By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

USA Baseball’s 18U National Team won the gold medal at the Pan American Championship in La Paz, Mexico, in bizarre fashion Sunday night. Facing Cuba, the U.S. was leading 1-0 in the bottom of the third when players were pulled off the field over concern about approaching weather with Hurricane Odile down the coast. Tournament officials ultimately canceled the game and declared Team USA champions.

OF Trent Clark (Richland HS, TX) drove in the lone run with a single in the first inning. Though that hit and RBI didn’t count toward the tournament’s final stats, Clark made his case for MVP honors with a .565/.694/1.043 line in eight games. He hit three home runs, drove in 20 and scored 15. He also struck out just once in 23 at-bats.

LHP Kolby Allard (San Clemente HS, CA) got the start against Cuba and struck out seven in three innings while allowing one hit and two walks. He struck out 10 in five innings in his other tournament start, allowing one run on four hits and two walks.

Overall, Team USA outscored opponents 110-5, excluding the 1-0 lead over Cuba in the gold medal game. The pitching staff sported an ERA of 0.71 in 51 innings with 67 total strikeouts. No regular hit under .364 and 10 of 11 position players hit better than .300.

“This is one of the most dominating teams that I have ever been a part of,” 18U National Team manager Andy Stankiewicz said in the postgame release. “We used the word relentless around them a lot and they totally bought in. They were relentless in every facet of the game. They didn’t give up at-bats and every pitcher came in and topped the guy before him.”

Congratulations to Team USA. Team Canada beat Mexico earlier in the day to win bronze. Let’s get to some reader questions…

Who are the 2015 Indiana players that have a legit shot at being drafted?
The 2015 draft class is shaping up to be a special one for the state of Indiana. Know for its production of arms, Indiana's top five prospects all have high upside on the mound. RHPs Ashe Russell (Cathedral HS, IN), Bryan Hoeing (Batesville HS, IN), Noah Burkholder (Crown Point HS, IN), Jarrett Montgomery (Lawrence Central HS, IN) and Nolan Watson (Lawrence North HS, IN) all figure to get drafted.