USA Softball: Men’s National Team powers past Optimum Crush to claim five-inning 15-0 victory at Jack Grafmeier Memorial Fastpitch Tournament

June 2, 2019

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Men’s National Team powers past Optimum Crush to claim five-inning 15-0 victory at Jack Grafmeier Memorial Fastpitch Tournament

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 1, 2019 Web Release: Link

Kimberly, Wisc. – The USA Softball Men’s National Team (MNT) had 15 hits at the plate and collected 12 strikeouts in the circle en route to a 15-0 (five innings) win over Optimum Crush Saturday night at the Jack Grafmeier Memorial Fastpitch Tournament. Tony Mancha (Las Cruces, N.M.) went the distance and allowed just two hits through five complete innings, while the Red, White and Blue offense took care of the rest, including a grand slam by Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa).   Game 1: Team USA 15, Optimum Crush 0   Both teams retired the side through the first two innings, but Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.) led off the third with a first-pitch single and advanced to third after Marcus Tan (Union City, Calif.) doubled to right field. Jenner Christiansen (Hayward, Calif.) struck out but a walk to Yusef Davis (Long Beach, Calif.) loaded the bases for Cam Schiller (Prescott, Ariz.) who singled and cleared the bags to put Team USA up, 3-0. A single from Erick Ochoa (Imperial, Calif.) moved Schiller to second, who then crossed home on a single from Palazzo to plate another run.   Optimum Crush managed a one-out hit in the bottom half of the third inning, but was left stranded after a groundout and Mancha’s sixth strikeout ended their chances of scoring.    The U.S. offense tacked on five additional runs to the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Tan singled on a fly ball to center field and was brought home by Christiansen who singled to left. Stealing second, Christiansen advanced to third on a Davis single before a walk to Schiller loaded the bases. Despite Ochoa striking out, Palazzo cleared the bases with a grand slam to put the U.S. up, 9-0.   Fans saw Mancha issue another three strikeouts in the bottom of the fourth, putting his total at nine through four innings, to keep Optimum Crush off the board.   However, the Red, White and Blue offense was just getting started as they plated another six runs in the fifth to go up, 15-0, and ultimately secure the victory. With one out, back-to-back singles from Castillo and Tan put two runners aboard before Christiansen and Davis plated three with a single and triple, respectively. Gil Saenz (El Paso, Texas) grounded out before Tyler Bouley (Champlin, Minn.) drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Palazzo collected another RBI off a fly ball to center field, while Jeff Nowaczyk (Midland, Mich.) doubled to plate the final two runs.   Mancha finished the game with three-straight strikeouts to bring his total to 12 for the night. Palazzo went 3-for-4 and led the team with six RBI, while four others collected multiple RBI. The U.S. is back in action tomorrow at 11:15 a.m., and the winner moves on to the Championship Game at 2:30 p.m. CT.   Following the Jack Grafmeier Memorial Fastpitch Tournament, the team will break briefly before meeting up in Stevens, Pa. for exhibition games June 8-9 prior to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Softball World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic June 13-23.    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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