Phillip Pfeifer put together his best performance of the summer in leading Team USA 18U to a 10-0 win over Chinese Taipei in pool play at the Junior World Championships in Thunder Bay, Canada on Monday.
Phillip Pfeifer of Farragut tossed a seven-inning
shutout for Team USA on Monday vs. Chinese Taipei.
Photo by Dan Browning
Pfeifer, a senior at Farragut next year, was the national junior player of the year by MaxPreps after going 16-0 and leading the Admirals to a Tennessee 3A state championship.
Pfeifer had struggled a bit during his time with Team USA this summer in posting a team-high 3.14 ERA, albeit in three wins during the exhibition portion of the schedule leading up to the Junior Worlds. However he went the distance against Chinese Taipei, going seven innings in the shortened game (due to a 10-run rule) and giving up no runs on just two hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. The performance dropped his ERA to 2.11.
Pfeifer benefitted from a big third inning by Team USA as it pushed seven runs across by sending 12 batters to the plate.
Tony Wolters delivered a run-scoring double and
Francisco Lindor homered to drive in two runs. After
Marcus Littlewood,
Blake Swihart and Bubba Starling all singled to load the bases,
Christian Lopes singled to drive in a pair of runs.
Brian Ragira kept the rally going with a double to left center that scored two more runs. Following a single by
Michael Lorenzen, Wolters grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Lindor added a run in the fourth when he singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Swihart added two more runs in the sixth with a two-run homer to right center that also plated Littlewood.
Wolters, Lindor, Swihart, Starling and Lorenzen each had two hits in Team USA's 15-hit attack. Lindor, Swihart, Lopes and Ragira all drove in two runs apiece.
Now 3-0 in pool play, Team USA plays Venezuela today and concludes pool play Wednesday against France.
