USA, Cassel Top Japan, 7-3
October 06, 2011 | Baseball
PANAMA CITY, Panama --- The USA Baseball World Cup/Pan Am Team held off Japan, 7-3, behind six solid innings from starter Jeff Marquez and two-RBI days from Tuffy Gosewisch and Joe Thurston.
With the win, Team USA moves to 2-1, good for sole possession of fourth place in Pool A behind undefeated Canada, Netherlands and host nation Panama (3-0).
The U.S. got on the board first, plating two runs in the second inning. With Jordan Danks and Tommy Mendonca aboard, Gosewisch -- in his debut for the red, white and blue -- launched a double into the gap in right-center to score both runners.
After Japan knotted the score at two in its half of the fourth, the U.S. answered in the fifth with two more runs of its own behind a Thurston single, scoring Brett Jackson and Jordy Mercer.
In innings six through eight, Team USA scored one run in each frame via an RBI single from Mercer, Danks and Andrew Garcia, respectively.
Marquez (1-0) earned the win for the U.S., allowing three runs, while striking out two and walking none. He was relieved by Pete Andrelczyk, Justin Cassel and Scott Patterson, each of whom pitched one scoreless inning.
The U.S. next faces Greece (0-3) at 3 p.m. ET in Aguadulce at Remon Cantera Stadium.
As Internet is available, live scoring for all U.S. games will be available at USABaseball.com, the online home for USA Baseball. Please visit the site for schedule and roster information, tournament updates and more. Live updates can also be found on Twitter at @USABaseball. Overall tournament information can be found here.
