WHITEHORSE, Yukon, Canada – Playing in the consolation bracket of the International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Men’s World Championship, the USA Softball Junior Men’s National Team defeated Czech Republic 12-2 on Saturday to earn a spot in the consolation finals the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today. A win in Sunday’s final would secure a No. 5 finish in the World Championship for Team USA.

Phillip Zimmerman (New Holland, Pa.) earned his fourth win on Saturday as he went six full innings in the circle allowing just two runs on two hits and striking out nine Czech Republic batters. Both runs were unearned. Zane Chason (Alma, Ga.) entered in the seventh frame to close out the game for the Americans. He did so by retiring the first three batters he faced, two by strikeout.

A plethora of USA batters recorded a hit in the game but Tristen Sensenig (Denver, Pa.) lead the way going three-for-four with an RBI and a run scored. Cody Valeros (Stockton, Calif.) also notched a multi-hit game with an RBI and two runs scored on two singles. In all nine Team USA batters recorded a hit in the game.

The first run of the game came early when Bryce DuCharme (Hudson, Wis.) scored on a Tyler Bouley (Champlin, Minn.) single in the first but then the scoring stalled until the fourth inning. Leading just 1-0 in the fourth, Team USA added three runs on four hits in their at-bat. Czech Republic got one run back in the bottom half of the inning to make the score 4-1 entering the fifth.

USA scored a fifth run in the top of the fifth inning when DuCharme crossed the plate on a wild pitch. In the sixth, the Americans added three more runs on two hits and an error to take a commanding 8-1 lead.

Needing just three outs to earn a run rule victory, the USA allowed a second Czech Republic run in the bottom of the sixth to send the game to the seventh and final inning. Despite their failed attempt at a run rule, the USA bats stayed hot in the seventh as they added an additional four runs on four hits to push the score to 12-2. Chason came on in the bottom of the seventh and recorded his three outs as the USA Junior Men earned the win and a spot in the consolation bracket finals of the ISF World Championship.

Team USA will face Mexico  at 2:00 p.m. (PST) on Thursday. In their previous matchup with Mexico on Wednesday, the USA Juniors came away with a 7-6 victory. Visit www.USAsoftball.com to follow live stats, streaming and see photos from all of USA’s games at the ISF World Championship.

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.