base and only one out, Weiss got a massive strikeout for the second out before Danielle Wood Angel Rujano came in and knocked him out, leaving the game tied at 2-2.

Wood’s big strikeout set the stage for Team USA’s big comeback in the sixth inning, which began with a leadoff single by Jaksa. Emerson followed with a sacrifice bunt to put the lead run in scoring position, after which Panama brought in Joel Gonzalez from the bullpen. The reliever walked Grindlinger after a nine-pitch battle, then hit Willits with a 1-2 pitch, setting the stage for Cunningham’s leadoff hit. Grindlinger scored on the next pitch after Fien’s sacrifice fly, giving Rummel a two-run lead coming out of the bullpen.

Rummel then made two groundouts before a lineout conveniently landed in Cunningham’s glove, securing Team USA’s 4-2 victory.

Wood was the winning pitcher after his massive strikeout in the fifth inning and his hitless sixth. Edgar Samaniego took the loss for Panama, as he was responsible for the decisive run in 0.1 innings pitched. The save went to Rummel, his second of the tournament.

Team USA collected 10 hits in the win, led by Jaksa’s 3-for-4 day that earned him game MVP honors. Partida had two hits and scored a run, while Cunningham, Fien, Emerson and Jaksa all scored runs. Seven of the nine batters in the U.S. lineup collected at least one hit.

Cunningham was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after the gold medal match. The U.S. shortstop was a major force in the U.S. team’s lineup throughout the tournament, posting 10 hits and scoring 12 runs, which was good enough for the all-time top three players. Cunningham posted an overall batting average of .417 while playing every inning as shortstop for the U.S. team.

Cunningham was also named to the All-Tournament Team, alongside Slater de Brun (OF) and Emerson (2B). de Brun scored seven runs in the tournament, placing him among the top five players, and stole three bases. Emerson batted .381 (8-for-21) with seven RBIs – including a big run-scoring hit in Sunday’s finale – and scored four runs.

Willits received the award for most runs scored after leading the tournament with eight.

In addition to winning gold in its seventh consecutive World Cup qualifier, Team USA secured a spot in the 2025 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup. The United States, along with Cuba, Panama and Puerto Rico, all qualified for next year’s World Cup.