USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team records two wins over Denmark and Czech Republic

July 27, 2016

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USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team records two wins over Denmark and Czech Republic at WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship

 

MIDLAND, Mich. – The USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team (JMNT) took the field versus Denmark and Czech Republic at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Men’s World Championship and won convincingly 9-2 (five innings) over Denmark and returned later to face Czech Republic, where the U.S. came out on top with a 3-2 decision on Tuesday.

 

Game One: USA 9, Denmark 2 (five innings)

Click here for a box score

 

Scoring a run in all but one inning in their first game of the day, the USA Softball JMNT combined for 10 hits en route to a 9-2 (five innings) win over Denmark at the WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship.  Led by veteran Justin Perez (Northeast, Pa.), who had a 2-for-3 outing with three RBI, the U.S. also had a strong performance by Jeff Lewis (Amboy, Minn.) in the circle.

 

Team USA was retired in order in the top of the first inning on three-consecutive groundouts.  Lewis returned the favor in the bottom of the frame, issuing a leadoff strikeout while retiring the next two with groundouts to keep it a scoreless ballgame.

 

A leadoff walk to Isaac Hormann (Young America, Minn.) in the top of the second inning got the U.S. offense going.  After swiping second, Hormann was in scoring position for Perez, who ripped a ball to left field, allowing Hormann to cross the plate for the first run of the game.  Lewis had another strong showing in the bottom of the second, picking up two strikeouts and a line out to Matthew Martin (Myerstown, Pa.) at second base to keep it a 1-0 lead for the U.S.

 

The Red, White and Blue opened up the game in the top of the third, scoring three runs off a string of hits.  A single from Bryce DuCharme (Hudson, Wis.) put a runner on for the U.S., and DuCharme stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball.  Derek Martin (Stevens, Pa.) picked up an RBI with a double to centerfield before Peyton Hall (Prairie du Chien, Wis.) sent the ball out of the park for a two-run shot. 

 

Another four runs crossed the plate in the top of the fourth inning for Team USA.  A single from Brady Parker (Midland, Texas) and a walk to Jonathan Broadbear (Bloomington, Ill.) put two on and a single from D. Martin plated the first run of the inning.  Hall collected an RBI off a hard hit ball to right field and the final two runs of the inning came from a single by Perez. 

 

Denmark would get their sole run of the game in the bottom of the fourth.  After issuing a leadoff walk to Duncan Milne, a ground ball advanced Milne to second before he reached third on a wild pitch.  A sac fly plated Milne, giving the U.S an 8-1 lead after four complete innings.

 

Team USA plated what would be the go-ahead run in the top of the fourth inning.  Michael Douds (Erie, Pa.) doubled to left field and moved to third on a wild pitch.  Two batters later, Douds would score on another wild pitch, making it a 9-1 lead for the Red, White and Blue.

 

Down to their final at-bat, Denmark threatened to plate a couple of runs after a shaky start by the U.S. in the bottom of the fifth.  An error allowed the leadoff batter to reach base and a hit batter put two on with no outs.  A groundout to Hormann at shortstop recorded the first out of the at-bat, but a ground ball to M. Martin at second base allowed the runner at third to score.  Lewis did not back down, securing the win for Team USA with a strikeout to give the U.S. the 9-2 (five innings) win.

 

Game Two: USA 3, Czech Republic 2

Click here for a box score

 

It was the USA Softball JMNT who walked off the field victorious and handed Czech Republic their second loss at the WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship Tuesday evening. Pitcher Derek Martin delivered 10 strikeouts and scattered two hits and two walks over seven innings of work.

 

It was a quick first inning for both teams as Team USA saw Czech Republic’s Michael Holobradek deliver three-straight strikeouts to DuCharme, Martin and Hall. With one out in the top of the second, Czech Republic would get their first run of the game fueled by a double hit by Martin Turek who made it home after a third dropped strike and an error committed by USA. The JMNT was unable to respond in the next half inning, as Perez would be caught stealing second to make the third out.

 

Despite making contact in the third inning, the score would remain in Czech Republic’s favor ensuing two back-to-back groundouts by Lewis and Matthew Martin (Myerstown, Pa.), and a strikeout issued to shortstop Broadbear.

 

Team USA broke into the run column for the first time in the bottom of the fourth inning. Following a leadoff single by DuCharme, a double by Peyton Hall (Prairie du Chien, Wis.) advanced DuCharme to third base. After an error by Czech Republic,  DuCharme crossed home to put USA on the scoreboard and moved Hall to third base with one out. A fielder’s choice led Hormann to reach first and Hall to score, resulting in the Red, White and Blue taking a 2-1 lead.

 

The JMNT would keep a 2-1 lead through the fifth after a line drive was hit straight to Lewis’ glove followed up by back-to-back strikeouts by Martin. The two teams continued to battle as no hits would come about until the sixth inning.

 

With two outs in the top of the sixth, Czech Republic would score on a wild pitch and tie the ballgame at two apiece. It was then that Martin would issue his tenth strikeout of the game to strand Czech Republic’s Jakub Hajny at third and end the threat.

 

Derek Martin brought in what would be USA’s winning run. With one out, Martin singled to third base, advanced to second on a groundout by Hall, and scored on an error by Czech Republic first baseman Hajny. A groundout to first by Hormann would end the inning and take USA into the final half inning of the night. Heading into the seventh inning, second baseman Jeff Lewis fielded the ball cleanly and threw first to get the first out, and after issuing a walk to Milan Sulc, USA put together an impressive game-winning double play to finalize a 3-2 decision in their favor.

 

Team USA will resume action tomorrow against Australia at 6 p.m. ET in their final game of Pool Play.  Fans at home can watch online or follow along with live stats at 2016JMWC.com. 

 

About ASA/USA Softball
Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.2 million.  ASA/USA is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won 10 World Championship titles as well as claimed eight World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please visit http://www.asausasoftball.com/.

 

About the World Baseball Softball Confederation 

Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland -- the Olympic Capital -- the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 213 National Federation and Associate Members in 142 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide annually. 

 

The WBSC also governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women's).

 

For further information, please go to www.WBSC.org or follow the WBSC on Twitter at @WBSC.

 

 

Katie Willis I Communications Coordinator

Amateur Softball Association/USA Softball

2801 NE 50th Street

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111
405-425-3425 (O)

Visit Us Online: ASAUSASoftball.com

 

 

Follow along with USA Softball as they compete at the WBSC World Championships!

 

WBSC Women’s World Championship (July 15-24) –  http://go.teamusa.org/29JXAld  

WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship (July 24-30) –2016JMWC.com