2016 Jr. Men’s Softball World Championship Day 2 Game Summary

Two-time defending world champions Argentina continued its winning streak to finish the day undefeated, though some of those wins were a bit stressful. Japan, the bronze medalist from 2014, have also won all their games, including a close 1-0 win over the silver medalist, New Zealand. Canada and Mexico entered into a close match, but Canada came out on top to earn their first win.

South Africa (0-1) vs. Mexico (2-0)
1-8 (5 innings)
Box Score

Mexico defeated South Africa this morning 8-1 in five innings.

Things started out promising for South Africa as they took the early lead when Jason Carelse scored on a wild pitch.

But the lead did not last long as Mexico went ahead 2-1 in the second. Yeijar Castellon singled to score Miguel Reyes. Juan Lopez then hit a hard ground ball to second to drive in Jorge Martinez to make it 2-1 for Mexico.

They added one more run in the bottom of the third when Lenny Villalvazzo led the inning off with a triple and would later steal home for the 3-1 lead.

In the fourth, Gabriel Somozo hit a triple to score Juan Lopez and Villalvazzo hit a sacrifice to score Somozo for a 5-1 game.

Mexico scored three more runs in the fifth on a wild pitch and two RBI singles by Lopez and Somozo for the 8-1 lopsided win.

Win: Miguel Guadalupe Paras Lunas
Loss: Dale Freemantle

Next Up
South Africa: Tuesday at 2:00pm vs. Israel
Mexico: Today at 6:00pm vs. Canada

United States (1-1) vs. Botswana (1-1)
14-0 (6 innings)
Box Score

This game was postponed until today due to the morning rain showers affecting Midland yesterday. The United States though easily handled Botswana for the 14-0 win.

The U.S. jumped on the board early with two runs in the first inning. After Bryce DuCharme reached first on a single to left field, he scored the first run of the game following a fielder’s choice and error. Isaac Hormann then entered the game as a courtesy runner for Peyton Hall who reached on error, and promptly stole second and third to put himself in scoring position. With Brogan Potter at the plate, Hormann scored USA’s second run after a passed ball prior to the final out of the inning.

The score remained 2-0 until the top of the third inning when DuCharme drew a walk, stole second and reached third on a passed ball, only to score on a wild pitch.

With two outs in the top of the fourth, Jeff Lewis hit a single and took advantage of Botswana, reaching third and eventually scoring USA’s fourth run of the game on a single by Matthew Martin. Before Botswana could get the third out, Martin would add another to the board after a passed ball and a single to right field by Jonathan Broadbear.

The sixth inning would prove to be a success offensively for USA as they scored on RBI singles by Matthew Martin, Broadbear, DuCharme and Brady Parker, an error, two-run singles by Devin Martin and Michael Douds.

Zach Chason held Botswana scoreless through the game, combining for 13 strikeouts to hoist the USA to their first win.

Win: Zane Chason
Loss: Samuel Kunyalala

Next Up
United States: Tuesday at 1:00pm vs. Denmark
Botswana: Today at 4:00pm vs. Czech Republic

Argentina (2-0) vs. Denmark (0-2)
17-1 (4 innings)
Box Score

Argentina defeated Denmark 17-1 in four innings on Monday after a 12-run explosion in the first inning as seven hitters combined for 10 hits, 11 RBIs and 14 runs scored.

The world champions added another run in the third and closed the fourth inning out with another four runs for the 17-1 easy victory.

Win: Facundo Gonzalez
Loss: Oliver Summers

Next Up
Argentina: Today at 5:00pm vs. Australia
Denmark: Tuesday at 1:00pm vs. United States

New Zealand (2-0) vs. Israel (0-3)
17-0 (4 innings)
Box Score

New Zealand won their second game of the championship as they scored early and often to capture the 17-0 win over Israel.

With 11 runs in the first three innings, New Zealand easily handled Israel’s pitching as six hitters combined for nine hits, 14 RBIs and 11 runs scored.

Adam Woon also kept Israel off the scoreboard for all four innings he was on the rubber as he pitched a shutout, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out seven.

Win: Adam Woon
Loss: Kfir Leon

Next Up
New Zealand: Today at 7:00pm vs. Japan
Israel: Tuesday at 2:00pm vs. South Africa

Japan (2-0) vs South Africa (0-1)
14-0 (4 innings)
Box Score

Japan had the bats going as they defeated South Africa handily 14-0 in four innings.

Five runs in the first three innings allowed Japan to put the game away early.

Japan then added four more runs in the top of the fourth and another five runs in the fifth for the win.

Fumiya Ueda, Kaito Masaki, and Kento Morita each hit home runs in the game. But Masaki lead all batters with four RBIs.

Win: Takumi Sakai
Loss: Vernon Hurter

Next Up
Japan: Today at 7:00pm vs. New Zealand
South Africa: Tuesday at 2:00pm vs. Israel

Czech Republic (1-0) vs. Botswana (1-2)
9-0 (5 innings)
Box Score

A six-run explosion in the fifth inning carried Czech Republic to a 9-0 win in five innings over Botswana.

It was a scoreless game through three innings before the Czech Republic scored three runs on an RBI single by Vaclav Sretr and an RBI triple by Jonas Hajny.

The scoring continued in the fifth to end the game early for the Czechs through four bad pitches, a bases loaded walk, and a sacrifice fly by Šretr.

Win: Michal Holobradek
Loss: Gideon Puakaa

Next Up
Czech Republic: Tuesday at 12:00pm vs. Australia
Botswana: Tuesday at 11:00am vs. Argentina

Australia (0-1) vs. Argentina (3-0)
1-9
Box Score

Playing their first game of the tournament after the scheduled opening game against Venezuela was cancelled, the Junior Steelers were beaten 9-1 in five innings by Argentina.

Argentina got busy from the start, scoring three runs in the first inning, two in the second and four in the third. The only inning in which they failed to score was the fourth, when Junior Steeler pitcher Shaun Lanaghan shut them down.

Australia’s biggest problem was Argentina’s starting pitcher Julian Fernandez. Not only did Fernandez dominate with the ball, he also put in a powerful offensive performance, with three hits including a double and a triple. Fernandez, Nicolas Isa and Teo Migliavacca combined for eight hits and six RBIs.

Win: Julian Fernandez
Loss: Christopher Gillies

Next Up
Australia: Tuesday at 12:00pm vs. Czech Republic
Argentina: Tuesday at 11:00am vs. Botswana

Mexico (2-1) vs. Canada (1-1)
0-3
Box Score

Canada shut out Mexico 3-0 for their first win of the championship.

After Tyler Randerson retired Mexico in order in the first on two strikeouts and a ground out, the Canadian offence didn’t waste any time getting him some runs. Jake Wiffen led off with a single and advanced to second after a walk to Alexandre Lemieux before scoring on a single to right by Jake Bricknell.

Randerson struck out the side in the second, and got an insurance run in the bottom of the frame when Justin Laskowski and Derek Hyde both forced one-out walks and an error on a ground ball to second allowed Laskowski to cross the plate to give Canada a 2-0 lead.

Mexico went down in order again in the third, while Canada got a walk by Bricknell and a double by Daniel Godbout to put runners on second and third with one out but was unable to add to its lead.

After two quick innings in the fourth and fifth, Mexico got things going against Randerson in the top half of the sixth with a one-out triple, but he notched two big strikeouts to keep the runner at third.

In the bottom of the sixth, Daniel Godbout drew a leadoff walk and was replaced on the bases by James Shirley, who move up to second on a ground out to third and scored on a single to right by Laskowski.

Randerson got a pair of ground balls and strikeout in the top of the seventh to close out the win.

Win: Tyler Randerson
Loss: Alexis Corona Illan

Next Up
Mexico: Tuesday at 5:00pm vs. New Zealand
Canada: Tuesday at 4:00pm vs. Japan

Denmark (0-2) vs. Czech Republic (1-0)
0-8
Box Score

This game was postponed until today due to the morning rain showers affecting Midland yesterday. But the Czech Republic scored early to capture an 8-0 victory over Denmark.

With six runs in the first three innings, Czech Republic left no doubt about the eventual outcome. They were led by a flawless performance by Dominik Čech, who went 2-2 against Denmark’s pitching.

Denmark had no answer for Jiří Šeda, who kept runners off the base paths in his appearance and threw a no-hitter while striking out four.

Win: Jiří Šeda
Loss: Andreas Adelsbæk

Next Up
Denmark: Tuesday at 1:00pm vs. United States
Czech Republic: Tuesday at 12:00pm vs. Australia

Japan (3-0) vs. New Zealand (2-1)
1-0
Box Score

An ace performance by Reo Koyama spurred Japan to a close 1-0 win over New Zealand to continue their undefeated record.

Koyama struck out 13, paving the way for the win as he tossed a complete game of shutout ball and allowed only one hit.

The lone run of the game crossed the plate in the fourth inning on an RBI triple by Takaya Kawaraguchi to score Ayumu Takemori.

Win: Reo Koyama
Loss: Sam Marley

Next Up
Japan: Tuesday at 4:00pm vs. Canada
New Zealand: Tuesday at 5:00pm vs. Mexico