Hamilton, Moseley help Team USA to World Cup gold
The city of Hoover was represented well on the big stage in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup in September.
Hoover High School head baseball coach Adam Moseley and second baseman RJ Hamilton were each part of Team USA, which earned the title with a 5-1 win over Chinese Taipei on Sept. 18 in Sarasota, Florida.
Moseley served as Team’s USA pitching coach, while Hamilton was one of 20 players on the roster. It was Moseley’s fourth time being selected as part of a Team USA baseball event.
“Any time you put USA on your chest, you get a different feel,” Moseley said. “Being able to represent our school and our state on the highest level in amateur baseball was pretty fun.”
Team USA went 8-1 over nine games in the World Cup, with no win more key to the title than the semifinal win over Japan. In the third inning, Japan took a 3-2 lead before a rain delay forced a postponement until the following day. Team USA came out the next day, got out of a jam immediately and proceeded to win 4-3 in walk-off fashion in the seventh inning.
Hamilton played a big role in the two-run seventh inning to lift his team to the victory. He reached on a bunt after an errant throw and later scored the game-winning run on a teammate’s base hit.
Hamilton comes from a military family, so being able to play for the red, white and blue took on added significance for him.
“It meant a lot to me,” he said. “Being able to wear that USA across the chest meant a lot to me, and in some form give back to the family that fought for this country.”
Hamilton advanced through a strenuous tryout process to be part of the team. Simply being selected as one of the 100 players to play in the Prospect Development Pipeline League over the summer in North Carolina is an incredible honor. From the PDP League, 40 players were chosen to go to Fort Myers, Florida, for a training camp to determine the final 20 on the World Cup roster.
Moseley provided some insight into Hamilton’s performance at the training camp, which sealed his spot on the team. Hamilton is an athletic middle infielder who can make a significant impact in multiple aspects of the game, particularly on the base paths.
Hamilton provided exactly what the coaches thought he could, and more. Throughout the World Cup, he was a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base efforts. He was also stellar with the bat at training camp, rising to the occasion as one of the top hitters on the team during; that stretch.
“I knew I had the ability to make it. It was just me putting in the work and being more consistent,” Hamilton said. “I put in the work and it paid off. I trusted my work that I’ve put in and let God take the rest of it.”
Hamilton, a Vanderbilt University commit, now looks forward to one final spring season at Hoover. He said it meant a great deal to him to be able to have the Team USA experience alongside Moseley, who has coached him throughout his high school career.
He left quite an impression.
“To hear the comments about his character and how he carried himself and represented his family and Hoover, Alabama, if he had not gotten a hit in the entire event, people still would’ve talked about him,” Moseley said.