From Codi Warren, Managing Director of Communications, USA Softball
STEVENS, Pa. — The 2017 USA Softball Men’s National Team (MNT) took home the 2017 Rodney Fox Memorial Tournament hardware after shutting out Globe 8-0 (six inning) in the Championship Game. Earning a spot in the finale after posting a 13-3 (five inning) win earlier in the day, the U.S. had timely hitting at the plate and a strong outing in the circle from Tony Mancha (Las Cruces, N.M.), who allowed just two hits.
Click here for results and box scores from the Rodney Fox Memorial Tournament
Championship Game: USA 8, Globe 0 (six inning)
Facing one of the best pitchers in the international game, Team USA proved they are a force to be reckoned with as the team slugged their way to an 8-0 (six inning) win over Globe. After taking the lead in the bottom of the second inning after Bryce Kay (Jefferson, Mo.) sent out a two-run shot, the U.S. never looked back as Mancha kept all but three Globe hitters off the bases.
It was a pitcher’s duel before Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.) picked up the first U.S. hit of the game with a double to lead off the bottom of the second inning. Back-to-back strikeouts kept Castillo at second before Kay sent the ball deep over the left field fence to make it a 2-0, U.S. ballgame.
It would stay a two-run lead for the Red, White and Blue until the bottom of the fifth inning when Chris Heinlein (Columbia, Mo.) was issued a leadoff walk. Nick Mullins (Toms River, N.J.) brought him home with an RBI double to left field before a single from Matt Ratliff (American Fork, Utah) put runners on the corners. This prompted a pitching change for Globe, as starter Sean Cleary was replaced by Jon Gwizdala. An error would allow Mullins to cross the plate, a sac fly from Erick Ochoa (Imperial, Calif.) brought home Ratliff and a sac fly from Tyler Dudley (Battle Creek, Mich.) extended the U.S. lead to 6-0. One inning later, a two-run home run from Pat Sagdal (Richland, Wash.) earned the walk-off win for the United States.
Mancha got the win in the circle, his second of the Rodney Fox Memorial Tournament. Limiting Globe to just two hits and one walk, Mancha picked up nine strikeouts through six complete innings of work.
“These guys played as a team,” said Head Coach Denny Bruckert (Gillespie, Ill.). “We swung the bats against some good pitching and our defense played really good all weekend. All in all, we did a really good job all weekend and I’m excited to see how this team develops.”
Semifinal: USA 13, Elanco 3 (five inning)
Jeff Nowaczyk (Midland, Mich.) had a day at the plate to help land the U.S. in the Championship Game. With a perfect 3-for-3 performance in the batter’s box, Nowaczyk sent two balls out of the park to pick up four RBI while Heinlein, Dudley, Kay and Ochoa each picked up a home run in the run-rule contest.
BJ Hunhoff (Harrisburg, S.D.) earned the win in the circle, pitching the first four innings with two strikeouts, three hits and three runs. Duane Weiler (Bedford, Pa.) entered in relief in the final frame, retiring each batter faced while picking up one strikeout.
The USA Softball MNT will meet up again at the Father’s Day Memorial Tournament in Houston, Texas from June 16-18 and the Vancouver Challenge July 1-3 in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The final 17-player roster for the 2017 USA Softball MNT will be determined prior to the WBSC Men’s World Championship, which will be held July 7-16 in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Fans at home can follow along all summer long at USASoftball.com.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.
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