ISF IX Junior Men's World Championship - Playoff 2 and 3
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2012
Canada Finishes Fourth at ISF Junior Men's World Championship
(Parana, Argentina) After rain postponed all playoff games on Friday, it was a busy day on the fields on Saturday as Canada opened the day with a game against the United States. Canada jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held on for a 4-2 win over the Americans, and advanced to play Australia to earn a spot in the medal round later in the day. In a back and forth battle, Canada came out on the short end of a 3-2 game to finish fourth at the ISF IX Junior Men's World Championship.
In the first game, Team USA put a bit of pressure in the top of the first as the leadoff batter singled, stole second and advanced to third on passed ball, but Michael Lagace-Roote (New Hamburg, ON) induced a pop up on the infield and struck out two batters to leave the runner stranded at third. Canada did not waste any time in opening the scoring in the bottom of the inning, as Cole Bolton (Flinton, ON) was hit by a pitch and quickly scored on a triple to right-center field by Michael Lamontagne (St-Charles-de-Bellechasse, QC). After Lamontagne was retired at the plate trying to score on a ground ball to second base, Adam Stuck (Owen Sound, ON) stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on an error to give Canada an early 2-0 lead.
The following inning, Brett Young (Taymouth, NB) reached base on an error and scored on a triple by Bolton over the right fielder's head. After a quick third inning, Team Canada added another insurance run as Lagace-Roote hit a two-out single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, to third on a passed ball and scored on a single by Taylor Brown (Centreville, ON) to give Canada a 4-0 lead. The United States responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth on a passed ball and a fielder's choice, but Lagace-Roote shut the door in the pitcher's circle the rest of the way, and struck out the side in the top of the seventh to earn the win.
Lagace-Roote allowed two runs on five hits and two walks and fired 12 strikeouts in seven innings of work. Lamontagne led Canada at the plate with a pair of hits and a run batted in, while Bolton, Lagace-Roote and Brown completed Canada's hits.
Against Australia, the Aussies took a 1-0 lead into fifth inning before Canada responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. The leadoff batter singled, and after a fly out, the following hitter also singled with both runners advancing on the throw to third to put runners at second and third. After a strikeout for the second out, the following hitter hit a two-run single to give Canada a 2-1 lead. Australia tied the game in the top half of the sixth on an error, and added another run in the top of the seventh on a two-out single followed by two passed balls and an RBI double. In the bottom of the seventh, the second batter was hit by a pitch followed by a single to put runners on first and second. The following batter struck out for the second out and the runners advanced to second and third on a passed ball, and another ball got away from the catcher but wasn't far enough to score, and Canada's runner was picked off at third base to end the game.
With the loss to Australia, Canada finished fourth. Australia then went on to play Japan and lost 5-4 in 10 innings to win the Bronze before Argentina shut out Japan 5-0 to win Gold.
Box Score: Canada 4 vs. United States 2
*Note: There is no box score for the game between Canada and Australia due to internet issues on the secondary field.
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For more information, please contact:
Gilles LeBlanc
Manager - Marketing and Communications
Softball Canada
(613) 523-3386 ext. 3105
gleblanc@softball.ca
