USA Softball: Men’s National Team offense erupts in 8-1 (five inning) victory over South Africa at WBSC Men's World Championship

June 16, 2019

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Men’s National Team offense erupts in 8-1 (five inning) victory over South Africa at WBSC Men's Softball World Championship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2019 Web Release: Link

PRAGUE – The USA Softball Men’s National Team (MNT) scored eight runs on eight hits and collected seven strikeouts in the circle en route to an 8-1 (five inning) win over South Africa Sunday afternoon at Svoboda Ballpark, home of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Softball World Championship (MSWC). Six players combined for seven RBI, while Jeff Nowaczyk (Midland, Mich.) and Cam Schiller (Prescott, Ariz.) recorded two hits apiece to lead the Red, White and Blue.   “Today was a big win for us and one we had to have,” said Head Coach Gregg Leather (Staten Island, N.Y.). “It was great to see the bats come to life and string a bunch of hits together. We will have to continue having good at-bats tomorrow night to have any success against Canada.”   Unable to get a hit in the top of the first inning, the U.S. walked South Africa’s leadoff batter but retired the next three batters in the bottom half to close out the opening frame.   The offense quickly got going in the second inning, starting with a one-out single from Matt Ratliff (American Fork, Utah). After stealing second, Ratliff came around to score the first run of the game off an RBI double from Nowaczyk. Jumping to a 1-0 lead, Gil Saenz (El Paso, Texas) doubled to plate Nowaczyk before crossing home himself after Yusef Davis (Long Beach, Calif.) laid down a bunt and reached on a throwing error by South Africa’s third baseman. With the U.S. ahead 3-0, South Africa blasted a solo homerun to lead off the bottom half of the second inning and cut into the deficit, but a pair of strikeouts and groundout would bring up the third inning.     Connecting on the first pitch, Schiller wasted no time and singled up the middle before advancing to second on a walk to Erick Ochoa (Imperial, Calif.). A wild pitch moved the runners, while Dudley grounded into a fielder’s choice and scored Schiller from third. Ratliff then drove in Ochoa and Dudley after a line drive to right field to make it 6-1. Nowaczyk singled and advanced to second on the throw, while Ratliff scored the seventh run from third after a sacrifice fly from Nick Mullins (Toms River, N.J.).    Taking their 7-1 lead into the bottom half of the third, Mancha delivered another two strikeouts while a fly out to Marcus Tan (Union City, Calif.) in left field kept the U.S. ahead.    The Red, White and Blue tacked on another run in the top of the fourth inning after back-to-back doubles from Schiller and Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.). South Africa managed to get their second hit with one out in the bottom half of the frame, but Mancha’s sixth strikeout and a groundout sent the U.S. offense back up to the plate.   Looking to plate additional runs, Mullins hit a one-out single but was forced out at second after Saenz grounded into a fielder’s choice. After Saenz advanced to second on a wild pitch, a walk to Davis put two runners aboard but Tan grounded into a fielder’s choice at second ended the inning. Three outs away from ending the game via run-rule, South Africa tallied their third hit but Mancha and the U.S. defense retired the next three batters to earn the 8-1 win.    Mancha tossed five innings, allowed one run on three hits and struck out seven out of 19 batters faced. Nowaczyk was 2-for-2, while Ratliff led the team with 2 RBI. Team USA (2-1) returns to action tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. CT) to face No. 2 Canada at Hippos Arena in Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic.    Click here to see the complete schedule for the United States   The 16 teams that are competing in the WBSC Men’s World Championship are: Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Canada, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, USA and Venezuela.   Currently ranked No. 6 in the world, the U.S. is looking to improve upon a sixth-place finish at the 2017 WBSC World Championship in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, where the team finished with a 6-3 record. Team USA last stood on the podium at the 2000 edition in East London, South Africa.   Click here for more information on the 2019 WBSC Men’s World Championship   MEDIA: For more information on the WBSC Men's World Championship, please contact media@wbsc.co.   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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