Men's National Team seeks first Pan American Gold as men's softball returns to Toronto 2015 Pan American Games

July 11, 2015

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 11, 2015

Men's National Team seeks first Pan American Gold as men's softball returns to Toronto 2015 Pan American Games

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada  — The road to Pan Am glory begins tomorrow as members of the 2015 USA Softball Men's National Team will begin their quest to bring home the program's first Pan American Games Gold Medal the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today.  Arriving in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Thursday, Team USA will open up play against the Dominican Republic on July 12 at 2 p.m. EDT.

 

Click here for the 2015 USA Softball Men's National Team roster

 

"It's an honor and an unbelievable experience to be back in the Pan American Games," said USA third baseman Derrick Zechman (Watsontown, Pa.).  "We're excited and ready to represent the USA.  The competition is elite and the six teams here all have a chance to medal in the end.  We obviously want to win it and come home with that gold medal.  We're completely capable of doing that."

 

USA Softball enters the Pan American Games following a ninth place finish at World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men's World Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.  The Red, White and Blue finished with a 7-3 record, falling just one win shy of making the playoff rounds.  Team USA is led by Head Coach Denny Bruckert (Gillespie, Ill.), who has previous Pan American Games experience as an Assistant Coach for the 1999 Pan Am team that claimed the silver. 

 

"This Pan Am experience is second to none ," said Bruckert.  "We have the six best teams here in Toronto and no one will be easy.  Every game is going to be tough and we just have to come out on top and get in that final four.  The guys have been looking forward to this since January when the team was named.  The team has dug deep and we've learned from our mistakes at the World Championship.  That's what Americans do and that's what we as coaches do."

 

Men's softball made its debut in the Pan American Games in 1979 and is returning to the program for the first time since 2003.  The USA Softball Men's National Team has been consistent at the Pan American Games, claiming seven consecutive silver medals dating from 1979-2003 with 2015 host Canada claiming the gold medal in each.  Four of the seven gold medal games have been decided by a margin of two runs or less between the two world powers.  The Men's National Team has an overall Pan American Games record of 60-15, with their losses coming at the hands of Canada and Argentina. 

 

The men's softball competition in the multi-sport Pan American Games is scheduled for July 12-18. After opening on July 12, the team will face host country and reigning World Champion Canada (July 13 at 7 pm EDT), Venezuela (July 14 at 2 p.m. EDT) and Argentina (July 15 at 4:30 p.m. EDT). The team finishes pool play against Mexico on July 16 at 7 p.m. EDT. The playoffs are scheduled for July 17 with the medal round scheduled for July 18.  Schedule is subject to change.

 

The Men's National Team is comprised of 14 Pan American Games rookies with one veteran, Chris Miljavac (Easton, Mo.).  Making their Pan American Games debut are: Kris Bogach (Huguenot, N.Y.), Freddy Carmona (San Antonio, Texas), Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.), Nate Devine (Sonora, Calif.), Josh Johnson (El Paso, Texas), Tony Mancha (Las Cruces, N.M.), Gerald Muizelaar (Grand Forks, N.D.), Nick Mullins (Toms River, N.J.), Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa), Bobby Rosthenhausler (Tucson, Ariz.), Pat Sagdal (Richland, Wash.), Marcus Tan (Union City, Calif.), Chase Turner (San Jose, Calif.) and Derrick Zechman (Watsontown, Pa.). 

 

Team USA is led by Denny Bruckert with Greg Hicks (Bakersfield, Calif.), Gregg Leather (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Nick McCurry (Ashland, Ohio) serving as Assistant Coaches.

 

Live stats will be available throughout the Pan American Games and fans at home can follow along with recaps and more at ASAUSASoftball.com.

 

 

USA SOFTBALL MNT Notes and Story Lines for the Pan American Games

-          MNT: USA Softball’s Chris Miljavac is the sole member of the 2015 roster with Pan American Games experience, having played in the 2003 Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

-          MNT: Head Coach Denny Bruckert has Pan American Games experience, having coached the 1999 team that won silver at the Winnipeg Pan American Games.

-          MNT: Eleven (11) states represent the 15-person roster as Arizona, California, Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington are represented.

-          MNT: The Canadians and U.S. have a long-standing rivalry in the Pan American Games with Canada claiming the Gold in each Pan Am appearance and Team USA finishing runner-up. 

-          MNT: Team USA is 14-21 all-time against Canada in major international competitions.

-          MNT: Team USA most recently played against the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela at the WBSC Men's World Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Team USA notched two victories over Mexico (7-0 and 4-3) and the Dominican Republic (6-4) while falling to Venezuela (3-2).

 

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 visithttp://www.asausasoftball.com/.

 

 

Codi Warren

 

Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications

Amateur Softball Association of America/USA Softball

Office 405.425.3431 | Cell 405. 420. 2817