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Posted: Jul 30, 2024

Region 4 trio helps Team USA win silver in Netherlands

Region 4 trio helps Team USA win silver in Netherlands

HAARLEM, NETHERLANDS - A team comprised of National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) players and coaches represented Team USA at Baseball Week Haarlem from July 12-19. Morton College's Miguel Cantu joined Madison College's Eli Hoyt and Mike Davenport to represent the red, white, and blue in international competition, and the team came away with a silver medal after falling 10-4 to Japan in the title game.

Team USA struggled at the start, dropping a 6-1 contest to the host Netherlands and a 9-5 game against Japan. A 6-4 victory over Italy on Day 3 turned the tide, and a 6-5 walk-off win in extra innings over Chinese Taipei put the NJCAA All-Star team on the cusp of the semifinals. In need of a win, Team USA shut out Spain 2-0 to reach the final four.

Trailing by a run for most of their semifinal against Netherlands, the US rallied to tie the game at 1-1 in the ninth and then won it in the tenth with another run. The championship against Japan saw the American fall behind 3-0 in the first, but answer with two runs in the second. Two more runs in the fifth gave Team USA a one-run lead; however, Japan tallied seven unanswered runs, including six in the sixth to pull away for the title.

Cantu, a first baseman and outfielder from Chicago, Illinois, finished the week with two hits, two walks, and a run batted in. Hoyt, a righthander from Waukesha, Wisconsin, who battled back from several surgeries, appeared in two games and tossed two innings with a pair of strikeouts. He allowed six earned runs on six hits and three walks.

Davenport, who recently finished his 20th season coaching the WolfPack, was tabbed as an assistant coach for the team by head coach Marty Smith of the College of Central Florida.

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