For the sixth and final intrasquad scrimmage game of USA Baseball’s 2025 Collegiate National Team Training Camp, the Stars (4-1-1) took a 6-3 win over the Stripes (1-4-1) on July 3 at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville, N.C. Playing for the Stars is UC Irvine’s sophomore pitcher Ricky Ojeda.
Stars’ starter, sophomore right-handed pitcher Brett Renfrow from Virginia Tech, got things started quickly at the top of the first by putting away the first three hitters for the Stripes. Sophomore right fielder Evan Dempsey, from Florida Gulf Coast University, lined out to Stars’ sophomore center fielder Lucas Moore, from the University of Louisville, for the first out of the inning. Sophomore third baseman for the Stripes, Cam Kozeal from the University of Arkansas, flew out to Stars’ sophomore left fielder Zion Rose who is also from Louisville. With a 2-2 count, freshman designated hitter Nolan Traeger grounded out to freshman second baseman Chris Rembert from Auburn University for the final out of the inning.
Leadoff hitter Moore faced Stripes’ freshman right-handed pitcher Aidan King from the University of Florida in the bottom of the first. With a 2-2 count and three consecutive foul balls, Moore grounded out to King who made the unassisted out at first. Roch Cholowsky, sophomore shortstop from UC Los Angeles (UCLA), looked to get things started for the Stripes, but flew out to sophomore center fielder Broedy Poppell from Florida A&M, after six pitches. Sophomore right fielder AJ Gracia, who recently committed to the University of Virginia from Duke, popped up to freshman second baseman Alex Hernandez from Georgia Tech for the third out to wrap up the first inning.
The Stripes struck first in the second inning against sophomore right-handed pitcher Owen Kramkowski from the University of Arizona who had come in for Renfrow. With one out and sophomore first baseman Brady Ballinger from the University of Kansas on first from a single to center, freshman catcher from North Carolina A&T Tyler Smith hit a line drive single to left center field to put two on for the Stripes. Poppell walked to load the bases for freshman left fielder Tague Davis from Louisville. Davis ripped a line drive single into right field, bringing Ballinger and Smith home to score, making it 2-0 for the Stripes. They left two on base in the second, but were able to provide some backing for King who came back out for the Stripes at the bottom of the inning.
After several unsuccessful attempts against King, the Stars were finally able to respond with a couple hits of their own in the bottom of the third against freshman right-handed pitcher Landon Mack from Rutgers University. With bases loaded and no outs, Moore hit a sacrifice fly to Dempsey in right, bringing sophomore first baseman Mulivai Levu from UCLA in to score after he reached on a leadoff single. Gracia put the Stars on top in his second at-bat when he sent the second pitch he saw past the right field wall for a home run. With three runs batted in, Gracia made the score 4-2 for the Stars.
The inning did not stop there for the Stars as they put one more run on the board thanks to Rose, who got on base with a single to third after beating the throw from Kozeal. With sophomore third baseman Eric Becker from the University of Virginia at the plate for the Stars, Rose advanced to third on an error credited to Ballinger after missing the pick off throw from Mack. Becker, who had previously grounded out to first in the bottom of the second, found success with a run batted in double to right center field which brought Rose in to score. Becker was able to advance to third on a wild pitch that got away from Smith while sophomore designated hitter Drew Burress was at the plate, but was left on base when Burress grounded out to Kozeal, leaving the score 5-2 for the Stars.
Right-handed sophomore pitcher from the University of North Carolina, Jason DeCaro, who was put in the third to relieve Kramkowski, saw the middle of the Stripes lineup in the top of the fourth. It was a quick one two three inning, as DeCaro recorded one strikeout against leadoff hitter Hernandez.
Neither team scored until the bottom of the fifth as Becker hit a sacrifice fly for the Stars off freshman right-handed pitcher Anderson Nance from North Carolina State University, to left fielder Davis on a 1-2 count, allowing for Cholowsky to score from third after he reached on a single up the middle to Poppell.
With a 6-2 score, the Stripes were able to scratch one more run in the top of the seventh against the Stars’ sophomore right-handed pitcher Liam Peterson from the University of Florida. Smith took a walk to lead off the inning, but was able to advance to third on a first pitch double from Poppell to left center. A sacrifice fly to Moore from University of South Carolina freshman shortstop KJ Scobey , brought Smith in to score and bumped Poppell to third. The inning came to an end on a strikeout from Dempsey, leaving Poppell stranded.
The Stars were able to hang on to their 6-3 lead thanks to a solid two inning outing from Ojeda, who relieved Peterson in the top of the eighth inning. Rembert showed off some leather with an impressive play at short right field to get Kozeal out at first on a ground out. Although Traeger was able to hit a single to Gracia at right field, Ojeda retired the next two hitters for the Stripes with a strikeout looking from freshman first baseman Myles Bailey from Florida State University, who replaced Ballinger and a fly out from Hernandez. Ojeda went on to collect three more consecutive strikeouts in the top of the ninth inning, prohibiting the Stripes from making a potential comeback.
The Stars were victorious over the Stripes with a 6-3 final score in the last intrasquad game of the training camp. The Stars collect a total of ten hits and no errors while the Stripes collect six hits and five errors.
The Collegiate National Team Prospects beat the Appalachian League Select Team on July 4 with a 9-3 victory at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis, N.C.
Gissel Delgado is a Sports Intern for the summer 2025 quarter. She can be reached at gissead1@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor, Annabelle Aguirre