The Team USA 18U team posted a perfect 9-0 record during the COPABE 18U/AAA Pan American Championship in Cartagena, Colombia to bring home a Gold medal. They collectively out-scored their opponents 88-8, beating Canada 12-2 in the final game.
Perfect Game All-American Albert Almora was named the tournament MVP, hitting .421 while leading all players with 11 runs batted in and nine stolen bases.
Fellow All-American and primary outfielder Jesse Winker was named the tournament's top pitcher, going 2-0 in two appearances while not allowing a run to cross the plate in over 10 innings.
Other All-Americans named to the All-Tournament team include Alex Bregman and Addison Russell. Russell hit a grand slam in Team USA's championship game against Canada on Sunday, the big blow in the team's seven-run first inning that quickly put the contest out of reach.
A total of 11 All-Americans graced Team USA's 20-man roster, with David Dahl, Carson Fulmer, Joey Gallo, Nelson Rodriguez, Clate Schmidt, Hunter Virant and Walker Weickel joining Almora, Winker, Bregman and Russell.
All 20 of the participants that travelled to Colombia have previously participated at a Perfect Game event.
In addition to the 11 that played in the 2011 Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings, a total of 16 players participated in the 2011 National Showcase conducted in Fort Myers, Florida. This includes All-Tournament second baseman Gavin Cecchini, pitchers Troy Conyers, Chase DeJong and Cole Irvin, as well as two-way star Carson Kelly.
Nick Travieso and Mikey White were among the 12 players from the Team USA 18U roster that competed in last month's 2011 WWBA World Championship.
Of the 18 players from the class of 2012, 17 are currently ranked among Perfect Game's top 80 prospects.
The 2013 class was represented by catchers Jeremy Martinez and Chris Okey, currently ranked the fifth and 20th best prospects in their class respectively. Martinez participated in the 2011 PG National Games in San Diego in mid-August, while Okey was one of the top performers at both the Jr. National Showcase and the WWBA Underclass World Championship.
One other All-American, Cody Poteet, was a member of the Team USA 18U squad during the summer, but did not travel with the team for the COPABE Championship.
Congratulations to all of the players and the USA Baseball organization for representing the United States of America and claiming the Gold medal.