Border Battle VIII kicks off at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex; USA Softball Slow Pitch National Teams go 3-0
July 4, 2016 – OKLAHOMA CITY – Fans in Oklahoma City kicked off Fourth of July in USA Softball style as all six teams competing in Border Battle VIII took to the fields to celebrate America’s Independence Day. Two USA Softball Slow Pitch National Teams saw action in opening day, as the USA Softball Men’s Futures Slow Pitch National Team went 2-0 on the day and the USA Softball Men’s Slow Pitch National Team claimed a 30-9 (four inning) win in their sole game of the day.
Click here for box scores from all of day one’s matchups in Border Battle VIII
Game One: A&A Utility/KV Weld/BHR 25, Canada 24
Click here for a box score
Kevin Ballard hit two home runs to carry A&A Utility/KV Weld/BHR to a 25-24 win over Canada in the opening game of Border Battle VIII. A&A Utility capitalized on 28 hits, including nine home runs, to outlast Canada.
Canada took the lead in the second inning, keeping the momentum through the fifth inning before A&A Utility took a one run lead. Canada would respond in the top of the sixth, scoring two runs to get a 20-19 lead while holding the A&A Utility scoreless in the bottom of the frame.
Plating an additional four runs in the top of the seventh to extend their lead to five, A&A Utility was down to their final at-bat. Using the long ball, A&A Utility blasted three home runs to earn the walk-off, 25-24 win.
Game Two: Canada 33, Play the Game Sports 22
Click here for box score
Canada rebounded in their second game of the day, combining for 31 hits en route to a 33-22 win over Play the Game Sports.
The two teams were tied through the first two innings of play, as each squad scored seven runs in the first and were scoreless in the second. Canada’s bats exploded in the third as the team pushed across 12 runs. Adding another four in the top of the fourth, Canada led 23-7 heading into the bottom of the frame.
Play the Game Sports would close on the lead in the bottom of the fourth with 11 runs to get within five runs, but another strong outing by Canada in the top of the sixth and seventh had the game at 31-18. Play the Game Sports would add another four runs through the two innings, but they would not be enough as they would fall 33-22.
Game Three: OC 24, USA Futures 25
Click here for box score
A great effort by Jeremy Yates (Lake City, Fla.) carried the USA Futures to a 25-24 win over OC in their first game of the day. Yates was unstoppable at the plate going 4-for-4, including a home run in the first inning, a single in the third inning, a double in the fourth inning, and a triple in the fifth inning.
The USA Futures took an early lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first. An RBI single by Corey Large (Bedford, Texas) followed by a home run from Yates put the U.S. up 3-0. OC tied it up in the top of the second, but a one-run outing by the U.S. in the bottom half of the second put the game at 4-3.
OC exploded for 13 runs in the top of the third to take a 12-run lead and the U.S. would score six in the bottom of the third to make it a 16-10, OC ball game. The USA Futures tied it up in the next inning, plating another six runs to tie the game at 16 runs apiece.
The two teams would go blow-for-blow through the next two innings, and the game would head into the top of the seventh tied at 22 runs each. OC added two runs in the top of the seventh, but the USA Futures responded with a walk-off home run by Large to earn the 25-24 win.
Game Four: USA Futures 27, A&A Utility/KV Weld/BHR 16
Click here for box score
Ryan Harvey (Clearwater, Fla.) led the way for the USA Futures in their second game of the day, going 3-for-4 as the U.S. took a 27-16 win over A&A Utility/KV Weld/BHR. The USA Futures combined for 25 hits in the game, including 10 home runs.
The USA Futures put up 23 runs through the first three innings to take an early lead over A&A Utility. A two-run home run by Harvey and a three-run blast by Josh Taralson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) scored five runs in the bottom of the first. Cole Patterson (Meridian, Idaho) picked up an RBI in the second, and was joined by Jeff Flood (Sandy, Ore.), Jeremy Yates (Lake City, Fla.) and Kyle Pearson (Stonewall, La.).
Isaac Gonzalez (San Jose, Calif.), Harvey, Taralson and Brett Rettenmeier (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) combined for 12 RBI in the bottom of the third to give the U.S. a comfortable 23-5 lead. The teams would add additional runs through the next three innings, but the U.S. walked away with the 27-16 win.
Game Five: USA 30, Play the Game Sports 9 (four inning)
Click here for box score
In the final game of the evening, the USA Softball Men’s Slow Pitch National Team came out hot at the plate as the U.S. took a 30-9 (four inning) win over Play the Game Sports. Bryson Baker (Magalia, Calif.) led the way for Team USA, racking up seven RBI on four hits, including two home runs.
Thirty runs in the first three innings sealed the game for the U.S., as the team combined for eight home runs through their first three at-bats. Eleven runs in the first were spurred by home runs by Neil Haglund (Stoney Brook, N.Y.), Dale “Bubba” Brungardt (Vancouver, Wash.) and Mike Umscheid (Kenosha, Wis.). Baker collected his first home run of the game in the bottom of the second, and Kevin Kennington (Lake City, Fla.) and Filip Washington (Las Vegas, Nev.) added another two blasts for the U.S. Baker and Kennington picked up home runs each in the bottom of the third for the last of Team USA’s scoring.
Great tickets are still available for the Border Battle VIII and World Cup of Softball XI, and can be purchased outside the ASA Hall of Fame Complex at the Ticket Booth. For complete coverage of Border Battle VIII and the World Cup of Softball XI including bios, rosters, live stats, streaming and results log on to ASAUSASoftball.com.
About ASA/USA Softball
Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.2 million. ASA/USA is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of 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 as well as claimed eight World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please visit http://www.asausasoftball.com/.
About the World Baseball Softball Confederation
Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland — the Olympic Capital — the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 213 National Federation and Associate Members in 142 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide annually.
The WBSC also governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women’s).
For further information, please go to www.WBSC.org or follow the WBSC on Twitter at @WBSC.