Palmerston North, New Zealand – The Canadian U18 Men’s National Softball Team took a tough loss at the WBSC U18 Men’s Softball World Cup as Australia took the 14-3 win in four innings. Australia sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first to score seven runs and added five in the second and two more in the third to cruise to the important win.
Max Major (Delisle, Sask.) got things started the right way for Canada by singling up the middle to start the game and Brock Fencott (Belleville, Ont.) was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base, but a fielder’s choice and a pair of strikeouts left both runners stranded. Australia led off the bottom of the first with a single of their own followed by a pair of walks to load the bases. Another walk brought in the first run of the game as Canada resorted to an early pitching change. A double to center scored two runs, followed by a two-run single to right. After a sacrifice bunt advanced the runner to second, the next batter dropped a fly ball in front of the left fielder to plate a run, and the batter reached third on the throw to home before scoring on a wild pitch as Australia scored seven runs.
After Canada went down in order in the top of the second, Australia loaded the bases with three walks to start the bottom of the inning. Back-to-back singles brought three runs in to score, with an RBI ground out and a run-scoring infield single later in the inning pushing the score to 12-0. Tyler Branchaud (Metcalfe, Ont.) worked a leadoff walk in the top of the third but he could not move any further as the next two batters struck out followed by a ground out. Australia got a leadoff double and a walk to start the bottom of the third, and an error in right field led to a run scoring on the play. A walk loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly scored Australia’s fourteenth run of the game.
Team Canada was able to get on the board with three runs in the top of the fourth but fell short of extending the game. Ryan Bicknell (Prince Albert, Sask.) hit a one-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch before coming in to score on a double over the centerfielder by Mason McKay (Tavistock, Ont.) with Xavier Daneau (St-Celestin, Que.) following up with a run-scoring double of his own. A single to left by Branchaud scored Canada’s third run, but that was as much as Canada would get as the game ended on the run-ahead rule.
Box Score: Australia 14 vs. Canada 3
It was a tough day for Canada’s pitching, as Connor Brooks (Napanee, Ont.) started the game but allowed four runs on a hit and three walks before giving way to Reese Yantzi (Shakespeare, Ont.), who allowed three runs on three hits in one inning pitched. Brody Fraser (Upper Nine Mile River, N.S.) came out to start the second and allowed five runs on two hits and three walks before giving way to Nathan Running (Innerkip, Ont.), who gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks while striking out two in two innings of relief. McKay and Daneau each had an RBI double for Canada at the plate, with Branchaud adding an RBI single. Major and Bicknell each added a single.
The loss dropped Canada’s record to 2-2, creating a four way tie for second place in Group A with Argentina, the Czech Republic and Singapore behind first-place Australia (4-0). On the final day of the preliminary round, the Czech Republic (2-2) will face Singapore (2-2) at noon local time, while Canada will take on Argentina (2-2) at 5:00pm local time on Wednesday (11:00pm EST on Tuesday). The winning team from each of those games will earn a spot in the Super Round.
Earlier games on Tuesday saw USA earning their first win by beating Denmark 7-3, Singapore defeated South Africa 9-8 in nine innings, Japan edged Mexico 4-3, and Argentina also got by the Czech Republic 4-3 in nine innings. Japan currently sits in first place in Group B with a 4-0 record, followed by Guatemala and New Zealand both sitting at 2-1 with a head-to-head game currently in progress. Mexico is currently positioned in fourth place with a 2-2 record.
For more information including schedules, live scoring and streaming, visit the tournament website at https://u18mswc.wbsc.org/en/2020.
Max Major (Delisle, Sask.) got things started the right way for Canada by singling up the middle to start the game and Brock Fencott (Belleville, Ont.) was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base, but a fielder’s choice and a pair of strikeouts left both runners stranded. Australia led off the bottom of the first with a single of their own followed by a pair of walks to load the bases. Another walk brought in the first run of the game as Canada resorted to an early pitching change. A double to center scored two runs, followed by a two-run single to right. After a sacrifice bunt advanced the runner to second, the next batter dropped a fly ball in front of the left fielder to plate a run, and the batter reached third on the throw to home before scoring on a wild pitch as Australia scored seven runs.
After Canada went down in order in the top of the second, Australia loaded the bases with three walks to start the bottom of the inning. Back-to-back singles brought three runs in to score, with an RBI ground out and a run-scoring infield single later in the inning pushing the score to 12-0. Tyler Branchaud (Metcalfe, Ont.) worked a leadoff walk in the top of the third but he could not move any further as the next two batters struck out followed by a ground out. Australia got a leadoff double and a walk to start the bottom of the third, and an error in right field led to a run scoring on the play. A walk loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly scored Australia’s fourteenth run of the game.
Team Canada was able to get on the board with three runs in the top of the fourth but fell short of extending the game. Ryan Bicknell (Prince Albert, Sask.) hit a one-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch before coming in to score on a double over the centerfielder by Mason McKay (Tavistock, Ont.) with Xavier Daneau (St-Celestin, Que.) following up with a run-scoring double of his own. A single to left by Branchaud scored Canada’s third run, but that was as much as Canada would get as the game ended on the run-ahead rule.
Box Score: Australia 14 vs. Canada 3
It was a tough day for Canada’s pitching, as Connor Brooks (Napanee, Ont.) started the game but allowed four runs on a hit and three walks before giving way to Reese Yantzi (Shakespeare, Ont.), who allowed three runs on three hits in one inning pitched. Brody Fraser (Upper Nine Mile River, N.S.) came out to start the second and allowed five runs on two hits and three walks before giving way to Nathan Running (Innerkip, Ont.), who gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks while striking out two in two innings of relief. McKay and Daneau each had an RBI double for Canada at the plate, with Branchaud adding an RBI single. Major and Bicknell each added a single.
The loss dropped Canada’s record to 2-2, creating a four way tie for second place in Group A with Argentina, the Czech Republic and Singapore behind first-place Australia (4-0). On the final day of the preliminary round, the Czech Republic (2-2) will face Singapore (2-2) at noon local time, while Canada will take on Argentina (2-2) at 5:00pm local time on Wednesday (11:00pm EST on Tuesday). The winning team from each of those games will earn a spot in the Super Round.
Earlier games on Tuesday saw USA earning their first win by beating Denmark 7-3, Singapore defeated South Africa 9-8 in nine innings, Japan edged Mexico 4-3, and Argentina also got by the Czech Republic 4-3 in nine innings. Japan currently sits in first place in Group B with a 4-0 record, followed by Guatemala and New Zealand both sitting at 2-1 with a head-to-head game currently in progress. Mexico is currently positioned in fourth place with a 2-2 record.
For more information including schedules, live scoring and streaming, visit the tournament website at https://u18mswc.wbsc.org/en/2020.
