Sr SS Bobby Witt Jr. (Colleyville Heritage) hit for the cycle Team USA (9-0) defeated Panama 17-2 in the gold medal game of the 2018 COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championship on Sunday.
The victory marked the fifth consecutive COPABE U-18 Pan-American championship for the USA team and is the eighth-straight gold medal for the USA Baseball 18U National Team in international competitions dating back to 2011.
After a scoreless 1st, Witt Jr kick-started the offense in the bottom of the second inning, collecting a single to centerfield and later scored the first run of the game on two Panama throwing errors. In the 3rd, Witt hit an RBI double and scored on a single. He led of the 4th with a triple and scored on a groundout to shortstop. Witt came up in the 5th needing a home run for the cycle. He promptly sent a pitch over the left field fence for a 2 run Home Run. He finished the game 4-5 with 3 RBIs and 4 Runs scored.
Jr C Drew Room (The Woodlands) was 1-3 with 2 walks and scored 2 runs. Sr RHP/OF Sammy Faltine had a pinch hit double in the 7th.
Sr RHP Jacob Meador (Burleson Centennial) pitched the final inning of the game giving up 1 run on two hits while striking out one.
Witt Jr. was named the tournament MVP and also picked up the best slugger and highest batting average awards after hitting .576 with three doubles, three triples, three home runs and 18 RBI in nine games.
Witt Jr and Romo were both named to the all-tournament team. Romo hit .458 with 3 doubles, 1 home run and 10 RBIs.
