Guatemala City, Guatemala – The Canadian U17 Junior Men’s National Team got their bats going and blanked previously unbeaten Mexico 7-0 in five innings at the Pan American Softball Championship on Tuesday. Andrew Van Boekel (Bright, Ont.) limited Mexico to only one hit over four strong innings and Canada got a three-run homerun by Matthew Weiler (Hepworth, Ont.) in the top of the first as Mexico was never in the game.
Team Canada did not waste any time getting on the scoreboard early, as Mason McKay (Tavistock, Ont.) drew a one-out walk, moved up to third on a single to left by Connor Brooks (Napanee, Ont.) and scored on a single by Jackson Pegelo (Cargill, Ont.) that dropped in front of the diving centerfielder to open the scoring in the top of the first inning. Weiler immediately stepped up and drilled the first pitch he saw deep over the centerfield fence, giving Canada a big 4-0 lead. In the top of the second, Brock Fencott (Belleville, Ont.) reached on an infield single to third and raced around to score when the third baseman threw the ball away at first on a ground ball and the catcher was unable to secure the ball on the play at the plate.
Pegelo led off the third with a double to center, advanced to third on a passed ball and later scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Max Major (Delisle, Sask.). After drawing a walk, Weiler went on to score on a passed ball as Canada built a 7-0 lead.
Mexico got its only hit in the game on a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the fourth, but Van Boekel went on to leave him stranded at first with fly out to left and a par of strikeouts. Reese Yantzi (Shakespeare, Ont.) retired Mexico in order in the bottom of the fifth to end the game on the run-ahead rule.
Box Score: Canada 7 vs. Mexico 0
Van Boekel allowed only one hit and struck out four in his four innings of work to earn the win, while Yantzi struck out one in his clean inning. Weiler’s three-run homerun was the key hit for Canada, with Pegelo going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Brooks and Fencott each singled and scored to round out Canada’s five hits.
The win improved Canada’s record to 2-1 while Mexico dropped to 3-1. A key game between the United States (1-1) and Argentina (1-1) will take place this evening. Canada will be back in action with a game against Panama (1-2) at 2:00pm CST (3:00pm EST) on Wednesday. Live streaming is available on the Pan American Softball Facebook page, with Softball Canada providing live GameChanger scoring for all of its games. The event can also be followed through the WBSC Americas social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the #U17SoftballPanam hashtag, as well as the Softbol Guatemala Facebook page.
Team Canada did not waste any time getting on the scoreboard early, as Mason McKay (Tavistock, Ont.) drew a one-out walk, moved up to third on a single to left by Connor Brooks (Napanee, Ont.) and scored on a single by Jackson Pegelo (Cargill, Ont.) that dropped in front of the diving centerfielder to open the scoring in the top of the first inning. Weiler immediately stepped up and drilled the first pitch he saw deep over the centerfield fence, giving Canada a big 4-0 lead. In the top of the second, Brock Fencott (Belleville, Ont.) reached on an infield single to third and raced around to score when the third baseman threw the ball away at first on a ground ball and the catcher was unable to secure the ball on the play at the plate.
Pegelo led off the third with a double to center, advanced to third on a passed ball and later scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Max Major (Delisle, Sask.). After drawing a walk, Weiler went on to score on a passed ball as Canada built a 7-0 lead.
Mexico got its only hit in the game on a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the fourth, but Van Boekel went on to leave him stranded at first with fly out to left and a par of strikeouts. Reese Yantzi (Shakespeare, Ont.) retired Mexico in order in the bottom of the fifth to end the game on the run-ahead rule.
Box Score: Canada 7 vs. Mexico 0
Van Boekel allowed only one hit and struck out four in his four innings of work to earn the win, while Yantzi struck out one in his clean inning. Weiler’s three-run homerun was the key hit for Canada, with Pegelo going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Brooks and Fencott each singled and scored to round out Canada’s five hits.
The win improved Canada’s record to 2-1 while Mexico dropped to 3-1. A key game between the United States (1-1) and Argentina (1-1) will take place this evening. Canada will be back in action with a game against Panama (1-2) at 2:00pm CST (3:00pm EST) on Wednesday. Live streaming is available on the Pan American Softball Facebook page, with Softball Canada providing live GameChanger scoring for all of its games. The event can also be followed through the WBSC Americas social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the #U17SoftballPanam hashtag, as well as the Softbol Guatemala Facebook page.
