OKLAHOMA CITY — Athletes attending the USA Softball Junior Men's Development Camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., split a Tuesday doubleheader with an Australian club team. In Game 1, the Red, White and Blue topped Australia Sparks 17-2 in five innings but then lost 5-1 in Game 2.
The two teams will meet in another doubleheader on Thursday afternoon in Chula Vista at approximately 2:30 p.m. PT, helping both countries with preparations for the 2012 International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Men's World Championship in Parana, Argentina. Admission is free.
In Game 1, Dylan Elmer (Manchesney Park, Ill.) was the top performer, hitting a grand slam home run and driving in a fifth RBI with a sacrifice fly. Gunnar Bouvy (Reese, Mich.), Brandon Gilman (Lake Crystal, Minn.) and Jake Rutt (Ephrata, PA) had two hits each in the 12 hit attack. Three Australian pitchers also issued eight walks.
Austin Tuttle (Payson, Utah) and Michael Lewis (Amboy, Minn.) combined on a four hitter in Game 1. Tuttle pitched the first three innings, allowing three hits and one run. Lewis relieved the last two innings, yielding one hit and one run while striking out four.
The USA dropped a 5 -1 decision in the second game as Sparks pitcher Joel Goodall allowed just three hits, while striking out 17 and walking two. Justin Wurtz (New Haven, Minn.) doubled home Danial Centeno (Salem, Utah) to plate the only USA run.
Jerlin Rutt (Bernville, Pa.) hurled the first three innings for the USA giving up one run on two hits with no walks and four strikeouts. Brent Meshke (Lake Crystal, Minn.) was nicked for four runs on four hits in two innings of relief. Zach Lach (Frankenmuth, Minn.) threw a scoreless sixth inning allowing no hits one walk and striking out one.
USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team Head Coach Tim Lyons was pleased but not satisfied with his squad's performance.
“For our first competition with this group of players, we saw a lot of positive developments but also a lot of areas where we need improvement,” he said. "The game is all about making adjustments and doing the little things right and we will work to build on the rest of this week’s camp."
Twenty six USA Softball Junior Men’s Fast Pitch National Team program athletes representing 11 states are participating in the program’s second development camp of the summer July 25-29 in Chula Vista. In addition to the scrimmages with Australian Sparks, the athletes are also working on the advancement fundamental fast pitch skills.
For more information, visit www.usasoftball.com.
About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 210,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed five World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.
6426
< Back to previous page