By David Lim

Arden Pabst ’13 will return home from the International Baseball Federation World AA/16U Youth Championships in Mexico with a gold medal. The US team shut out Cuba 9-0 in the final Saturday night.

Pabst batted the first run in with a sacrificial bunt in the second inning, starting a four-run streak. Throughout the game, he helped the US team maintain defensive dominance with two assists.

The biennial IBAF World AA/16U Youth Championships feature top players aged 16 and under from 11 countries around the world in a three round tournament that began August 19.

Pabst was selected for the American team after a series of trials from June through earlier this month when the final 20-man roster was announced.

Varsity teammate pitcher Lucas Giolito ’12 was named to the preliminary roster of the 18U National Team in July and will play at COPABE Pan American AAA/18U Championships in Cartagena, Colombia if he makes the final cut next month.

After the preliminary 16U Championships, Pabst was one of 38 selected to proceed to the National Team Trials in Cary, North Carolina. The players were divided into two teams that played 6 games against each other while coaches assessed the players’ performance. Pabst was named to the official roster on August 13.

“I feel really grateful to be put in such an elite group and get to play with a great group of guys,” said Pabst. “It is such an honor to be chosen and be part of something bigger then me.”