U.S. Men’s National Team defeats Mexico 6-2 to earn No. 2 seed and setup rematch against Argentina at Pan American Games

July 31, 2019

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U.S. Men’s National Team defeats Mexico 6-2 to earn No. 2 seed and setup rematch against Argentina at Pan American Games

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 30, 2019 Web Release: Link

Lima, Peru – The USA Softball Men’s National Team (MNT) earned its fourth win of the Pan American Games Tuesday afternoon at the Campo de Softball, Complejo Deportivo Villa Maria del Triunfo, defeating world-ranked No. 9 Mexico, 6-2. Moving onto the playoff round as the No. 2 seed, the Red, White and Blue set up a rematch with No. 5 Argentina, who they lost to earlier in the week, 3-0. In the win, both Erick Ochoa (Imperial, Calif.) and Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) went yard while Tony Mancha (Las Cruces, N.M.) issued nine strikeouts through five innings of work.   Click here to view the Pan American Games schedule for the U.S. Men’s National Team   Keeping Mexico off the board in the top of the first inning, the U.S. got their offense started when Matt Ratliff (American Fork, Utah) took a leadoff walk before Ochoa homered on a 1-1 count for a 2-0 lead. One out later, both Jeff Nowaczyk (Midland, Mich.) and Cam Schiller (Prescott, Ariz.) battled in their first plate appearances of the game resulting in a base-on-balls for each after 3-2 counts. A pop out and fielder’s choice stranded the two runners to close out the first inning of play.   Mexico started the top of the second frame by drawing a leadoff walk but the U.S. returned to the plate after Mancha came back firing with three-straight strikeouts. In the bottom half of the frame, Gil Saenz (El Paso, Texas) drew a one-out walk, stole second and advanced to third base after Mexico overthrew to second. A line drive to centerfield by Ratliff allowed Saenz to score and push the U.S. lead, 3-0. A walk to Ochoa resulted in a pitching change for Mexico, which didn’t seem to bother Palazzo as he singled to load the bases for the Red, White and Blue. Two strikeouts kept the U.S. at bay and ahead of Mexico by three runs.   The U.S. retired the Mexico side in order in the top of the third inning on a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts, giving Mancha a total of seven through the opening three innings of play. Despite a one-out single from Yusef Davis (Long Beach, Calif.) in the bottom half of the frame, Mexico turned a double play to stop the U.S. from extending their lead.   Two solo home runs for Mexico in the fourth inning put them within one run of the lead, but the U.S. responded in the bottom half of the frame with an RBI single from Nowaczyk to make it a 4-2 ballgame.   Retiring Mexico in order for the second time in the contest via a groundout and two strikeouts, Nick Mullins (Toms River, N.J.) came just shy of a two-out home run with a fly ball to deep centerfield.    With the MNT ahead 4-2, Duane Weiler (Richland, Pa.) entered in relief and, despite a leadoff single and two-out walk, kept Mexico from scoring additional runs by striking out their No. 7 batter to close out the top of the sixth. The Red, White and Blue added to their lead in the bottom half of the frame after Ochoa drew his third walk of the game before Palazzo stepped up to the plate and went deep for a two-run home run.    A pair of walks and an error resulted in a bases-loaded situation for Mexico but with two outs, a groundout to Weiler in the circle capped off the 6-2 victory for the Red, White and Blue. Improving to a 4-1 record at the Pan American Games, the U.S. returns to action for a rematch against No. 5 Argentina tomorrow, July 31 at 2 p.m. CT.    In five innings pitched, Mancha struck out nine and allowed two runs on three hits, while Weiler fanned four batters in his two innings of relief. Palazzo went 2-for-3 while he and Ochoa each tallied a home run on the day.   Click here for the complete 2019 USA Softball Men’s National Team roster   Held every four years, the U.S. has earned seven silver medals dating from 1979-2003, while falling just shy of the podium with a fourth-place finish at the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games. Of the 15 athletes named to the Pan American Games roster, Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.), Mancha, Nick Mullins (Toms River, N.J.), Palazzo and Tan return from the 2015 Pan American Games squad. The U.S. team is led by Head Coach Gregg Leather (Staten Island, N.Y.), along with assistant coaches Ron Guzman (Salinas, Calif.), Greg Hicks (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Gerald Muizelaar (Grand Forks, N.D.). Leather and Hicks served as assistant coaches at the 2015 Pan American Games, while Muizelaar competed for the Red, White and Blue.

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