November 1, 2014
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PARANA, Argentina  -  The USA Softball Men’s National Team took fourth place following a 3-1 battle with Argentina at the IX Conpasa Men's Fastpitch Panam Championship on Friday evening the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today. The loss eliminated Team USA from the tournament, where the team finished with a 4-4 record and qualified for the 2015 Pan American Games and XIV International Softball Federation (ISF) Men's World Championship.
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"Tonight was a tough loss for the team, but we also saw the resilience of our guys," said Head Coach Denny Bruckert (Gillespie, Ill.). "These guys had their backs against the wall so many times throughout this tournament and proved that they will fight until the last pitch. We saw a lot of great things from the team, and are looking forward to continuing to grow as a team and program."
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Click here for full results from the IX Conpasa Men's Fastpitch Panam Championship
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Pitching dominated the first half of the game as Argentina's Lucas Mata shut the U.S. down in order in their first at-bat. USA's Tony Mancha (Las Cruces, N.M.) started in the circle, and despite giving up a leadoff infield single, retired the next three Argentina batters.Â
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Argentina struck first in the bottom of the second inning as Ladislao Malarczuk sent a solo shot over center field to give his team an early 1-0 lead.Â
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The U.S. would fail to get a base runner until the top of the sixth inning when Pat Sagdal (Richland, Wash.) singled with two outs. With Chris Miljavic (Easton, Mo.) at the plate, Sagdal stole second base and came around to score on an overthrow by Argentina's shortstop.Â
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Tied at 1-1, the game headed into the final inning where the U.S. faced the heart of the Argentina lineup. Bruno Motroni led off with a line drive to left field to put the leadoff batter on board before Manuel Godoy sent a home run over the right field fence. Mancha proved his resiliency, bouncing back and retiring the next three batters with the strikeout.Â
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Trailing by two in their last at-bat, Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) led off with a single to centerfield , but three-consecutive strikeouts ended the U.S. rally before it could begin.
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Mancha threw the complete game for the U.S., surrendering six hits, one walk and nine strikeouts. Offensively, Team USA was limited to two hits in the contest while 15 batters retired via strikeout.
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With the loss, the Americans took fourth at the IX Conpasa Men's Fastpitch Panam Championship, while Argentina advanced to play Canada in the semi-finals. The winner of the semi's will then face Venezuela for the title.Â
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As a team, the U.S. finished the tournament with a ..175 batting average and were led by Sagdal, who ended with a .250 (5-for-20) batting average and three RBI. From the circle, Mancha finished the tournament with a 1-3 record, 55 strikeouts and a 1.60 ERA in 35 innings pitched.
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Team USA now sets their sights on the 2015 season, where they will compete in two international events. First up will be the ISF Men's World Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada from June 26 - July 5. The U.S. will then head to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the 2015 Pan American Games, which are slated for July 10-26. You can follow along with Team USA all year round by visiting www.USASoftball.com.
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About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and 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 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
About USA SoftballÂ
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 nine World Championship titles as well as claimed seven World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com.
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Codi Warren
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Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications
Amateur Softball Association of America/USA Softball
Office 405.425.3431 | Cell 405. 420. 2817
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