KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Left-hander Drew Pomeranz broke the USA Baseball National Team record for strikeouts as he fanned 17 and led Team USA to a 15-1 win over Guatemala on Wednesday night.

The previous best was 14 strikeouts set by B.J. Wallace in 1992 and matched by Jason Jennings in 1998. With the win, Pomeranz improved to 2-0 on the year as he picked up the season opening win for Team USA in his first start. Team USA is now 6-0 on the season.

Against Guatemala, Pomeranz struck out 17 in 6.0 innings of work as he allowed one run on two hits and did not walk a batter. The rising junior has now struck out 27 and walked only two in 10.0 innings of work and holds a 1.80 ERA with only two runs scored in his time on the mound.

Rick Hague (Rice) and Christian Colon (Cal State Fullerton) provided all of the offense in the first inning for Team USA.  Hague led things off with a single up the middle and Colon reached on a botched potential inning-ending double play by the shortstop.  A wild pitch put runners on second and third before Hague scored on a routine grounder to second for the first run of the game and Colon forced a balk on starting pitcher Christian Fernandez for a 2-0 lead.

Yasmani Grandal (Miami) stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs in the second inning and hit a broken-bat single to left field to score the third run for Team USA.  After Tyler Holt re-loaded the bases with a bunt single to third, Colon hit a two-RBI single to left field to extend the U.S. lead to five. 

The U.S. continued its offensive outpouring and scored another two runs in the third inning when Matt Newman (Arizona State) laced a ball up the middle.  It tagged another run in the fourth on an RBI by Colon for a commanding 8-0 lead.

The Guatemalan National Team broke the shut out in the fourth inning on Pomeranz when Jorge Gutierrez scored on an RBI groundout to second after hitting a double down the right field line to begin the inning.  Before Gutierrez’s hit, Pomeranz had struck out eight consecutive batters.

Team USA pushed four more runs across the plate after Guatemala got on the board highlighted by RBI from Hague, Colon, Andy Wilkins (Arkansas), and Blake Forsythe (Tennessee). The U.S. finished its scoring in the eighth inning when Kolten Wong (Hawaii) and Bryce Brentz (Middle Tennessee State) hit RBI doubles and Casey McGrew (Wright State) hit an RBI single passed the third baseman.