June 24, 2008
Canada defeats Botswana 9-1 at JuniorMen’s Worlds
(Whitehorse, Yukon) – It took a while to get thebats going on this cold morning, but Canada was ultimately able to get byBotswana in a game that felt much closer than the score indicated. The Canadianbats were silenced by strong pitching by Team Botswana, but as the game wenton, the hitters woke up.
After a very quick two innings that saw startingpitcher Devon McCullough (Saskatoon, SK) strike out the side twice and Canadaonly getting one base runner on an error, Canada exploded for six runs in thebottom of the third. Dennis Iron (Canoe Narrows, SK) started the inning byreaching on an error, and Terrell Walker (Balcarres, SK) later drew a walk,setting the stage for an RBI single by Dylan Cunningham (Belwood, ON) and atwo-run double by Mike Noftall (St. John’s, NL). Canada kept rolling with arun-scoring single by McCullough and a two-run homerun by Joran Graham(Micksburg, ON), giving the red and white a 6-0 lead.
After compiling eight strikeouts and not giving up ahit in the first three innings, McCullough was replaced by Cory Jones (Leduc,AB) who pitched the next two and a third innings, an outing that endedprematurely when he tripped in front of the pitcher’s circle holding his knee.Luckily, he was able to walk under his own power and was replaced by McCullough(re-entry rule).
Following the six run inning by Canada in the third,Botswana was able to produce a run on two hits in the fourth. Canada’s batswent silent again until the bottom of the sixth, when McCullough and TravisDauvin (Saskatoon, SK) both drew walks before Dennis Iron stepped up and lifteda three-run homerun off the glove of the centerfielder that landed on the otherside of the fence, securing the 9-1 run-ahead rule win for Canada.
McCullough pitched three and two thirds inning andretired a total of 10 batters on strikes and only gave up one hit. Jones threwtwo and a third, giving up the run on two hits and struck out three.
Canada (6-0) will return to action tonight when itwill take on the three-time defending champions from Australia (5-0) in abattle for first place at 7:30pm PDT. Australia will also be in action earlierin the day, playing Argentina at 1:30pm PDT at the Pepsi Softball Center
Beginning on Thursday, June 26thtournament games on Field 1 will be aired through Ballpark Radio, includingCanada against Japan (June 26th - 7:30pm PDT), Canada against theUnited States (June 27th – 7:30pm PDT) and all four playoff games onSaturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th. Visit www.softball.ca for a link to Ballpark Radio,and be sure to visit the Multimedia section for pictures from the event!
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Formore information, please contact:
GillesLeBlanc
Manager:Marketing and Communications Services
SoftballCanada
(613)523-3386 ext 3105
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2008
Canada blasts past Venezuela 14-3 atJunior Men’s Worlds
(Whitehorse, Yukon) – The Canadian Junior Men’sNational Team kept rolling last night by jumping all over Venezuela to improvetheir record to 5-0 at the ISF Junior Men’s World Championships. After most ofthe day’s games were postponed due to inclement weather, including a gamebetween Canada and Botswana that was schedule for 11:00am PDT, the rain clearedup in the afternoon and the night games were able to be played. The postponedgames will be played over the next two days.
Canadian starting pitcher Dustin Keshane (Norquay,SK) struck out the side in the top of the first inning, and Canada wasted notime giving him run support, scoring six runs in the bottom of the frame. AfterTerrell Walker (Balcarres, SK) reached on an error and Dylan Cunningham(Belwood, ON) drew a walk, Mike Noftall (St. John’s, NL) hit a line drive RBIsingle to right field to bring Walker in from second base. Then, Jessin Potskin(Prince George, BC) connected with a triple down the first base line to clearthe bases, and immediately scored on a single by Travis Dauvin (Saskatoon, SK).After a couple of walks loaded the bases, Walker came up for the second time inthe inning and drove a pitch to center field to push two more runs in to score,giving Canada a 6-0 lead after one inning of play.
After Venezuela scored two runs in the top of thesecond, the Canadian offence continued to click in the bottom of the inning.Potskin led off with a line drive double that soared over the centerfielder’shead, followed by a walk to Dauvin and a three-run homerun by Joran Graham (Micksburg,ON). Canada then quickly loaded the bases and pushed a run across on afielder’s choice before Noftall deposited a three-run blast of his own justover the left field fence. Canada kept the bats alive in the bottom of thethird when Dauvin, Graham and Dan Mitchell (Paris, ON) started the inning withthree consecutive singles to bring in Canada’s final run. Venezuela managed toscrape another run in the fourth, but that was all they would get as Canadatook the 14-3 run-ahead rule decision through four and a half innings of play.
With the excellent run support provided by hisoffence, Keshane was very comfortable in the pitcher’s circle and was able togo after hitters at will. He allowed three runs on seven hits to an excellenthitting Venezuelan team that had produced 55 runs in five games played. Hisaggressiveness in the circle can certainly explain the fact that he did notallow a single walk and recorded 11 strikeouts in only five innings of work. Inaddition to all the offence described above, Derek Arsenie (Saskatoon, SK) alsochipped in with a single.
Canada (5-0) will return to action early tomorrowmorning as they will make up their game against Botswana (0-4) at 8:30am PDT.Then, the red and white will take on the three-time defending champions fromAustralia (4-0) in a battle for first place.
Beginning on Thursday, June 26th, alltournament games will be aired through Ballpark Radio, including Canada againstJapan (June 26th - 7:30pm PDT), Canada against the United States(June 27th – 7:30pm PDT) and all four playoff games on Saturday the28th and Sunday the 29th. Visit www.softball.ca for a link to Ballpark Radio,and be sure to visit the Multimedia section for pictures from the event!
Formore information, please contact:
GillesLeBlanc
Manager:Marketing and Communications Services
SoftballCanada
(613)523-3386 ext 3105
