Canada goes 7-0 in prelim round at the ISF Worlds

from Softball Canada

Canada beats Puerto Rico to Finish Preliminary Round Undefeated
Friday, July 24, 2009


(Saskatoon,SK) – The Canadian Senior Men’s National Team finished the round-robin portion of the ISF Men’s World Championship by beating Puerto Rico 8-1 in five innings,giving them a 7-0 record and first place in Pool B. Starting pitcher Derek Mayson (North Vancouver, BC) gave up a homerun to the game’s very first hitter,but bounced back by striking out eight batters in the five inning win. Canada will play the United States at 8:30pm CST on Friday in their first elimination round game. By finishing in the top two of their division, Canada has alsoearned “double-life” in the elimination round.

After getting ahead on the game’s first hitter, Mayson left a pitch over the plate and Antonio Rivera hit it over the centerfield fence, giving Puerto Rico an early 1-0 lead. Canada got that run back in the bottom of the second, when Colin Abbott (Portugal’s Cove, NL) led off the inning with a solo shot to rightfield. Later in the inning, Canada took the lead when Sean O’Brien (St. John’s,NL) hit a double to left field to score Dale Levy (St. Mary’s, ON), who had walked.

With two outs in the third, Ian Fehrman (Townsend, ON) was hit by a pitch, followed by a solid hit by Colin Abbott to centerfield. Steve Mullaley (Freshwater, NL)then hit a solid grounder to short, but the shortstop did not get the bounce he was hoping for and the ball rolled into centerfield, allowing Fehrman to score and placing runners on second and third. Dale Levy then followed with a single up the middle to score both runners, increasing Canada’s lead to 5-1.

The red hot Canadian bats kept coming in the fourth, as Sean O’Brien led off with a single and Rob Giesbrecht (Landmark, MB) doubled to set up runners on second and third once again. Jeff Ellsworth (St. Lawrence, PEI) then hit a grounder that was thrown to home to retire O’Brien at the plate, but Keith Mackintosh scored Giesbrecht from third with a single. Ellsworth later scored on a passed ball to give Canada the 7-1 lead. The red and white ended the game on the run rule in the bottom of the fifth, when Giesbrecht drove in Dale Levy from third with a single.

Derek Mayson allowed only one run on three hits, and struck out eight batters over five innings, working a very effective changeup that repeatedly fooled the opposing hitters. At the plate, Colin Abbott, Dale Levy and Rob Giesbrecht each collected two hits for Canada, with Jeff Ellsworth, Keith Mackintosh and Sean O’Brien each adding one. Levy drove in two runs, while Abbott scored twice.

With the preliminary round now complete, Canada (first place in Pool B) will take onthe United States (second place in Pool B) at 8:30pm CST in their first playoff game. The Canadian team has called for a “sea of red”, encouraging all fans in attendance to wear red. Prior to the game between Canada and the United States, undefeated New Zealand (first place in Pool A) will take on their rivals from Australia (Second place in Pool B) at 6:30pm. Earlier in the afternoon, Japan (third in Pool A) will take on Argentina (fourth in Pool B) at 1:00pm, and Venezuela (third in Pool B) will play Great Britain (fourth in Pool A) at 3:30pm.

In other scores on the final day of the preliminary round, Denmark edged Philippines 2-0, the Czech Republic hammered Indonesia 8-1, the United States outscored Mexico 11-5, Botswana surprised Great Britain 5-1, Australia shut out Argentina 8-0, Venezuela thumped South Africa 10-1, and New Zealand shaded Japan 5-3.