XI Men's Softball Pan American Championship

Parana, Argentina – After a nearly three-year hiatus since competing at the 2019 WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup in the Czech Republic, the Canadian Men’s National Team has arrived in Parana, Argentina to compete in the 2022 WBSC Americas XI Men’s Softball Pan American Championship. The tournament will run from April 24-30 with the top four teams earning spots for the 2022 WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup, which is scheduled to be played November 26 to December 4, 2022 in New Zealand.

The XI Pan American Championship will feature ten teams divided into two pools based on the final standings from the previous Pan American Championship held in 2017. Canada is currently ranked No. 6 in the Men’s Softball World Rankings and will compete against No. 2 Argentina, No. 7 USA, No. 37 Colombia, and unranked Puerto Rico in their pool. Team Canada will open the tournament against Colombia at 3:00pm local time (2:00pm EDT) on Sunday, April 24.

The other pool will feature No. 8 Mexico, No. 11 Venezuela, No. 12 Guatemala, No. 14 Cuba and No. 35 Dominican Republic.

The top three teams from each pool will advance to the Super Round; they will carry their record against the other two teams that advance from their own division, then play the three advancing teams from the other division. The teams with the top two records after the Super Round will play for gold while the next two will play for bronze, with all four of those teams qualifying for the World Cup.

Team Canada’s roster was previously announced in September. Brett Larson (Irma, Alta.) has been added to the roster with Ryan Boland (St. John’s, N.L.) unable to attend. The team held a training camp in Florida two weeks ago to get ready for the Pan American Championship.

Scott McLaren (Penticton, B.C.) and Mike Morrissey (Peterborough, Ont.) are the two Canadian umpires that were selected to work the event.

At the 2019 World Cup, Canada went undefeated at 7-0 in the round robin, won its quarter-final matchup but lost to Argentina in the semi-final. The red and white defeated New Zealand 2-1 to win the bronze medal, while Argentina went on to beat Japan 3-2 to claim their first Men’s World Cup gold medal.

Prior to the tournament’s opening day on April 24, Canada will play four exhibition games against local club team CEF tonight, followed by Venezuela, Argentina’s U23 Men’s National Team and Puerto Rico over the next three days. Game recaps will be posted on the Softball Canada website.

Live streaming for the XI Pan American Championship will be available on Facebook Live through the WBSC Americas and Softball Canada pages, and through the WBSC Americas YouTube page.

Team Canada coverage will be available through the Softball Canada website and social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ATHLETES

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	HOMETOWN
Bryan	Abrey	Richmond, B.C.
Shane	Boland	St. John's, N.L.
Patrick	Burns	Saskatoon, Sask.
Sean	Cleary	Harbour Main, N.L.
Bradley	Ezekiel	Harbour Main, N.L.
Jason	Hill	St. John's, N.L.
Blake	Hunter	Nanaimo, B.C.
Cory	Jones	Leduc, Alta.
Brett	Larson	Irma, Alta.
Justin	Laskowski	Warman, Sask.
Derek	Mayson	North Vancouver, B.C.
Devon	McCullough	Saskatoon, Sask.
Tyler	Pauli	Mitchell, Ont.
Zach	Pierce	Saskatoon, Sask.
Mathieu	Roy	St-Gervais, Que
Colin	Walsh	Petty Harbour, N.L.

COACHING STAFF

POSITION	NAME	HOMETOWN
Head Coach	John Stuart	Merritt, B.C.
Assistant Coach	Doug Allin	Peachland, B.C.
Assistant Coach	Jeff Ellsworth	St. Lawrence, P.E.I.
Assistant Coach	John Hill	St. John's, N.L.
Assistant Coach	Les Howey	Conception Bay, N.L.
Athletic Therapist	Adam Davies	Ottawa, Ont.
Manager - MNT	Mike Branchaud	Ottawa, Ont.

UMPIRES

FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	HOMETOWN
Scott	McLaren	Penticton, B.C.
Mike	Morrissey	Peterborough, Ont.

EXHIBITION GAMES

(Dates/times converted to Eastern Daylight Time)

DATE	GAME	TIME
April 19	Canada vs. CEF	W 4-1
April 20	Canada vs. Venezuela	W 1-0
April 21	Canada vs. Argentina U23	W 4-0
April 22	Canada vs. Puerto Rico	PPD

PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP