Lima, Peru – A come-from-behind late-inning 4-2 victory over world-ranked No. 24 Cuba proved that the U.S. Men’s National Team (MNT) doesn’t go down without a fight. Heading into the bottom half of the sixth inning trailing 2-0, the Red, White and Blue scored four runs to take the lead and ultimately secure the win and improve to 2-0 at the Pan American Games. 

Click here to view the Pan American Games schedule for the U.S. Men’s National Team

“Although we didn’t score until the sixth inning, I was really happy with our at-bats,” said Head Coach Gregg Leather (Staten Island, N.Y.). “They were patient and didn’t chase out of the zone. We put a lot of guys on base but credit to Cuba as they played excellent defense to keep us off the board. I knew, sooner or later, a couple of those balls would find some holes and they did at the right time.”

“A game like today can carry a team a long way because they realized it doesn’t matter how bleak things look,” continued Leather. “We were down to our last six outs and down 1-0, which is always within reach, but when Cuba hit a two-out home run in the top of the sixth I felt a little air go out. (In the bottom of the sixth inning), it was Yusef (Davis) and (Jonathan) Lynch working long at-bats and getting on base with balls again, before the hits started coming.”

Tony Mancha (Las Cruces, N.M.) got the game underway with a first-pitch strike, with the U.S. retiring the Cuban side to bring the offense to the plate. In the bottom half of the first inning, a leadoff walk to Jonathan Lynch (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) and an error put two U.S. runners on base before Cuba turned a double play to leave Lynch on third.  A walk to Jeff Nowaczyk (Midland, Mich.) placed runners on the corners but a strikeout kept the MNT off the board.

A solo home run in the top of the second inning allowed Cuba to take an early 1-0 lead. With one out in the bottom half of the frame, an infield error allowed Nick Mullins (Toms River, N.J.) to take first before a single from Gil Saenz (El Paso, Texas) put two runners on base. Yusef Davis (Long Beach, Calif.) grounded into a fielder’s choice leaving runners on the corners. Lynch drew his second walk of the game to load the bases for the U.S. but the MNT were kept scoreless after Erick Ochoa’s (Imperial, Calif.) grounder was snatched up by the shortstop for the out at second.

Cuba quickly loaded the bases to start off the third inning on a walk and two singles but a fly out to Lynch in left field and back-to-back strikeouts from Mancha ended the threat. The MNT drew walks through the bottom half of the frame along with Cuba in the fourth, though both sides were unable to score.

Heading into the bottom of the fourth inning trailing 1-0, Davis sent a one-out line drive to left field for the Red, White and Blue’s second hit of the game. One out later, Ochoa battled at the plate and drew the sixth walk of the game for the U.S. before a groundout to second ended any chances of tying up the game.

Retiring the Cuban side in order through the top of the fifth inning, Matt Ratliff (American Fork, Utah) looked to spark a two-out rally after hitting a double to left field and advancing to third on a throwing error but a groundout kept him at bay. 

Cuba launched their second long ball of the game in the sixth inning to take a 2-0 lead, but the MNT focused in and responded with a four-run bottom half to take the lead. With one out, Davis and Lynch stayed patient and drew walks to put the U.S. in scoring position. An RBI single from Ochoa plated Davis to cut the deficit in half, while a single from Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa) loaded the bases. With Jenner Christiansen (Hayward, Calif.) in to pinch-run for Ochoa, Nowaczyk singled to drive home Lynch before an obstruction call at the plate allowed Christiansen to score a third run. With the U.S. now in the lead, an RBI single from Schiller plated Palazzo to make it a 4-2 game. 

Three outs away from the win, Duane Weiler (Richland, Pa.) entered in relief and struck out the first batter before inducing a groundout and fly out to secure the win. 

Managing just three hits through five innings of play, the U.S. added four to the hit column in the bottom of the sixth frame to give seven players a solo hit in the contest. A total of eight walks were issued, with Lynch (3) and Nowaczyk (2) drawing multiple on the day. Mancha fanned 10 batters, allowing five hits and two runs through six innings of work, while Weiler struck out one in one inning of relief. 

The U.S. is back in action tomorrow, Sunday, July 28 at 10 a.m. CT against No. 5 Argentina for Game 3 of the 2019 Pan American Games.

Click here for the complete 2019 USA Softball Men’s National Team roster

Held every four years, the U.S. has earned seven silver medals dating from 1979-2003, while falling just shy of the podium with a fourth-place finish at the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games. Of the 15 athletes named to the Pan American Games roster, Kevin Castillo (Long Beach, Calif.), Mancha, Nick Mullins (Toms River, N.J.), Palazzo and Tan return from the 2015 Pan American Games squad. The U.S. team is led by Head Coach Leather, along with assistant coaches Ron Guzman (Salinas, Calif.), Greg Hicks (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Gerald Muizelaar (Grand Forks, N.D.). Leather and Hicks served as assistant coaches at the 2015 Pan American Games, while Muizelaar competed for the Red, White and Blue.