Team USA erupted for its highest run total of the summer season with an 18-2 win over Netherlands to capture fifth place at the Junior World Championships in Thunder Bay, Canada on Sunday.
After falling to Cuba 3-2 on Friday in the first game of the medal rounds, Team USA bounced back to beat Korea 4-2 on Saturday and then crushed Netherlands in its final outing of the summer. Team USA ended the season with a 19-2 overall record, 7-1 at the Junior Worlds.
Cleveland (Rio Rancho, N.M.) concluded an impressive summer season with a 3-for-3 effort that included a home run, a double and four RBI. Swihart, a catcher from Cleveland (Rio Rancho, N.M.) finished with a team-high .448 batting average and five home runs.
Bubba Starling also came through with four RBI in the final game, thanks to a 2-for-3 effort that included a home run. Eight of the Team USA members had at least two hits in the team's 18-hit attack, including Tony Wolters, Francisco Lindor, Marcus Littlewood, Christian Lopes and Michael Lorenzen. Brian Ragira joined Swihart with three hits on the day.
Phillip Pfeifer gained the victory with 4.2 innings of 2-hit ball. He struck out eight and walked four in the win. Ricky Jacquez threw the final one and a third innings.
Team USA led just 2-0 heading into the bottom of the third, but it scored eight runs in the frame for a 10-0 advantage. Four-run rallies in the fifth and sixth brought an early end to the game via the 10-run rule.
Team USA had seven hits in the bit third inning with Starling hitting a three-run homer. Christian Lopes, Ragira, Wolters, and Lindor all had RBI in the inning as well.
In the fifth, Swihart had a two-run double and Starling added an RBI with a basehit.
Lindor and Littlewood both doubled home runs in the sixth and Swihart hit a two-run homer to end the scoring for Team USA.
Team USA advanced to the fifth place game with the 4-2 win over South Korea. Littlewood came through with the big hit in the top of the ninth when his double down the leftfield line scored Lindor and Lance McCullers for the go-ahead runs. Littlewood was 3-for-4 in the game with three RBI, a double and a triple. McCullers was the only other player with more than one basehit, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
John Simms went seven innings and did not give up an earned run while striking out six and walking four. John Hochstatter pitched a scoreless eighth inning to get the win. Dillon Maples struck out one in the final inning while earning the save.
