Day two of the 2023 edition of Border Battle saw the action continue at Brookside Park in Cleveland, Ohio as the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Slow Pitch National Teams, U.S. Men’s and Women’s Futures Teams and Canadian Men’s and Women’s Slow Pitch National Teams went head-to-head with various grassroots clubs from Canada and Ohio as well as competed in the annual USA Slow Pitch Showdown. The Men’s and Women’s are looking ahead to Border Battle matchups set to take place tomorrow.
U.S. Women’s Slow Pitch National Team
The U.S. Women’s Slow Pitch National Team (WSPNT) proved to be a dominant force in its first matchup of the day with an 11-9 victory over Ohio-based ARGM highlighted by a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the plate from Patrika Barlow. The Eagles combined for 17 hits and a .486 team batting average with six batters tabbing multiple hits in the matchup.
U.S. Women’s Futures
The U.S. Women’s Futures opened day two of Border Battle XIII with a 10-9 win over Canada’s Women’s Slow Pitch National Team that included a combined 19 hits and five multi-hit performances at the plate from the Eagles. With Team USA and Team Canada tied 6-6 after the bottom of the fourth inning, the Red, White and Blue came out swinging to plate four more runs by the seventh inning to top Team Canada by one. Veterans Stacey Moore and Bernadette Tenuto each tallied 3-for-3 performances at the plate while Moore and Shayna Finley led the U.S. in RBIs with two apiece. The Women’s Futures team will take on ARGM tomorrow at 8 a.m. ET to close out their Border Battle XIII run.
Women’s USA Slow Pitch Showdown
The WSPNT offense came to play in the 2023 edition of the USA Women’s Slow Pitch Showdown, recording a thrilling 8-5 victory over the Women’s Futures after a hard-fought battle that saw solid defense from both squads. The WSPNT plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning after a double from Alyssa Schreiner and a ground ball from Fiana Finau scored Tylia Sylestine who singled on a line drive earlier in the inning. Two more runs were scored in the bottom of the third thanks to back-to-back singles from Terri Ross and Tara Licuanan and a two-RBI line drive to center from Sylestine to improve the WSPNT lead, 3-0.
Quick to answer back, the Women’s Futures plated its first two runs of the game in the top of the fourth inning following a fly ball single from Finley and a double from Bernadette Tenuto to cut the lead, 3-2. Matching the energy, the WSPNT also sent two runs across the plate to improve its lead to 5-2 at the conclusion of the fourth inning. The Women’s Futures went on to score one run in each of the next three innings while the WSPNT held on to its lead thanks to three runs scored in the bottom of the fifth where a double from Sylestine sparked a slew of hits that put the WSPNT on top 8-3.
The WSPNT collected 15 hits in the win with Licuanan and Sylestine each tabbing three hits, while Schreiner and Steph Hartness recorded two hits apiece. Kasey Britt led the Women’s Futures with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate followed by Finley and Tenuto who each snagged two hits in the game. Today’s Slow Pitch Showdown victory clinches the WSPNT’s third-consecutive win over the Women’s Futures since the event’s induction in 2019, leaving the WSPNT with a 3-0 Slow Pitch Showdown record.
U.S. Men’s Slow Pitch National Team
With 14 runs scored in the third inning, the U.S. Men’s Slow Pitch National Team (MSPNT) got off to a hot start in day two of Border Battle play, tallying a 25-5 run-rule victory in its first matchup of the day over Canada’s On The Go club team. Team USA rookie Bradley Jones led the Red, White and Blue in home runs with two over the fence to combine for a team total of seven while Greg Connell posted a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the plate contributing to the Eagles’ combined 22 hits.
U.S. Men’s Futures
Putting up 22 runs in its first game of the day, the U.S. Men’s Futures claimed a 22-2 run-rule victory over Canada’s Men’s Slow Pitch National Team to improve the Eagles to 3-0 in its 2023 Border Battle campaign. Jason Matusik led Team USA with two home runs while the U.S. offense dominated with a total of 25 hits and two additional home runs from Tyler Ervine and Erik Lehman. The U.S. will return to action tomorrow with a solo contest against Ohio’s Select at 8 a.m. ET for its final matchup of Border Battle XIII.
Men’s USA Slow Pitch Showdown
Following a tough seven innings of non-stop action from both sides, the U.S. MSPNT posted an exciting 32-27 victory over the Men’s Futures to claim the 2023 USA Men’s Slow Pitch Showdown. Putting runs on the board early, the Men’s Futures plated three runs in the top of the first inning thanks to back-to-back doubles from Jeremy Fry and Ervine followed by a walk to Matusik, a sac-fly from Lehman and a triple from Bryan Dezern. Despite the early runs from the Men’s Futures, the U.S. MSPNT came out swinging in the bottom of the first, tabbing four home runs and 15 runs to take the lead and put the MSPNT on top 15-3 to close out the frame. The offense continued with a 20-5 score after two innings of play before the Men’s Futures saw three runs cross the plate in the top of the third followed by a quiet at-bat from the MSPNT to allow the Men’s Futures to close the gap with eight runs scored in the top of the fourth to tighten the score, 20-16. Quickly taking back the momentum, the MSPNT plated five in the bottom of the fourth highlighted by back-to-back homers from Andrew Collins and Everett Williams, extending the lead 25-16.
Continuing to chip away, the Men’s Futures managed to plate five runs in the top of the fifth inning but was met by a home run from MSPNT veteran Joseph Bennett that tacked on three more to put them on top, 28-21. Despite home runs from Kyle Fisher and Ervine in the top of the sixth, the Men’s Futures were unable to slow the MSPNT’s lead as Collins and Phil Matte each blasted a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, followed by a strong defensive showing from the MSPNT in the top of the seventh inning that sealed that 2023 Slow Pitch Showdown victory.
The MSPNT maxed out its limit of 10 home runs in the offensive battle with Collins, Matte and Bennett each sending two over the fence followed by Connell, Kyle Pearson, Williams and Jeremy Yates with one apiece. Sending five home runs out of the park, the Men’s Futures saw Ervine send three over the fence followed by Dezern and Fisher each with one shot apiece. This win marks the 11th Slow Pitch Showdown victory for the MSPNT since its inception in 2009, with the MSPNT suffering only two losses to the Men’s Futures over the years – including last year’s Men’s Futures victory at the 2022 Slow Pitch Showdown.
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Closing out the weekend with the highly anticipated international matchups between Team USA and Team Canada, the Women’s Border Battle contest is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 30 with the Men’s Border Battle to follow at 11:30 a.m. ET. The three-day event is free to attend and will take place at Brookside Park with games primarily being played on Talty Field in addition to a few games held on Elder Field. A complete schedule can be found on USASoftball.com.
Fans will have the opportunity to follow along with the premiere international Slow Pitch event via live stats and streaming. For all non-USA games as well as the Border Battle contests, live streaming will be provided on USASoftball.com. For all Team USA exhibition games, live streaming will be provided via GameChanger. To follow along, be sure to become a fan of each respective U.S. Slow Pitch National Team on the GameChanger app. Live stats will be available for all games via GameChanger.