The Red, White and Blue capped off the final day of Border Battle XIII in dominating fashion with victories from the Men’s and Women’s Futures to start the day followed by two wins in the Men’s and Women’s Border Battle contests against Canada.
U.S. Women’s Futures
Scoring throughout all five innings, the Women’s Futures came out swinging in today’s opening matchup to claim a 14-4 run-rule victory over ARGM with a combined 23 hits and a .639 team batting average. Dani Wayt showed out at the plate for the Eagles tabbing a perfect 4-for-4 performance with three singles and a double, while seven additional U.S. batters recorded multiple hits in the game. The Women’s Futures end Border Battle XIII with a 3-2 record, falling twice to the U.S. Women’s Slow Pitch National Team (WSPNT). Through five matchups over the course of three days, Kaylynn Johnson leads the Women’s Futures at the plate with a .714 batting average followed by Bernadette Tenuto (.636), Kasey Britt (.625) and Wayt (.625), while the U.S. offense combined for 90 hits and 50 runs scored throughout the weekend.
U.S. Men’s Futures
The Men’s Futures capped the weekend with a 10-6 victory over Ohio’s Select to improve to 4-1 through the 13th edition of Border Battle. Ohio’s Select managed to take an early 6-1 lead through three innings, but the Futures battled to take control in the bottom of the fourth inning with two runs scored followed by a five-run fifth inning to snag the lead. With the U.S. defense keeping the Ohio Select’s bats quiet since the fourth inning, Kyle Fisher started a rally with a two-out single in the sixth while Emilson Marquez knocked him in with a line drive triple to center before scoring on an error to improve the U.S. lead, 10-6, and seal the win. At the plate, Bryan Dezern led the squad throughout the weekend with a .769 batting average, followed by Austyn Dawe (.714), Jason Matusik (.706) and Tyler Ervine (.667). Ervine led the team in home runs with nine sent over the fence, while Matusik blasted five out of the park, followed by Kyle Fisher, Erik Lehman and Tyler Storey who each tallied two home runs apiece.
2023 Women’s Border Battle
Solid at-bats and a strong defensive showing helped the U.S. WSPNT claim the program’s fourth-consecutive Border Battle title as the Eagles outscored Canada 14-7 to improve to a 4-1 overall record in the annual event. Alyssa Schreiner led the U.S. offense with two triples and three RBI followed by Shelby Engle with three base hits and two RBI. Closing out the weekend, the Red, White and Blue combined for 18 hits in the win with five batters recording a multi-hit game.
The U.S. defense shut out Canada through the first three innings, while putting up nine runs to give the Eagles an early lead. The Canadian bats came alive in the top of the fourth seeing four runs cross the plate, but the U.S. was quick to maintain the lead once again, plating three in the bottom of the frame thanks to a walk from Megan Baltzell and a single from Tylia Sylestine that set the stage for Schreiner to tab a triple that sent both runners in. Fiana Finau followed with a sac-fly to score Schreiner – extending the U.S. lead, 12-4. Team Canada answered back with two runs in the top of the fifth while the U.S. plated the same after a single from Engle and a walk to Ashley Langoni allowed Terri Ross to bring in a run with a sac-fly while Tara Licuanan followed with two-out, RBI single to put the U.S. up 14-6. Canada managed to quiet the U.S. bats in the sixth after scoring one in the top of the inning but was shut out once again in the top of the seventh as the Eagles sealed the 14-7 win.
The U.S. offense combined for a .556 batting average through five games with 89 hits and 65 total runs. Leading the Eagles with a .765 batting average was Schreiner followed by Steph Hartness (.643), Engle (.636) and Finau (.625).
2023 Men’s Border Battle
The U.S. Men’s Slow Pitch National Team (MSPNT) proved dominant in the 2023 edition of Border Battle with a 16-9 win over Canada’s Men’s Slow Pitch National Team to clinch its 11th overall Men’s Border Battle title. Combining for 19 hits in the win, the Eagles sent five home runs out of the park with Phil Matte tallying two and Kyle Pearson, Bradley Jones and Jeremy Yates each tabbing one. Ten U.S. batters collected at least one hit in the win with Travis Clark, Jones, Pearson and Yates each recording a perfect day at the plate.
Scoring early and often, the U.S. snagged a 9-run lead in the bottom of the first after a lead-off double put Clark in scoring position for Pearson to send him home with a single to give the Eagles the first run of the game. With Pearson on base and Andrew Collins drawing a walk, Matte stepped up to the plate, blasting a home run over the fence to improve the lead to 4-0. A double from Bubba Mack and a two-out home run from Jones kept the momentum going for the Eagles, followed by a string of hits putting the Red, White and Blue on top, 9-0 in the bottom of the first.
With an unbreakable defense, it wasn’t long before the Eagles were back at the plate in the bottom of the second as Matte led-off with solo home run to score one followed by two more runs in the bottom third thanks to a homer from Pearson. The Canadian bats came alive in the top of the fourth inning plating four in addition to three more runs in the top of the fifth to tighten the score to 12-7. A U.S. run in the bottom of the fifth inning and a Canadian run in the top sixth brought the score to 13-8 before a pair of singles, a sac-fly from Collins and a homer from Yates extended Team USA’s lead, 16-8. Team Canada managed to score one in the top of the seventh inning before the U.S. offense turned a double play to end the matchup and seal the 16-9 Border Battle win.
Combining for a .596 batting average and 106 hits through five games, the MSPNT offense was led by Pearson (.813), Yates (.750) and Jones (.688) while Matte sent seven balls deep followed by six from Collins en route to a combined total of 36 long balls from Team USA.
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For more information on the USA Softball Men’s and Women’s Slow Pitch National Teams programs and to learn about the history of the Border Battle, please visit USASoftball.com.