The 35-game winning streak for USA Baseball’s National Team is a thing of the past.
Takayuki Fujii hit a two-run triple, part of a three-run rally that got his team going as Budo University whipped the Red, White and Blue 7-1 on Friday in Chiba, Japan.
The game was the opener of a six-game tour of Japan, which includes the five games of the 37th annual Friendship Series with the Japanese National Team beginning late Saturday night (EDT).
That is the most important series of the year for Team USA, which committed three errors against Budo.
The USA, batting in the bottom of the innings, scored its run in the first. Florida State’s Tyler Holt (pictured), who finished with two hits, reached on a two-base error and scored on a grounder from Tennessee’s Blake Forsythe.
Asher Wojciechowski of The Citadel took the loss.
UCLA’s Gerrit Cole is the scheduled starter for the USA in the opener of the Friendship Series.
