Oklahoma City, Okla. – The Quick Story:
The Canadian Men’s and Women’s Slo-Pitch Border Battle teams came into their respective showdowns with the United States with a new game-plan and some momentum but ultimately came up short in two back-and-forth contests. The Women’s team came into the game following back-to-back wins over JMI Sports, while the Men’s team piled on the offence by scoring 119 over their five exhibition games. Both teams were able to put some pressure on the Americans but came out on the losing end.
Key Moments – Women’s Border Battle vs. USA:
Down 4-1 in the top of the third, Canada’s bats went to work by scoring four runs to take a 5-4 lead on the strength of a pair of run-scoring triples by Aspen Searle and Sam Middleton and RBI singles from Shannon Hilton and Jesse Goddard. Unfortunately for the red and white, the Americans responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning and held Canada scoreless over the next four innings to secure the win.
Notes:
- Shannon Hilton went 2-for-3 with an RBI and 2 runs scored.
- Shelby Craig had a pair of singles.
- Sam Middleton and Aspen Searle each tripled, drove in a run and scored..
- The Canadian defence turned a pair of key double plays in the third and fourth innings to keep the game within reach.
Result: United States 12 vs. Canada 5
Key Moments – Men’s Border Battle vs. USA:
After piling up runs throughout their exhibition games, Team Canada’s bats jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the top of the first, with the first three batters hitting home runs later followed by a two-run shot by Simon Grondin. After USA dropped 11 runs in the bottom of the inning, Canada responded with 10 of their own with the first eight batters registering hits, including RBI doubles by Connor Prentice and Kyle Knechtel and a three-run blast by Ren Visser. The Americans scored five runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead by one run at 16-15, and after Canada scored two runs to regain the lead once again, USA scored nine in the third and and added 13 more in the fourth to take the victory.
Notes:
- Steele Lewis, Ren Visser, Colin Andrews and Simon Grondin all homered twice for Canada.
- Steele Lewis went 4-for-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.
- Kyle Knechtel also went 4-for-4 with a double and 3 runs scored.
- Ren Visser and Simon Grondin each had three hits and drove in five runs.
- Colin Andrews went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored.
Result: United States 38 vs. Canada 21
-30-
Media Contact
Cassidy Burton
Manager – Marketing & Communications
Softball Canada
m: 613-523-5761
w: www.softball.ca | e: cburton@softball.ca