USA Softball announces Junior Men’s Roster
9/16/2004
Oklahoma City, OK—USA Softball has announced the roster for its 2005 Junior Men’s National Team that will represent the United States at the 2005 ISF Junior Men’s World Championship in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada, June 22-July 1. These players were selected after a year long process that involved tryouts, various training camps and evaluation at the ASA National Championships.
The 17 players selected for the 2005 Junior Men’s National Team are:
Matt Bezzant (Cedar Hills, UT); Drew Bode (Prairie de Chien, WI); Mike Bowden (Aurora, IL); Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, CA); Kyle Davis (Sioux Falls, SD); Bobby Donley (Templeton, CA); Brandon Huerta (Atascadero, CA); John Kelly (Chester, IA); Sean Krohse (Sioux Falls, SD); Curtis Leavitt (Acton, CA); Jason Loe (Sioux Falls, SD); Brian Malakowsky (Wells, MN); Andy Mathews (Cameron, WI); Bobby Olson (Amboy, MN); Evan O’Reilly (San Luis Obispo, CA); Zach Warne (Sioux Falls, SD) and Riley White (Lehi, UT)Alternates are Camden Decker (Aurora, IL), B.J. Hunhoff (Harrisburg, SD) and Nick Santos (Pueblo, CO).
The coaches selected to lead this team are head coach Tim Lyon (South Jordan, UT), assistant coach Gary Mullican (Aliso Viejo, CA) and assistant coach Scott Standerfer (Charleston, IL).
The USA Junior Men’s National Team will attempt to win its first medal at a World Championship since 1985. Despite winning silver medals at the first two (1981 and 1985) ISF Junior Men’s World Championships, the USA Junior Men have been unable to reach the medal stand in the last four World Championships finishing a disappointing eighth in 2001 in Sydney, Australia with a record of 2-7.
“I am excited at the opportunity to build the USA Junior Men’s program back to where it belongs, at the top of the top,” said head coach Tim Lyon. “We have worked extremely hard to put together the best possible team to represent the U.S. at next year’s World Championship.”
The Junior Men’s World Championship, which is held every four years and is comprised of teams whose players are 19-years-old or younger, represents the highest level of international competition for junior men’s fast pitch softball.
Junior Men’s World Championship Game Schedule 2005
5/17/2005
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Amateur Softball Association and USA Softball announced today the schedule for the USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team that will be competing at the 2005 ISF Junior Men’s World Championship being held June 24-July 3 in Prince Edward Island. The 10-team tournament will begin with round-robin play with the top four teams advancing to the playoffs.
The USA Junior Men’s National Team will attempt to win its first medal at a World Championship since 1985. Despite winning silver medals at the first two (1981 and 1985) ISF Junior Men’s World Championships, the USA Junior Men have been unable to reach the medal stand in the last four World
Championships finishing a disappointing eighth in 2001 in Sydney, Australia with a record of 2-7.
USA Softball Jr. Men’s World Championship Schedule
Friday, June 24
10:00 a.m. – USA vs. Czech Republic
Saturday, June 25
11:00 a.m. – USA vs. Australia
Sunday, June 26
1:00 p.m. – USA vs. New Zealand
Monday, June 27
3:00 p.m. – USA vs. Argentina
Tuesday, June 28
8:00 p.m. – USA vs. Canada
Wednesday, June 29
11:00 a.m. – USA vs. Denmark
Thursday, June 30
9:00 a.m. – USA vs. Venezuela
3:00 p.m. – USA vs. Mexico
Friday, July 1
10:00 a.m. – USA vs. Japan
Saturday, July 2 – PLAYOFFS
6:00 p.m. – 3rd Place vs. 4th Place – GAME 1
8:00 p.m. – 1st Place vs. 2nd Place – GAME 2
Sunday, July 3 – FINALS
12:00 p.m. – Bronze Medal Game – Winner of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – GAME 3
3:00 p.m. – Gold Medal Game – Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3 – GAME 4
USA Junior Men ready to take on the World
6/22/2005
Oklahoma City, Okla. —-The USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team has arrived in Summerset, PEI, Canada for the 2005 ISF Junior Men’s World Championship that begins Friday, June 24. The Junior Men are looking to improve on their ninth place finish at the 2001 World’s in Sydney, Australia. If the team’s performance this past weekend in Ramona, Calif., is any indication, the U.S. appears to be up to the challenge.
Going a perfect 7-0 while outscoring opponents 90-25, Team USA captured the 15-team tournament with stellar pitching and powerful hitting that included an .856 slugging percentage. In the round-robin portion of the tournament, the Red, White and Blue went 4-0 with two wins over Palm Springs Express (18-0 & 13-6) and two over Southern California Hustlers (16-3 & 18-5) to emerge as the top seed.
In the opening round of bracket play, Team USA defeated the Palm Spring Express (9-0) for the third time in two days before downing the Black Sox 7-3 to advance to the finals.
In the championship game, the U.S. faced the undefeated Amigos who were looking to knock off the young men of Team USA. After five innings the game was tied 7-7 with USA’s Zach Warne (Sioux Falls, SD) and Amigos Anthony Martinez locked up in a pitching dual.
Both teams had their chances to score but each time the defense for both stepped up and made the plays they needed to get out of the inning. In the top of the 10th inning Andy Mathews (Cameron, Wisc.) led off with a single and move to second on a sacrifice by Matt Bezzant (Cedar Hills, Utah). A single by Evan O’Reilly (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) gave the U.S. the lead and a triple by Bobby Olson (Amboy, Minn.) provided an insurance run.
The Amigos responded with a run in the bottom of the inning with runners on the corners, but Warne left them stranded recording a third out strikeout.
Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.) led the U.S. offensive attack in the tournament going 12-for-21 (.571) with four doubles and five RBI. Curtis Leavitt (Acton, Calif.) and Jason Loe (Sioux Falls, SD) led the team in RBI with 14 and 13 respectively. In the circle, it was Warne and John Kelly (Chester, Iowa) leading the way pitching 31 of the 39 innings for Team USA.
The USA will look to ride its momentum into the World Championship when it opens play against the Czech Republic on June 24 at 10 a.m. . (PEI is 2 hours ahead of CST)
USA Junior Men open ISF World Championship with 6-5 win over Czech Republic
6/24/2005
Summerside, PEI, Canada—The USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat the Czech Republic 6-5 in its opening game of the 2005 ISF Junior Men’s World Championship.
“It’s obviously huge for us to be able to win our first game especially the way we had to come back and battle in the late innings,” said U.S. head coach Tim Lyon. “It’s good to get the first one under your belt and get over some of the nerves that are associated with being in this type of environment.”
The Czech Republic jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning thanks to a three-run home run by its catcher.
USA’s Curtis Leavitt (Acton, Calif.) responded with a solo tape measure shot in the bottom of the inning that left the Czech’s in awe.
A two-run shot by the Czech’s right fielder in the fifth stretched the lead to 5-1 and had the Red, White and Blue staring at an opening round loss.
After being shutout in the bottom of the fifth, the U.S. cut the lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth to put itself within striking distance in the final inning.
U.S. starter John Kelly (Chester, Iowa), who allowed five runs on five hits and had five strikeouts in the game, held the Czech in the top of the seventh to give his offense a chance at the win.Bobby Olson (Amboy, Minn.) opened the seventh with a lead-off single and moved to second when pinch-hitter Camden Decker (Aurora, Ill.) was walked. Jason Loe (Sioux Falls, SD) kept the rally going when the Czech’s booted a sac bunt to load the bases.
The Czech defense fell apart dropping a sacrifice fly by Brandon Huerta (Atascadero, Calif.) to allow Olson to score and keep the bases loaded. The U.S. tied the game on a sacrifice fly that scored Decker to bring Leavitt to the plate. After the earlier home run the Czech chose to intentional walk him for the second consecutive time to load the bases.
Andy Mathews (Cameron, Wis.) took advantage of the opportunity by driving an RBI single to second that couldn’t be handled by second baseman allowing Loe to score the winning run.
“We were tight early especially the first time through the order,” Lyon said. “But as the game went along we started moving the ball around and making things happen.”
The U.S. will be tested on Saturday when they face two-time defending champion Australia at 11 a.m. Australia won its opening game 6-3 over Mexico.
“Australia has a lot of history coming in as the two-time defending champion and will be a tough opponent tomorrow. Our kid’s will be ready to compete tomorrow.”
USA Softball Junior Men shutout at World Championship
6/25/2005
Summerset, PEI, Canada—-The USA Softball Junior Men were shutout by two-time defending champion Australia 5-0 on day two of the ISF World Championship to fall to 1-1 in the tournament. The U.S. managed only two hits in the game while being fanned 17-times.
The Aussies jumped all over U.S. starter Zach Warne (Sioux Falls, SD) in the first two innings scoring one in the first and four in the second to take a comfortable 5-0 lead. Warne was relieved in the second but was responsible for all five of the runs. B.J. Hunhoff (Harrisburg, SD) held Australia hitless while allowing just one walk in three innings of relief work. Kyle Davis (Sioux Falls, SD) pitched the final three innings holding the Aussie’s scoreless.
The U.S. had runners in scoring position in the third when Brandon Huerta (Atascadero, Calif.) and Brian Malakowsky (Wells, Minn.) reached on walks but could not come up with a key hit to get on the board.
Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.) broke up the no-hitter in the sixth inning with a single and Jason Loe (Sioux Falls, SD) followed with a single as well but once again both were left stranded.
“We didn’t start the game mentally ready today,” said head coach Tim Lyon. “We came out flat, got behind early and could not make a run at them. We had a few chances with runners in scoring position but could not get that first big hit.”
Australian pitcher Adam Folkard was dominate against the Red, White and Blue allowing only two hits while recording 17 of the 21 outs by strikeout.
Looking to rebound on Sunday from its first loss, the U.S. will try and knock off perennial power New Zealand at 1 p.m.“We will be ready to play New Zealand tomorrow and get back on the winning track.”
USA Junior Men lose heartbreaker to New Zealand
6/27/2005
Summerside, P.E.I, Canada—A two-out rally in the sixth inning by the New Zealand Junior Men’s Team was enough to get past the USA on day three of the ISF Junior Men’s World Championship. Leading 1-0 through five innings, the U.S. was unable to impede the Kiwi’s rally in the sixth allowing two runs to fall behind 2-1. The loss drops the Red, White and Blue to 1-2 in the championship.
The U.S. took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Curtis Leavitt (Acton, Calif.) smashed his second home run of the tournament.
USA hurler John Kelly (Chester, Iowa) held the Junior Black Sox to only four hits through the first five innings before a two walk sparked the rally. With two outs, New Zealand capitalized on the walk by hitting back-to-back singles take a 2-1 lead.U.S. catcher Matt Bezzant (Cedar Hills, Utah) sparked a rally in the seventh with a lead off single and moved to second on a single by Bobby Olson (Amboy, Minn.), but the Kiwi pitching staff fanned the final two U.S. batters to end the game.
After being held to just two hits versus Australia on day two, the U.S. bats mustered seven versus New Zealand but could not get the key hit it needed for the win. Olson led the U.S. offensive attack going 2-for-3 while Leavitt was 1-for-2 with a home run and a walk.
Kelly drops to 1-1 in the championship after allowing two runs on six hits with three strikeouts in the complete game effort.
The USA Junior Men will look to get back on the winning track on Monday when they face 0-3 Argentina at 1 p.m. CST.
USA Junior Men rebound with win
6/27/2005
Summerside, P.E.I., Canada—The USA Softball Junior Men evened their record at 2-2 with an 8-1 run-rule victory over Argentina on day four of the ISF Junior Men’s World Championships. The win ends a two game skid for the Red, White and Blue and keeps its hopes alive for a spot in the championship finals.
Argentina took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after the lead-off batter doubled and scored on an illegal pitch. While some thought an upset was in the making, the U.S. responded in the third scoring eight runs to take a comfortable 8-1 lead.
Camden Decker (Aurora, Ill.) led off the inning with a triple and scored on a single by Jason Loe (Sioux Falls, SD. With two outs and a runner on Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.) hit his first home run of the tournament to give the U.S. a 3-1 lead. The two out rally continued with a single by Andy Mathews (Cameron, Iowa, a walk to Matt Bezzant (Cedar Hills, Utah) and a single by Evan O’Reilly San Luis Obispo, Calif.) to load the bases.
A walk to Bobby Olson (Amboy, Minn.) drove in a fourth run of the inning and left the bases loaded. Decker, who had led off the inning with a triple, came through again with single that scored two runs to stretch the lead to 6-1. The final two runs of the inning were credited to Loe who doubled for an 8-1 lead.
John Kelly (Chester, Iowa) was solid in the circle for the U.S. allowing only one run on three hits to improve to 2-1 at the World Championships.Three different U.S. players had multiple hits in the game including Loe who went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Castillo was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI while Decker was perfect at 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBI.
Currently sitting in fifth place in the overall standing, the U.S. will need to carry this momentum into Tuesday’s match-up with Canada at 6 p.m. CST in order to keep its hopes alive for a spot in the championship finals. Canada is currently 3-1 in the championship with wins over Mexico, Argentina and Czech Republic.
USA Junior Men unable to hold off Canada at ISF World Championships
6/28/2005
Summerside, P.E.I. Canada—The USA Junior Men dropped to 2-3 at the ISF Junior Men’s World Championship after losing 6-2 to Canada on day five of the tournament. The U.S. led for the majority of the game but a sixth inning rally by Canada proved to be too much to overcome.
The U.S. took an early 1-0 lead when Andy Mathews (Cameron, WI) led off the top of the second inning with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Evan O’Reilley.
Neither team put together a serious scoring threat again until the sixth inning. Camden Decker (Aurora, Ill.) reached on an error by the shortstop to lead off the top of the inning. He then moved two bases on a passed ball and wild pitch before scoring on a single by Jason Loe (Sioux Falls, SD) to make it a 2-0 U.S. lead.
The bottom of the sixth inning turned disastrous for the U.S. when Canada rallied for six runs on just four hits. A lead-off walk to Mathieu Roy got the rally started. A single by Bryan Abrey scored Roy to put Canada on the board for the first time in the game.
With over 2700 fans cheering on their home team, Canada continued to roll by scoring five more runs. A double by Ben Tee drove in two runs and a three-run blast by Bobby Sill plated the final three of the inning.
U.S. pitcher John Kelly (Chester, Iowa), who has pitched the majority of the innings for the U.S., held Canada scoreless for five innings before allowing six runs in the sixth.
The U.S. is now in a must win situation in order to advance to the playoff round at the World Championships and will look to keep their hopes alive when they face Denmark on Wednesday at 1 p.m. CST.
USA Junior Men defeat Denmark 20-0
6/29/2005
Summerside, P.E.I, Canada—The USA Junior Men exploded for 20-runs in just four innings to defeat Denmark 20-0 on day six of the ISF Junior Men’s World Championship. With the win, the U.S. improves to 3-3 in the championship and remains hopefully of earning a spot in the championship finals.
A double by Curtis Leavitt (Acton, Calif.) and Zach Warne (Sioux Falls, SD) coupled with a triple by Camden Decker (Aurora, Ill.) highlighted an eight run first inning for the U.S.
Leavitt hit his third home run of the tournament in the second inning to push the lead to 9-0.
The U.S. tacked on five runs in the third inning to stretch the lead to 14-0. Brian Malakowsky (Wells, Minn.) led the way with a two run blast. Warne collected an RBI after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Brandon Huerta (Atascadero, Calif.) singled in the final runs of the inning.
Six runs in the fourth inning was all the U.S. needed to end the game due to the international run rule (15-runs after four innings). Matt Bezzant (Cedar Hills, Utah) and Riley White each had doubles in the inning while Evan O’Reilly smashed the third home run of the game for the U.S.
The U.S. offense was led by Malakowsky who went 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Also contributing in a big way offensively was Leavitt (2-for-2 with a double, home run and three RBI) and White (2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI).
Warne started the game in the circle and pitched two innings to pick up the win. Sean Krohse (Sioux Falls, SD), Kyle Davis (Sioux Falls, SD) and B.J. Hunhoff (Harrisburg, SD) combined to toss the final two innings of the game.
The U.S. will look to continue its winning ways on Thursday when it faces Mexico at 4 p.m. CST.
USA Junior Men keep hopes alive
6/30/2005
Summerside, P.E.I, Canada—It took extra innings but the USA Junior Men kept their hopes alive at the ISF Junior Men with a dramatic 5-3 win over Mexico to improve to 4-3 in round-robin competition. Camden Decker (Aurora, Ill.), who was an alternate when the team was first selected, came through with a three run home run in the eighth inning to give the U.S. a 5-2 lead.
“Camden Decker has been ready to play the entire tournament and he deserved to get the start today and came through when we needed him most,” said head coach Tim Lyon.
Evan O’Reilly (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) put the U.S. up early with a solo home run in the third inning.
The U.S. added an insurance run in the fourth when Jason Loe (Sioux Falls, SD) walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single by Decker to take a 2-0 lead. Mexico came back with a vengeance scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Drew Bode (Prairie de Chien, Wis.) started at second base due to the International tie breaker and moved to third on a wild pitch. Loe followed with a walk to put runners on the corners for Decker who smashed a home run to deep right field for a 5-1 advantage.
Mexico scored a run in the bottom of the eighth but could not close the gap.
“The guys came out and really got the job done today,” Lyon said. “After the struggles this program has had in the past tt was nice to be playing a meaningful game this late in the tournament.”
John Kelly (Chester, Iowa) went five innings in the circle giving up two runs on seven hits while walking one before being relieved by Zach Warne (Sioux Falls, SD). Warne pitched the final three innings in relief to earn the win allowing a run on two hits.
The offensive stars of the game for the U.S. were Decker, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, O’Reilly, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, and Loe, who was 1-for-2 with a double.
The U.S. will face Japan on Friday at 10 a.m. CST. The U.S. must win in order to have a chance at making the medal rounds. A loss and they are eliminated from competition.
“We are excited about being able to play a game that could get us into the medal round which is much different than where we have been in year’s past. If we play our game we are as good as anyone and should be in the medal round.”
USA Junior Men eliminated from ISF World Championship
7/1/2005
Summerside, P.E.I., Canada—The USA Junior Men’s hopes of advancing to the medal round for the first time since 1985 came to an end today as Japan rallied for a 5-1 win in the final game of round-robin play. The U.S. finishes with a 4-4 record, which is its best record in a World Championship in almost two decades.
“I could not be happier with the performance of these guys over the last eight days,” said Head Coach Tim Lyon. “Where we are now from where we were four years ago is a testament to the hard work and dedication put in by these players. These guys have built a foundation for the future of this program.”
The USA took an early 1-0 lead when Jason Loe (Sioux Falls, SD) crushed a home run over the left field scoreboard.
Japan tied the game in the fourth when Masayuki Shimoto hit a shot up the middle to score Takuto Tsutsui who reached on a walk.
The U.S. had bases loaded with one out in the fifth after Huerta was hit by pitch and Loe and Camden Decker (Aurora, Ill.) reached on walks but could not capitalize.
Once again the sixth inning and walks proved to be the Achilles heel for the U.S. With one out Tsutsui walked and advanced to second on a passed ball. A stand up double by Norihiko Aoyama drove in the go ahead run to give Japan a 2-1 lead.
Following a pitching change that saw Zach Warne (Sioux Falls, SD) enter the game for starter John Kelly (Chester, Iowa), Masayuki Shimoto walked to put runners on first and second. Shinji Kawamura made the U.S. pay crushing a Warne offering over the centerfield fence to give his team a 5-1 advantage.
Kelly, who has carried the U.S. pitching staff through the championship pitching all but 13 innings, went 5 1/3 innings allowing three runs on three hits and walked four. Warne pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief allowing two runs on one hit.“John Kelly was a warrior for us during this entire tournament,” Lyon said. “He stepped up and was ready to take the ball every time we asked him to and gave it everything he had.”
Loe was the bright spot offensively for the U.S. going 1-for-2 with a solo home run, while Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.) contributed the only other hit for the Red, White and Blue in the game.
“I can’t say enough about my assistant coaches Scott Standerfer and Gary Mullican,” Lyon added “They have worked tirelessly to get us to this point and are the reason we performed as well as we did. There are no words to describe what they have meant to this program.”
USA Junior Men 5th In World Championships
8/2/2005
By Doug Lindaman
The USA Softball junior men’s national team finished with a fifth place finish in the recently completed International Softball Federation VII Junior Men’s World Championship played in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada. This marks the highest finish for a USA junior men’s team in twenty years.
After being run-ruled in three games and finishing a disappointing eighth in the previous ISF event in 2001, a concerted effort to find better athletes and develop their skills was undertaken by USA Softball. Head coach Tim Lyon, assistants Scott Standerfer and Gary Mullican along with the national selection committee, embarked on a nearly three year effort to upgrade the program.
As coach Lyon put it, “The coaching staff is very happy with the progress the program has made in the past four years between world championships. The level of athlete has improved and it showed in our results.”
Unlike the junior women’s program that has literally tens of thousands of age-eligible players to chose from, there are fewer than two hundred boys who play ASA club softball. Choosing from among these players and supplementing them with baseball players in order to take on the best 19-under age players in the world proved to be quite a challenge. Boys fastpitch is a much bigger sport in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Canada, even being played in many high schools. But the USA club was up to the challenge. “It was a great group of kids who came together as a team and played hard every time they took the field” said Lyon, a resident of South Jordan, Utah.
In the round-robin tournament, the USA began with a 6-5 victory over the Czech Republic. Eventual gold medal winner Australia defeated USA 5-0. New Zealand dealt the USA a tough 2-1 loss before the Americans bounced back with an 8-1 decision over Argentina. Bronze winner Canada topped the USA 6-2. After a 20-0 rout of Denmark and a 5-3 win over Mexico, the USA was in a position to get in to the medal round with their final contest against Japan.
After the USA took a 1-0 lead, Japan came back to win 5-1 advancing as the second seed in the medal round and eventually winning silver. “We were competitive in every game we played and should have been playing for a medal,” noted Lyon.
Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, CA) led the USA in hitting at .400 (10 for 25). Jason Loe (Sioux Falls, SD) hit .375 (9 for 24) with two home runs and seven runs batted in. Curtis Leavitt (Acton, CA) had three homers and Camden Decker (Aurora, IL) hit .308. John Kelly (Chester, IA) was the work horse on the mound, logging 34 innings, allowing 29 hits, striking out 19 and compiling a 3.91 ERA while posting a 2-3 record. Zach Warne (Sioux Falls, SD) had a 2-1 record, allowing 10 hits in seven innings with a 7.30 ERA and four strikeouts.
Looking to the future, much work remains to be done to return the USA to the medal stand. The next ISF will be contested in 2008, just three years away, as the junior men will be switching with the men (moving back to 2009). Two players on this USA team, Riley White (Salt Lake City, UT) and BJ Hunhoff (Sioux Falls, SD) will still be age-eligible for the next team. Additionally, the coaching staff and selection committee have already begun the process of identifying potential national team prospects. As Lyon puts it, “the program already has a good start on the next cycle.”
Lyon is appreciative of the support he and his staff have received. “The ASA national office and especially USA Softball Director of National Teams Ronnie Isham were committed to making this program successful and the results show we are headed in the right direction.”
Click links below for some history on the USA Jr. Men’s team:
[…] Team – Jr. MenOfficial Website – USA Jr. MenHistory of the USA Jr. Men’s Program2005 USA Jr. Men’s teamSoftball CanadaMenJr. MenSoftball New ZealandMenJr. MenSoftball AustraliaMenCoaching StaffJr. […]