From Codi Warren, ASA/USA Softball 
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, Canada – A five-run second inning by Japan proved to be too much for a strong U.S. offense to overcome as Team USA suffered a 5-4 loss in their third game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s World Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Despite a strong rally in the top of the third inning, the Red, White and Blue dropped their first game of the WBSC Men’s World Championship, moving to 2-1 in the tournament.
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“Tonight’s game was a tough loss,” said Head Coach Denny Bruckert (Gillespie, Ill). “It’s hard to overcome an outing like Japan had in the second inning, but I’m proud of the way our guys continued to fight. We’ve still got a lot left to play and I’m looking forward to seeing how the guys respond to this.”
It was a three-up and three down inning for both sides in the game as both starting pitchers gave a strong performance in the first inning. Team USA got the first base runner of the game on base in the top of the second inning when Josh Johnson (El Paso, Texas) reached on a leadoff walk. The U.S. was unable to capitalize, however, as a fly ball to center field, a strikeout and a ground out to first kept Johnson from advancing.
Japan would jump on the board first in the bottom half of the frame after Hikaru Matsuda hit a one-out single before Masateru Matsuoka cleared the bases with a two-run home run. Japan would tack on an additional three runs in the second inning with a pair of singles, a walk and a triple to give them an early 5-0 lead.
The U.S. would respond in the top of the third inning when Pat Sagdal (Richland, Wash.) singled and advanced to third base on a double from Chris Miljavic (Easton, Mo.). With two runners in scoring position, Derrick Zechman (Watsontown, Pa.) plated the first run for Team USA with a single to bring Sagdal home. The Red, White and Blue continued to tack on the runs after a wild pitch brought Miljavic across the plate and an RBI single from Chase Turner (San Diego, Calif.) plated pinch runner Rylan Sandoval (Castro Valley, Calif.). A sac-fly by Freddy Carmona (San Antonio, Texas) would bring the U.S. within one run of Japan.
Despite getting two base runners in the fifth inning and another in the top of the seventh, Team USA was unable to overcome the five-run deficit created by Japan. Needing to score one run to keep the game going, two strikeouts and a ground out to first base dashed any chances and Team USA fell to Japan 5-4.
Tony Mancha (Las Cruces, N.M.) suffered his first loss at the WBSC Men's World Championship, lasting just one and two-third innings with two strikeouts, five hits and five earned runs. Gerald Muizelaar (Grand Forks, N.D.) entered the game in relief in the middle of the second inning and kept Japan from furthering the damage while issuing 11 strikeouts and just one hit.
With the loss, Team USA moves to 2-1 at the WBSC Men's World Championship. Up next for the U.S. is a 2 p.m. CT matchup tomorrow against the Netherlands. Fans at home can follow along with live stats and live streaming for the entire WBSC Men's World Championship at www.ASAUSASoftball.com.