CANCUN, Mexico — Members of the 2019 USA Softball Men’s National Team (MNT) arrived in Cancun, Mexico, where the team will participate in the FPS tournament. Team USA will compete in four games split between Thursday and Friday against local men’s fast pitch teams before entering into the playoff rounds on Saturday.  Click here for live stats from the FPS tournament  The USA Softball MNT will open play at 7:30 p.m. CT against Telerines followed by a 9:30 p.m. CT match against CDI. Back-to-back games tomorrow against Senogrev (2 p.m. CT) and MXL (4 p.m. CT) close out round robin games to determine the playoff bracket.  Click here to see the 2019 USA Softball Men’s National Team roster  Following the FPS Cancun tournament, the U.S. will also compete alongside reigning world champions and No. 1 ranked New Zealand in the Jack Grafmeier Memorial Fastpitch Tournament in Kimberly, Wis. May 31-June 2. The team will break briefly before meeting up in Stevens, Pa. for exhibition games June 8-9 prior to the WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic June 13-23.  Competing in Pool B, Team USA begins opening round action on June 14 at 7:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. CT) against No. 19 Netherlands. Team USA is also slated to play No. 4 Australia on June 15 at 7:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. CT), No. 12 South Africa on June 16 at 4:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. CT), No. 2 Canada on June 17 at 7:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. CT), No. 22 Singapore on June 18 at 4:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. CT) and No. 11 Denmark on June 19 at 4:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. CT) before closing out opening round against No. 8 Venezuela at 10:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. CT). Team USA looks to end a 19-year medal drought at the WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship, having last stood on the podium at the 2000 edition in East London, South Africa.  The team will finish out the 2019 season in Lima, Peru for the Pan American Games set for July 25-August 1. In eight Pan American Games participated in, the U.S. has claimed the Silver Medal in all but one event, falling just short the podium in 2015 with a fourth-place finish.  Announced earlier this year was the coaching staff for the 2019 team, including Head Coach Gregg Leather, in addition to Assistant Coaches Ron Guzman (Salinas, Calif.), Ron Hackett (Richmond, Va.), Greg Hicks (Bakersfield, Calif.), Nick McCurry (Ashland, Ohio) and Gerald Muizelaar (Grand Forks, N.D.).  Fans at home can follow along all summer long with the USA Softball National Teams at USASoftball.com.  About USA Softball USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition through a network of Local Associations, which includes all 50 states and select metro associations. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.  As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com. |
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