USA Jr. Men finish 8th at World Championships with 5-6 overall record
June 28, 2008
USA Jr. Men finish 8th at World Championships with 5-6 overall record
WHITEHORSE, Yukon --- The USA Softball Junior Men’s National team completed their final day of competition on Friday at the 2008 World Championships with a 9-4 victory over the Czech Republic in the afternoon before a heartbreaking 1-0 eight-inning loss to host Canada in the evening session.
With 5-6 overall record, the U.S. finished eighth in the standings as the top four team move on to Saturday’s semifinal action. The U.S. scored 61 runs to their opponents 48 during the week.
USA 9 Czech Republic 5 (see attached box score)
The U.S. exploded for nine runs on 12 hits on Friday afternoon with a 9-5 triumph over the Czech Republic (1-10). James Hartman (Hartford, S.D.) earned the win in the circle tossing seven innings allowing three earned runs, eight hits and recording five strikeouts.
Both teams were quiet in the first inning before a six-run inning boosted the U.S. for a comfortable lead. The Czech Republic mustered two runs in the top of the third inning, but the U.S. came right back with two runs as well for the 8-2 lead. Another two-run inning came from the Czech Republic in the fifth as they closed the gap to 8-4, but the U.S. prevailed with each team scoring in the sixth for the eventual 9-5 final.
Leading the offense for the Red, White and Blue was Tony Viger (Sioux Falls, S.D.) who was 3-for-4 with two singles, a home run and two RBI. Right behind him was outfielder Nicholas Cole (Sacramento, Calif.) who was 2-for-2 with a single, a home run and a team-leading four RBI. JT Weststeyn (Baldwin, Mo.) was also 2-for-3 with two singles.
Canada 1 USA 0 (eight innings) (see attached box score)
The featured match-up of the evening, it was a pitcher’s duel with goose eggs on the scoreboard until the top of the eighth inning when Canada scored one run to capture the 1-0 victory.
USAstarting pitcher B.J. Hunhoff (Harrisburg, S.D.) pitched an incredible game against the hot-hitting Canadian bats. He tallied all eight innings facing 29 batters and allowed just three hits while also recording nine strikeouts.
Canadian pitcher Dustin Keshane no-hit the U.S. in the victory retiring 16 U.S. batters via the strikeout.
Final Standings through Round Robin Play
1 Australia 10-1
2 Japan 9-2
3 Canada 9-2
4 New Zealand 8-3
5 Argentina 6-5
6 Venezuela 6-5
7 Mexico 6-5
8 United States 5-6
9 South Africa 4-7
10 Denmark 2-9
11 Czech Republic 1-10
12 Botswana 0-11
About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United Statesand a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit www.asasoftball.com.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive as well as claimed two World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit www.usasoftball.com
Julie Bartel
ASA/USA Softball
Director of Communications
405-425-3463 - work
405-203-4645 - cell
