From the U.S. Olympic committee:
USA Softball Men’s Fast Pitch National Team tops Botswana, strong pitching at Worlds
by Jamie Blanchard – U.S. Olympic Committee (719-866-2221)
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, Canada — The USA Softball Men’s Fast Pitch National Team, facing one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the tournament, topped Botswana 2-1 at the ISF World Men’s Softball Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, on Tuesday afternoon.
The win moved Team USA one step closer to securing a second-place standing in pool play, as they moved their record to 4-1. They next face Great Britain at 9:30 p.m. CST Wednesday.
Team USA scored its first run in the second inning as Don Garvey (Appleton, Wis.) singled, advanced to second on a walk to Nate Devine (Sonora, California) and to third on a walk to Darren Miller (Creve Couer, Ill.). Garvey then scored on a wild pitch to Marcus Tan (Union City, Calif.).
The red, white and blue added a second run in the bottom of the fifth as Adam Lalonde (Ashland, Ky.) led off with a single, stole second base and went to third on a passed ball. He scored on a double by Kyle Magnusson (Minot, N.D.).
Travis Price (Corona, Calif.) threw six strong innings for Team USA, giving up just one run on three hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. Paul Koert (Brooklin, Ontario) threw the last inning, walking one and striking out one.
Fireballer Tony Moyo, clocked at 81 miles per hour, limited the USA to only two hits but fortunately they both came in the two innings the USA scored. Botswana scored its run in the top of the sixth on a single by Tshepiso Mathame and a double by Obusitswe Lekgothu.
Team USA head coach Peter Turner (Stockton, Calif.) said, “We faced a hard-thrower who was on his game today. We did get key hits when we needed it and Price and Koert threw well for us. Fortunately, we continue to move forward in our pool and will face a scrappy Great Britain team that upset Japan in our next game.”