Canada Comes Back to Beat United States at
IX Men’s Pan American Softball Championship 

(Parana, Argentina) The Canadian Senior Men’s National Team held on to sole possession of first place at the IX Men’s Pan American Softball Championship as they came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the United States 4-3. The Americans scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 3-1 lead but Canada fought back with a dramatic three-run homerun by Gregg Garrity (Courtice, ON) in the top of the seventh and was able to hold off Team USA in the bottom of the inning to earn the win, improving Canada’s record to 5-0.
 
In the top of the first, Canada quickly put two runners on base on a walk by Brandon Horn (Waterloo, ON) and a single by Mathieu Roy (St. Gervais, QC), but the next three batters were retired to leave both runners in scoring position. In the bottom of the inning, the United States got a pair of one-out singles and later loaded the bases with a hit by pitch, but the next batter popped out to second base to keep the game scoreless. Derek Mayson (North Vancouver, BC) managed a leadoff single in the second but was left stranded after a pair of groundouts and a strikeout, while the Americans also got their leadoff hitter on base on a hit by pitch but he was also left stranded.
 
Roy hit another single with one out in the top of the third but was later caught stealing to end the inning, and the Americans were able to open scoring in the bottom of the inning. Matt Palazzo drew a one-out walk, and the next batter hit an infield single to third with the throw eluding the first baseman, allowing Palazzo to score all the way from first as the throw to the plate was just late. Another walk put runners on first and second which brought on a pitching change as Mayson came on in relief of starting pitcher Devon McCullough (Saskatoon, SK) and promptly retired the next two batters on a pop out and a fly out.
 
Canada responded immediately with a solo homerun by Andy Skelton (Scarborough, ON) with one out in the top of the fourth, followed by a pair of singles by Mayson and Jason Sanford (Durham, NS), a fielder’s choice and a walk to load the bases with two outs, but a fly out to left kept the game tied. Team USA got a leadoff single in the bottom of the inning but was unable to advance the runner any further.
 
Both teams went down in order in the fifth and Canada got a runner on base in the sixth but was not able to get anything going while the Americans were able to take the lead in the bottom of the frame. Josh Johnson hit a leadoff double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Nick Mullins, who would later go on to score on a ground out as the United States took a 3-1 lead going into the last inning.
 
After a pair of groundouts to start the inning, Roy and Jeff Ellsworth (St. Lawrence, PEI) hit back-to-back singles to set the stage for Garrity’s clutch three-run shot with two outs to put Canada on top 4-3. Team USA did not lay down in the bottom of the seventh, as the leadoff batter walked followed by a double to put runners on second and third. Paul Koert (Brooklin, ON) got a big strikeout for the first out, and after an intentional walk loaded the bases, he got a ground ball to third base for the force out at the plate and the next batter flew out to centerfield as Canada escaped with the win.
 
Box Score: Canada 4 vs. United States 3
 
Canada used a committee of four pitchers in the game, as McCullough got the start and pitched the first two and one third innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits and two walks to go along with two strikeouts. Mayson came on in relief and gave up two runs on four hits in three innings, with Skelton coming in to pitch two thirds of an inning to finish the sixth and ended up striking out one batter and picking up the win. Koert came in to pitch the seventh and earned the save, allowing one hit and a walk with one strike out. Roy collected three hits for Canada, while Garrity had the big three-run homerun and Skelton added a solo shot. Mayson went two-for-two with a pair of singles and a walk, with Ellsworth and Sanford rounding out Canada’s nine hits.
 
In late scores on Monday night, the Dominican Republic defeated the United States 6-1 and Venezuela got a walk-off two-run homerun in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Argentina 3-1. On Tuesday, the Dominican Republic (3-2) earned its third straight win by shutting out Mexico (2-3) by a 5-0 score, and Venezuela (3-2) blanked Guatemala (0-5) by a score of 4-0. Cuba (1-3) is playing Argentina (3-1) in the nightcap.
 
Canada (5-0) will play its next game against the Dominican Republic (3-2) at 3:00pm EDT on Wednesday.
 
The event website can be found at http://9panamericanosoftbol2014.com/eng/, with webstreaming available at http://9panamericanosoftbol2014.com/eng/index.php/on-line. The event can also be followed on Facebook (IX Panamericano de Softbol Masculino Conpasa Parana Argentina 2014) and Softball Argentina’s Twitter account (@SoftbolARG).

How to Follow Team Canada
Softball Canada Website: http://www.softball.ca
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SoftballCanada
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SoftballCanadaNSO