Josh Johnson fans 13 en route to a U.S. 4-1 win over the Netherlands at WBSC Men's World Championship

June 29, 2015

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June 29, 2015

Josh Johnson fans 13 en route to a U.S. 4-1 win over the Netherlands at WBSC Men's World Championship

Box Score

 

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, Canada  - Four different U.S. batters recorded an RBI as Team USA earned a 4-1 win over the Netherlands at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men's World Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Led by a strong performance in the circle from pitcher Josh Johnson (El Paso, Texas), Team USA now moves to 3-1 in the tournament and is currently sitting in the No. 2 spot in Pool B. 

 

Click here for full coverage from the WBSC Men's World Championship

 

"Today's game was a good bounce back victory after a tough loss last night," said USA Head Coach Denny Bruckert (Gillespie, Ill.).  "The Netherlands are a good, solid defensive ball club. Matt's homerun really helped take some pressure off of Josh, who threw a good game." 

 

Led by a dominant performance from Johnson, Team USA combined for four hits en route to a 4-1 win over the Netherlands in Monday afternoon. 

 

It was a pitcher's duel through the majority of the game as each side was retired in order through two complete innings before Rylan Sandoval (Castro Valley, Calif.)  singled in the bottom of the third.  The U.S. was unable to capitalize, however, as back-to-back ground outs ended the effort.

 

The Netherlands got their first base runner of the game in the top of the fourth inning when leadoff batter Jeff Delfina was hit by a pitch.  The U.S. defense held strong behind Johnson, however, getting a pair of fly outs before Johnson issued a strikeout to bring the U.S. back to the plate.

 

Team USA got on the board first in the bottom half of the frame when Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) hit a solo home run to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead.  The Red, White and Blue would further add to their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Kris Bogach (Huguenot, N.Y.) reached on a leadoff walk.  Another walk to Palazzo put two runners on bag for the U.S. when Derrick Zechman (Watsontown, Pa.) hit a ground ball to center field to plate pinch runner Chris Miljavic (Easton, Mo.).  Chase Turner (San Jose, Calif.) followed up with another ground ball to left field to plate Palazzo.  One additional run would score for Team USA when Frank DeGroat (Ringwood, N.J.) reached on a fielding error by the shortstop, bring Zechman around to score. 

 

The no-hitter for Johnson was broken up in the top of the seventh inning when the Netherlands got a leadoff double to left field.  A walk to the next batter put two runners on base, with each advancing on a groundout to Sandoval at second base.  With two runners in scoring position, the Netherlands knocked in a run with a groundout to Chris Heinline (Columbia, Mo.) at shortstop.  Johnson would be unfazed, however, issuing a strikeout to end the game while giving the U.S. the 4-1 win.

 

Team USA now moves to 3-1 at the WBSC Men's World Championship and are slated for a 9:30 pm CST match with Venezuela tomorrow.  Fans at home can follow along with live stats and live streaming for the entire WBSC Men's World Championship at www.ASAUSASoftball.com. 

 

About ASA/USA Softball


Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 74 local associations and 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.  ASA/USA is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of 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 eight World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please visit http://www.asausasoftball.com/.

 

About the World Baseball Softball Confederation

Headquartered in the Olympic Capital city of Lausanne, Switzerland, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) was established in April 2013 and granted recognition as the sole competent authority in baseball and softball by the International Olympic Committee at the 125th IOC Session in September 2013. The WBSC represents a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes worldwide. The WBSC governs all international competitions involving any of the National Teams of its 141 National Federation members.  The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships, The Premier 12, the World Baseball Classic, and the U12, U15, U18, U21 and Women's Baseball World Cups.  For further information, please go to www.WBSC.co or follow the WBSC on Twitter at @WBSC.

 

 

Codi Warren

 

Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications

Amateur Softball Association of America/USA Softball

Office 405.425.3431 | Cell 405. 420. 2817