WHITEHORSE, Yukon, Canada – With a spot in the championship bracket on the line, the USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team took the field with Australia on Friday evening and suffered an 8-0, five-inning loss at the International Softball Federation (ISF) World Championship the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today. The Aussies scored six runs in the top of the first and Team USA couldn’t muster a comeback.
Phillip Zimmerman (New Holland, Pa.) started the game in the circle for the USA team and allowed six runs on four hits before Zane Chason (Alma, Ga.) entered in relief in the second inning. Chason pitched the remainder of the game giving up just two runs on three hits and striking out three Australian batters.
Team USA struggled to get anything going offensively throughout the contest as the Australian pitching corps combined for a no-hitter.
Australia scored two more runs in the second inning by way of a Matthew Wickham homerun but following the second, Chason recorded three consecutive three up, three down innings in the circle. Despite the late success, the Americans couldn't overcome the early Australian runs falling 8-0 in five innings.
As a result of the loss, Team USA enters the consolation bracket where they’ll compete for fifth place. The next game for the USA Junior Men will be at 7:30 p.m. (PST) on Saturday versus the winner of Czech Republic and Denmark. Live streaming and live stats are available during every contest of the World Championship. Visit www.USASoftball.com to see all of the action.
About ISF
Headquartered in Plant City, Florida (USA), the ISF is a member of
the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the world governing body for
the sport which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and
SportAccord (formerly the General Association of International Sports
Federations). Softball (women’s fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996
Games in Atlanta. There are 127 affiliated countries in the ISF and millions of
participants in the sport worldwide.
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 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 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 six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA
Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com.