USA Softball: Men’s National Team suffers extra-inning loss to finish third at 2019 FPS tournament

May 5, 2019

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Men’s National Team suffers extra-inning loss to finish third at 2019 FPS tournament

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 4, 2019 Web Release: Link

Cancun, Mexico – Seeded No. 2 heading into the Championship round, it was a back-and-forth affair for the Men’s National Team who came out on the short end and suffered the 3-2 loss to MXL, USA Softball announced. Taking third at the 2019 FPS tournament, the Red, White and Blue will continue their season in Kimblery, Wis. at the Jack Grafmeier Memorial Fastpitch Tournament on May 31-June 2 in preparation for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Championship. Click here for live stats from the FPS tournament   Game 5: Team USA 2, MXL 3 (8)   Unlike last night’s matchup which resulted in a 9-0 (four inning) win over MXL, the U.S. suffered the loss after eight innings of back-and-forth play. In the first inning, MXL hit a leadoff single and plated the first run off a one-out RBI triple to right field. Starting in the circle for the U.S. was Duane Weiler (Richland, Pa.) who issued two straight strikeouts to close out the inning.   It wasn’t until the bottom of the third inning that the U.S. would see their first baserunner of the game. Tyler Bouley (Champlin, Minn.) and Gil Saenz (El Paso, Texas) both drew walks and one out later, the two advanced on a sac bunt by Yusef Davis (Long Beach, Calif.). The chance to score was cut short as MXL dealt a strikeout to Cam Schiller (Prescott, Ariz.), closing out the third.   Joel Cooley (St. Paul, Minn.) entered the circle for the U.S. and retired the MXL side on a pair of groundouts and strikeout. Erick Ochoa (Imperial, Calif.) singled to center field to lead off the bottom of the frame and advanced to third on a wild pitch and groundout, respectively, but was kept from scoring after a groundout ended Team USA’s chances.    Another 1-2-3 for Cooley and the defense brought the home team back to the plate, where the Red, White and Blue fought to take the lead. Saenz drew a walk and stole second before Marcus Tan (Union City, Calif.) brought him home on a single up the middle. With the game tied at one, Davis singled to move Tan to second while Schiller grounded into a fielder’s choice to put runners on the corners. With Ochoa at the plate, Tan sprinted home on a passed ball to score the second run for the U.S. and put them ahead, 2-1.    Pitcher Tony Mancha (Las Cruces, N.M.) entered to start the sixth and despite two-straight strikeouts, MXL made it a tie game. A hit-by-pitch put one runner on who advanced to third on passed balls and touched home after a two-out RBI single. Fighting to regain their lead, the U.S. was shut down in the sixth inning on a lineout and two strikeouts.   MXL came close to adding additional runs in the seventh, but Mancha stranded the two baserunners via strikeout. The bottom half began with a strikeout and groundout but the U.S. then loaded the bases on singles from Davis and Schiller, and a walk to Ochoa. Garnering the attention of fans watching from all over the park, Jenner Christiansen sent a deep fly ball to left field that was caught just shy of the wall.    With the game headed into the eighth inning, the International Tiebreaker (ITB) runner was placed on second and MXL scored after a passed ball and one-out RBI single made it 3-2. Mancha then induced another two strikeouts to give the U.S. a shot at taking back the game once again. Retired in order, the Red, White and Blue unfortunately fell, 3-2 (eight innings), and finished third at the 2019 FPS tournament.    Mancha suffered the loss, fanning 10 batters while allowing three hits and one run in his three innings of work. Weiler and Cooley each struck out three apiece, with Davis going 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the team.   The U.S. will return to action when they take on 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.     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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