(Canada, France, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Great Britain, Venezuela, United States)

GAME RECAPS
USSSA Senior National Team

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Semi-Final Game: USSSA 3 vs. Puerto Rico 7
Team USSSA lost to Puerto Rico 7-3 in extra innings today. Team USSSA managed only 5 hits, two of them provided by Evan Rivera. Logan Shore recorded 2 RBI. Team USSSA now plays France in the finals of the losers bracket at 8a. EST.

Game 1: Team USSSA 9 France 1
In the finals of the Losers Bracket Team USSSA beat France behind the pitching of Adam Dressler. Dressler pitched 4 strong innings allowing just 1 hit and striking out 5. Adam Bleday, John Batchelor, Logan Shore and Derek Nietering all had 2 hits apiece for the Americans and Santino Alteri added 2 RBI. Team USSSA now advances to play Puerto Rico in the Finals where they have to win 2 games.

Game 2: Team USSSA 5 Puerto Rico 1, 9 innings
In one of the most exciting games of the tournament, Team USSSA rallied for a huge win in Game One of the finals. With the game tied at 1 apiece in the bottom of the 7th inning, Puerto Rico had the bases loaded with no outs and a chance to win gold. However, Reliever Logan Shore struck out the next two batters. Santino Alteri then caught a line drive to end the inning and give Team USSSA some life going into extra innings. Team USSSA finally broke the game open in the 9th inning. Four walks and consecutive singles by Evan Rivera and Ryan Cate plated 4 runs for the Americans giving them a 4-run lead and just 3 outs to get to force a second game. Shore closed the door in the bottom of the inning to give the Americans the victory, forcing a winner-take-all game.

Championship Game: Team USSSA 11 Puerto Rico 4
Ryan Pina pitched 5 innings of 6-hit ball and Adam Bleday recorded 3 hits and 4 RBI as Team USSSA completed a great comeback in winning the Gold Medal. Pina had complete control of the game as his teammates supplied him with enough offense to keep a lead the entire game. John Batchelor, Evan Rivera, Allan Hooker and Josh Davis all had 2 hits for Team USSSA with Batchelor and Davis recording 2 RBI apiece as well. Trenton Gantt and Jake Matthys pitched the final 2 innings to seal the victory.

Tournament notes: Team USSSA went 7-1 for the week in earning the Gold Medal. A special thanks to Walt Weiss who was the USSSA Junior National Team Head Coach
USSSA Senior National Team MVP: Logan Shore

Pool Play
Game #1 USSSA 11 Mexico 0
Santino Alteri led the hitting attack going 3 for 3 with 2 RBI. Evan Rivera knocked in 3 runs and Ty Rowe also had 2 RBI. Josh Davis pitched 4 strong innings for the win. Adam Bleday stole 3 bases in the game.

Game #2 USSSA 7 Venezuela 0
Drake Robison pitched a strong game going 6 innings allowing just 2 hits and striking out 8 in getting the win. John Dreveny had two hits and Adam Dressler had 2 RBI in the game. Emilio Gonzalez scored twice as team USSSA improved to 2 and 0 in the tournament.

Game #3 Team USSSA 15 Canada 0
Logan Shore threw a two-hitter in leading Team USSSA to the win over Canada. Santino Alteri led the Americans with three hits, two RBI and scored three runs while Adam Bleday, Keltin Devoe, Trent Gantt and Evan Rivera all had two hits apiece. Devoe, Gantt, Rivera and Josh Davis had two RBI each. Team USSSA is now 3 and 0 going into pool play.

Game 4: USSSA 9 vs. France 1
Team USSSA beat France 9-1 today in the quarter-final round of the Gold Medal games. Jake Matthys pitched 5 strong innings of 2-hit ball and striking out 7. Ryan Pina led the offense with a double and a triple in three at-bats. Brody Weiss, John Batchelor and Ryan Cate each had two RBI.

USSSA Junior National Team

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
The USSSA 15u National Team had a tough road ahead of them on Championship Saturday. They would have to beat Canada in the semi-final game and then beat Mexico in two straight games in order to bring home the Gold.

Game 1: Canada vs USSSA
Starting Pitcher: Ryan Ryder
Winning Pitcher: Landon Walters
Final Score: Canada 4 – USSSA 8

USSSA brought Ryan Ryder to the mound to start against Canada in a must win semi-final game. Canada jumped out to an early 3-0 lead by the second inning. USSSA responded with two runs. Hunter Tackett led the second inning off with a walk and Nick Vespi hit a base hit to score Tackett after a Canadian error. John Hotchkiss then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to make the score 3-2 Canada.

Landon Walters entered the game in the top of the third with one out and a runner on second. He was able to retire both of the Canadian hitters he faced to keep it a one run ball game. USSSA then tied the game 3-3 in the third with David Vaccaro scoring on an error by the catcher.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the fifth inning when the USSSA offense exploded for five runs. Both Ruppenthal and Tackett drove in runs while Nick Vespi had a two RBI base hit.

Landon Walters was able to close the game out and advance USSSA to the finals against Mexico.

Game 2: USSSA vs Mexico
Starting Pitcher: Dylan Williams
Winning Pitcher: Dylan Williams
Final Score: USSSA 10 – Mexico 5

With the win against Canada, USSSA was set to face Mexico in the 2011 Gold Medal Games Championship. For USSSA to win the Gold they must defeat Mexico twice. In game one of the finals they marched the strong right arm of Dylan Williams to the hill.

Dylan gave USSSA three strong innings of pitching and left the game with a 10 – 5 lead, while the USSSA offense continued its momentum from the first game. Nick Vespi got the offense on the board early in the first with an RBI base hit after a Colby Fitch double. Vaccaro and Jamison followed with RBI base hits in the second and Colton Bonnet hit an RBI double to make the score 4-0.

The offense put the game out of reach in the third by tacking on six more runs that was highlighted by a Colby Fitch three RBI double. Ruppenthal came into the game in the fourth and pitched three scoreless innings to lead USSSA to a 10-5 win.

Championship Game: Mexico vs USSSA
Starting Pitcher: Nick Vespi
Winning Pitcher: Nick Vespi
Final Score: Mexico 3 – USSSA 6

Nick Vespi got the ball in the Championship Game against Mexico and pitched 5+ innings of scoreless baseball. The USSSA offense jumped out to an early 5-0 lead behind the strong bats of Vaccaro and Tackett.

Kodi Jamison and Matt Morgan were able to relieve the fatigued Vespi in the fifth and seal the victory for USSSA. With the win, USSSA won the 2011 USSSA Gold Medal Games and proved to be the world’s best!

The 2011 USSSA Gold Medal Games was an unbelievable experience for everyone involved. I want to send a special thanks to all of the parents and players that made the trip to Kissimmee. A special thanks to Luis Alicea who was the head coach of the 15u USSSA National Team that won Gold!

USSSA Junior National Team Offensive MVP: Hunter Tackett

Pool Play
Game 1 Recap: Venezuela Gold vs USSSA Jr.
Starting pitcher: Tristan Fields
Winning Pitcher: Tristan Fields
Final Score: 9-0 USSSA Win

The USSSA offense got off to an impressive start in their opening game of the 2011 USSSA Gold Medal Games. Especially hard hit balls by Blake Wiggins and Nick Vespi led to an early 6-0 lead. Blake Wiggins showed exceptional base running and great instincts on the field. Tristan fields then continued to set the early tone by firing strikes from the first pitch on. A sharp curveball and a heavy fastball kept the Venezuelan hitters off balanced all day.

The offense continued to roll with hard hit triples by Matt Morgan and Finch, but the play of the day belonged to Ruppenthal. In the bottomed of the third with Venezuela threatening to score, Ruppenthal laid out for a ball down the third base line and , after cleanly fielding it, made a strong throw to first base to nail the runner for the third of the inning.

USSSA had contributions from player on the team. Hudson had a multi hit game while Hotchkiss swang the bat well from both sides of the plate. In the end, the potent USSSA offense and the dominant offense was too much to handle for Venezuela. Team USSSA wind their opening game 9-0.

Game 2 Recap: USSSA Jr. vs France
Starting Pitcher: Matt Morgan
Winning Pitcher: Walters
Final Score: 11-1 USSSA wins

Team USSSA didn't quite get off to the first inning start that it did in game one against Venezuela. Instead, they waited to the second inning for an offensive explosion and laid a an eight spot on France. Dylan Williams started the rally with two outs and nobody on, the hit parade soon followed. Extremely hard hit balls by Tackett and Fitch capped the inning and made the defect too large for France to overcome.

Matt Morgan pitched three solid innings of baseball while Walters came in and shut the door for Team USSSA. Walters, while also having a base hit for Team USSSA, really showed an explosive fastball that proved to be too overpowering for the French hitters.

In the end, the entire USSSA offense including Vespi, Tackett, Finch, Vaccaro, Evert, Bonnet, Donato, Williams, and Jamison proved to be too much to handle. Dylan Williams capped the scoring with an RBI in the fourth inning to give Team USSSA the 11-1 victory over France.

Game 3: Mexico vs USSSA
Starting Pitcher: Ryder
Winning Pitcher: Ryder
Final Score: Mexico 1 – USSSA 16

Ryan Ryder started on the mound for Team USSSA and through a combination of pounding the strike zone and an explosive arm, he proved to be too much to handle for the Mexico Team.

Colby Fitch continued his hot hitting with an RBI single in the first inning. Vaccaro and Evert added two hits a piece and kept the USSSA offense firing on all cylinders. Ryder, who threw three innings of one run baseball, also starred offensively while smashing an RBI triple to the right center gap.

The Mexico Team proved to be no match for Team USSSA as they piled up ten hits over three innings for a 16 – 1 victory. With the win Team USSSA improved to 3-0 in the 2011 USSSA Gold Medal Games.

Game 4: Venezuela Red vs USSSA
Starting Pitcher: Donatto
Winning Pitcher: Dylan Williams
Final Score: Venezuela Red 0 – USSSA 8

Team USSSA combined for a shutout victory over Venezuela Red in the fourth game of the 2011 USSSA Gold Medal Games. Donatto, Dylan Williams, Hudson, and Kobi Jamison all pitched for Team USSSA and proved to be too much to handle for the Venezuela team.

The offense was led by the high on base percentage of Evert and the quick stroke of Vaccaro. Other contributors included Hudson, Bonnett, Kobi Jamison, Nick Vespi, and Tackett. With the victory, Team USSSA finishes bracket play with a 4-0 record as they move into their off day.

*The most impressive part of USSSA so far is the fact that every player has contributed heavily to their quick start

Game 4: Mexico Gold vs USSSA
Starting Pitcher: Nick Vespi
Winning Pitcher: Walters
Final Score: Mexico Gold 0 – USSSA 13

The USSSA 15u National Team moved into bracket play and got a buy straight to the quarterfinals due to their outstanding performance during pool play. Nick Vespi started on the mound against Mexico Gold and threw two innings of shutout baseball while the USSSA offense continued to roll. Blake Wiggans starred offensively by not only collecting three hits, but also with his aggressive base running.

Walters came into the game in the top of the third inning for USSSA and pitched outstanding. He collected the fifth win for the USSSA during the 2011 USSSA Gold Medal Games while the offense erupted in the bottom half of the inning. USSSA was able to push eight runs across to stretch their lead to 13 – 0. The entire offense contributed to the lead which was highlighted by a Ruppenthal blast off the left center wall. Bonnett, Tackett, Fields, and Vaccaro also added to the damage offensively.

Ruppenthal closed the game for USSSA and shut the door for Mexico Gold. USSSA will play Mexico in their next game for the right to play Saturday morning and the chance to bring home the championship.

Schedule

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TBA

2011 USSSA National Team Rosters

Description: The USSSA Gold Medal Games is an Olympic-style event featuring teams from all over the world. Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals will be awarded to the top 3 teams. Canada, France, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Great Britain, Venezuela, and the United States are amongst the 2011 competing programs