Will Open Super Round vs. Venezuela – 9am ART /8am ET/5am PT Thursday 4/28
From USA Softball:
April 27, 2022, 10:32 p.m. (ET)
PARANÁ, Argentina –– The USA Softball Men’s National Team (MNT) struggled to come alive in Day Four of the Pan American Championship, falling 4-2 to No. 6 Canada and 3-1 to No. 2 Argentina. With the losses, the Red, White and Blue finished Opening Round with a 2-2 record to advance to Super Round as the No. 3 seed in Group B.
The offense managed just six hits on the day with Blaine Milheim (Eaton Rapids, Mich.) collecting two hits followed by Erick Ochoa (Imperial, Calif.), Yusef Davis (Long Beach, Calif.), Tyler Bouley (Champlin, Minn.) and Matt Ratliff (American Fork, Utah) with one hit apiece.
Game 1
Team USA 2, Canada 4
The U.S. struck first in the top of the second after a pair of walks and a single from Ratliff pushed a run across the plate to give Team USA a one run edge before Zac Shaw (Odessa, Mo.) followed with a sac fly to put the Eagles ahead, 2-0. With Brad Kilpatrick (Sydney, Australia) in the circle, the U.S. remained solid in the bottom half of the inning with two ground outs and a fly out to keep Canada off the board.
The Red, White and Blue maintained its 2-0 lead until the bottom of the third when the Canada offense pushed a run across after stringing together a walk and a pair of singles. Bouley looked to help the Eagles answer back in the top of the fourth after sending a two-out single through the right side, but a fly out would hold the score steady, 2-1. A leadoff single by the Canada offense would look to threaten the U.S. lead in the bottom of the frame, but a fly out and a nicely executed double play by Shaw would end the at-bat with no damage done.
The score was evened at two in the bottom of the fifth after Canada’s Derek Mayson sent a solo shot out of the park, but a strikeout from Kilpatrick and two routine ground balls from the U.S. defense would send them back to the plate. Looking for an offensive spark in the top of the sixth, Milheim sent a base hit through the left side but was caught stealing second to halt Team USA’s chances of scoring.
The tie was broken in the bottom of the sixth after a two-run home run off the bat of Canada’s Jason Hill pushed the U.S. deficit 4-2 with one at-bat left in the game. Unable to come alive in the top of the seventh, Team USA went down in order to record its first loss of the Pan American Championship.
Kilpatrick went the distance in the circle for Team USA with three strikeouts and five hits allowed while Milheim, Ratliff and Bouley recorded the only U.S. hits of the game.
Game 2
Team USA 1, Argentina 3
Following a two-day postponement due to weather in Argentina, the USA Softball Men’s National Team (MNT) continued its matchup against No. 2 Argentina today. After falling behind 2-0 in Sunday’s three-inning contest, the U.S. fought to overcome the deficit but was unable to recover, dropping a 3-1 decision to the host country.
Argentina took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first after a leadoff single and a two-out walk put runners in scoring position, followed by a pair of fielding miscues by the U.S. defense to allow a run to score. After a quiet bottom half of the inning from Team USA, the Argentina offense tacked on another run to its lead in the top of the second with a leadoff triple and a fielder’s choice ground ball to push the U.S. deficit, 2-0.
The score remained steady through the third inning until rain sent the game into a postponement, which resulted in today’s contest picking up in the top of the fourth inning with the U.S. trailing by two.
With Joel Cooley (St. Paul, Minn.) taking over pitching duties from Kilpatrick who got the start on Sunday, the Argentina offense came alive quick with a leadoff double, but the U.S. defense ended the threat with a nicely fielded bunt and a stellar double play.
Recording the first hit of the game for the Eagles with two outs in the bottom of the sixth was Davis, but an attempted stolen base would record the final out of the inning with the U.S. remaining scoreless. Argentina stretched its lead in the top of the seventh after sending a solo home run over the center field fence, but a ground out and two strikeouts from Cooley would send Team USA back to the plate for its final at-bat of the game.
Milheim lit a spark for the U.S. in the bottom of the seventh with a one-out single through the left side followed by another single from Ochoa to put them within two of the Argentina lead. With a runner on first and two outs, Jonathan Lynch (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) worked to beat out a ground ball to the pitcher, but the Argentina defense remained solid with the U.S. falling, 3-1.
The U.S. capped Opening Round of the Men’s Pan American Championship with a 2-2 record to advance to the Super Round as the No. 3 seed in Group B. Kicking off tomorrow, Team USA will go head-to-head with Group A No. 2 seed Venezuela at 9 a.m. ART followed by a 12 p.m. ART matchup against Group A No. 1 seed Cuba.
Live stats and streaming will be available through USASoftball.com. Following Super Round, the final two countries at the top of the leader board will compete in the Men’s Pan American Championship Final on Saturday, April 30.
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