Junior Men`s Worlds - Day 8
Friday, June 27, 2008
Keshane throws eight inning no-hitter at United States
(Whitehorse, Yukon) – The game between Canada and the United States had no playoff implications, but neither team backed down in a thrilling 1-0 Canadian win in eight innings. Starting pitchers Dustin Keshane (Norquay, SK) of Canada and Benjamin Hunhoff of the United States quickly got into a heated pitching duel, each shutting out the opposing hitters through seven innings of play. In fact, Keshane did not allow a single hit in the game, and only walked two American batters all night, striking out an outstanding 16 batters. In the top of the eighth inning, pinch hitter Joran Graham (Micksburg, ON) delivered the key hit to drive in the only run of the game.
Both pitchers simply took over the game right from the first pitch, combining for no hits and only one runner reaching base through the three opening frames. Canada finally broke into the hit column in the top of the fourth, when Jessin Potskin (Prince George, BC) hit a single through the left side after Mike Noftall (St. John’s, NL) was hit by a pitch, placing runners at second third with two outs. However, the red and white was unable to push either of them home.
Dennis Iron (Canoe Narrows, SK) singled in the fifth, and Devon McCullough (Saskatoon, SK) singled in the seventh, but again Canada was not able to score them, extending the game into extra innings. With a runner starting on second base due to the International Softball Federation Tie-Breaking Rule, Joran Graham hit a pinch hit single just past a diving a second baseman to allow Iron to score from second. Keshane then struck out the side in amazing fashion to strand an American runner on second base and hold on for the 1-0 eight inning victory.
Keshane also struck out the side in the fifth and seventh innings, increasing his intensity with the game on the line.
On the final day of round-robin play, Japan won both its games to secure the second seed with a 9-2 record. Although Canada also finished at 9-2, Japan took the tie-breaker as they beat Canada head-to-head. Australia finished in first place with a 10-1 record, while New Zealand (8-3) lost a tight 7-6 game to Argentina, who turned a game-ending triple play. Despite the loss, New Zealand had already clinched a playoff berth
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Final Round-Robin Standings
1 Australia 10 1 98 21 2 Japan 9 2 104 31 3 Canada 9 2 87 22 4 New Zealand 8 3 96 31 5 Argentina 6 5 74 64 6 Venezuela 6 5 94 80 7 Mexico 6 5 82 80 8 United States 5 6 61 48 9 South Africa 4 7 56 98 10 Denmark 2 9 21 129 11 Czech Republic 1 10 38 121 12 0 11 18 104
Rank
Team
Wins
Losses
Runs For
Runs Against
Botswana
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