Team USA and Korea Face Off in Olympic Semifinal

The winner will advance to the gold medal game to face Japan on Saturday, August 7

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Team USA (3-1) and Korea (3-2) will once again face-off in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with a lot on the line. The winner of tonight's semifinal match-up will advance to the gold medal game to face host-country Japan, which clinched its spot with a 5-2 victory over Korea on Wednesday. The loser will be relegated to the bronze medal game to face the Dominican Republic. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. JST/6 a.m. EDT/3 a.m. PDT and fans in the U.S. can watch it live on the USA Network, NBCOlympics.com, or the NBC Sports App. Joe Ryan (1-0) will start on the mound for the U.S. and will square off against Euilee Lee (0-0). Ryan kicked-off the Olympic Games for Team USA in a 8-1 victory over Israel, striking out five in his six innings of work. Tyler Austin (.412) and Triston Casas (.313) are in the midst of four-game hitting streaks, tallying a hit in every game of the Olympic Games. They also currently lead the tournament in slugging percentage (Austin .941; Casas .938), and Casas leads the tournament with three home runs and eight RBIs. Saturday will mark the eighth all-time meeting against the defending gold medalists in an Olympic Games, and the stars and stripes hold a 6-1 head-to-head record in the previous six meetings. In the last meeting on July 31, the U.S. pitching staff tallied a record-tying 14 strikeouts while Casas and Nick Allen hit home runs in a 4-2 victory over Korea. The win clinched the top spot in Group B and secured a berth in the medal round for Team USA. Nick Martinez was strong on the mound in his victory. After giving up back-to-back singles and a run to start the game, he sat down 13 of the next 14 batters he faced, striking out the side in the top of the third. Martinez scattered four hits and no walks over five innings of work and struck out nine batters to get the win. Casas led the offense with a 1-for-4 day with a two-run home run in the fifth inning to take a 2-1 lead. Allen hit a solo shot in the sixth for the eventual game-winning run before Austin added an RBI-single to put the U.S. up 4-2. The gold medal game is set for Saturday, August 7, at 7 p.m. JST/6 a.m. EDT/3 a.m. PDT and the bronze medal game is scheduled for Saturday, August 7, at 12 p.m. JST/Friday, August 6, at 11 p.m. EDT/8 p.m. PDT. Fans and media are encouraged to visit USABaseball.com and follow @USABaseball on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for the most up-to-date information for the team, including daily game notes, recaps, live scoring, and behind-the-scenes content. Followers are encouraged to use USA Baseball's official hashtag, #ForGlory🇺🇸, during the event.

About USA Baseball USA Baseball is the national governing body for baseball in the United States and is committed to serving, protecting and supporting the game of baseball and its 15.6 million participants. Founded in 1978, USA Baseball fields six national teams annually and is a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). On the diamond, USA Baseball is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the reigning World Baseball Classic champion, and its national teams have won 62 gold medals in international competition. Off the field, the organization is dedicated to the proliferation and health of the sport through the creation and management of numerous development initiatives including Fun At Bat, Pitch Smart, PLAY BALL and the Prospect Development Pipeline. For more information on the organization, its national teams and development-driven initiatives, visit the official website USABaseball.com or USABDevelops.com.