U.S. claims 8-6 victory over No. 4 Australia at WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship after Jonathan Lynch's eighth inning two-run home run

June 22, 2019

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U.S. claims 8-6 victory over No. 4 Australia at WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship after Jonathan Lynch's eighth inning two-run home run

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 22, 2019 Web Release: Link

PRAGUE – Despite dropping a 1-0 decision to world-ranked No. 4 Australia a week ago in their second game at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Softball World Championship, the USA Softball Men’s National Team (MNT) claimed an extra-inning 8-6 victory over the Aussies. The Red, White and Blue improve to 6-3 at the tournament and will now take on No. 8 Venezuela, who they defeated 7-4 earlier in Game 7, for fifth place.   “It was definitely tough for both teams today coming off from being eliminated from medal contention yesterday,” said Head Coach Gregg Leather (Staten Island, N.Y.) “Our guys understand every time they take the field they are representing their country and whatever disappointment they felt needs to be put aside when they step between the lines so they can put their best effort forward.”   “We had very patient at-bats early and capitalized on some defensive miscues to jump out to an early lead,” continued Leather. “Joel (Cooley) was very sharp for us and held Australia’s powerful lineup in check. Tony (Mancha) struggled again with location and that helped them get back in the game. (Jonathan) Lynch bailed us out with a huge home run in the top of eighth, and Joel re-entered and was able to close out the game with some help from the defense.”   The U.S. went down in order to start the game, and while a walk and single gave Australia a chance to score in the bottom half of the first inning, a fly out to right fielder Yusef Davis (Long Beach, Calif.) left both sides scoreless.   Jumping ahead to a 5-0 lead in the second inning, the MNT quickly loaded the bases after an error, single and fielder’s choice before a Jonathan Lynch (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) was hit-by-pitch to plate the first run for the Red, White and Blue. One out later, Davis singled to make it 2-0 and Mullins grounded into a fielder’s choice at third base while Jeff Nowaczyk (Midland, Mich.) scored the third run of the game. Erick Ochoa (Imperial, Calif.) singled and after a fielding error by Australia’s left fielder, advanced to third and extended the U.S. lead by two runs. Cooley and the defense kept Australia at bay by first inducing a pair of groundouts and then stranding two runners via a strikeout.   Unable to add to their in the third inning, Australia connected for a RBI single in the bottom half of the frame to reduce the deficit to four runs.    Davis went onto hit a stand-up double with one out in the fourth inning before advancing to third base on a wild pitch and plating the sixth run for the U.S. off another wild pitch. The MNT retired the Aussies in order in the bottom half of the frame to bring up the fifth inning.   Ahead 6-1 after four innings, the U.S. saw a change in the circle by Australia and despite Matt Ratliff (American Fork, Utah) drawing a two-out walk, a strikeout brought back starter Joel Cooley (St. Paul, Minn.) and the defense. Not yielding to the U.S. without a fight, Australia doubled to lead off the inning but the throw from centerfielder Gil Saenz (El Paso, Texas) caught the runner advancing to third for the first out. A walk put a runner on for the Aussies but the U.S. turned a double play to close out the fifth inning.   Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.) entered as a pinch-hitter and singled to centerfield in the top of the sixth with one out, but a strikeout and groundout kept the U.S. from doing any more damage. Tony Mancha (Las Cruces, N.M.) entered the circle in the bottom half of the sixth frame, giving up a solo home run before posting a pair of strikeouts. A single from Australia put a runner on but a ground ball to Cam Schiller (Prescott, Ariz.) at shortstop caught the runner advancing to second for the third out.   Ochoa and Schiller collected a hit in the top of the seventh after a double and single, respectively, but with one out, Australia turned a double play to keep the U.S. from scoring additional runs. With the rain starting to come down at Svoboda Ballpark, Australia battled back and scored four runs on five hits, including a solo home run, to tie up the ballgame after Duane Weiler (Richland, Pa.) entered the circle for the U.S. With two outs and the bases loaded, Weiler fired a strike inside the zone to send the game into extra innings.    A strikeout led off the top of the eighth inning, but Team USA soon regained the lead as Lynch launched a two-run shot to make it an 8-6 ballgame. Cooley re-entered the game and after a leadoff walk, induced three straight flyouts to earn the save and secure the 8-6 (eight inning) victory over Australia with Schiller making a diving grab to record the final out.   Cooley allowed one run on six hits and struck out one in six innings of work, while Mancha threw one and one-third innings in relief and issued three strikeouts. Weiler lasted two-thirds of an inning, allowing two hits and one run while striking out one and walking one. Davis and Ochoa recorded multiple hits apiece to lead the Red, White and Blue.   Tomorrow’s game at 1:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. CT) will set up a rematch between Team USA and No. 8 Venezuela at Svoboda Ballpark.   “Tomorrow will be the last time we get to play together as a team until the Pan American Games so we will continue to work on some things that will have us ready to go when we get there,” said Leather.   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. finished sixth at the 2017 WBSC World Championship in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada 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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