ISF V JUNIOR MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

LOCATION: St. John's, Newfoundland (Canada)
DATES: July 20-27, 1997
PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES (11): Anguilla, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, Venezuela

* - Argentina awarded final playoff spot by virtue of win over Japan in round robin.

Semi-Finals
New Zealand 3, Canada 2 (10 innings)
Australia 5, Argentina 1

Final
Australia 2, Canada 0

Grand Final
Australia 6, New Zealand 1

GOLD MEDAL: Australia
SILVER MEDAL: New Zealand
BRONZE MEDAL: Canada

Australia Surprises New Zealand, 6-1, to Win Junior Men's World

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND (CANADA) - In 1993, Australia's Junior Men's team finished out of the running for a medal, placing fourth. This time, Australia made its second appearance in an ISF Junior Men's World Championship a memorable one by winning the gold medal here July 27 in the fifth Junior Men's World Fast Pitch Championship at the Caribou Complex.

Australia defeated two-time Junior Men's World champion New Zealand, 6-1, behind the pitching of 16-year old Mark Long to win its first-ever ISF men's gold medal and culminate a three-year program of preparation and planning.

Before leaving for the World Championship, Australia Head Coach Kevin Henderson had said, "We have worked hard over the last three years to make our players believe that they are contenders. They are definitely that and the feeling is unbelievably strong. With great support staff and an equally great team, I really believe that we are genuine contenders for the World Championship."

Henderson's players backed up his assessment on the field. Combining solid pitching and hitting with an airtight defense, Australia lost only two games in the round robin (including 4-3 to the USA) in the 11-team field. It blanked defending champion Canada 2-0 behind Long's two-hitter in the playoff finals after Canada lost to New Zealand 3-2 in ten innings on Saturday evening (July 26th). The win advanced the Kiwis to the grand final. Canada entered the playoffs with a 9-1 record as the top seed and instead went home with a bronze medal.

"We just didn't hit the ball. We did everything else right, so if we hit the ball, we're there," said Canadian head coach Ron Clarke. "You can pitch and field perfectly, but you still have to score runs to win and that didn't happen for us."

Canada scored a pair of runs on Duane Clarkson's two-run homer in the first inning of the game with New Zealand. After that, it went scoreless through 16 innings and had only three hits.

New Zealand out-hit Australia 10-8 in the grand final, but could only score one run in the bottom of the seventh inning against Long, who fanned seven batters. In the preliminary final against Canada, Long allowed only two hits and struck out six batters. In the grand final, Australia scored once in the first inning, three runs in the third and two in the sixth inning. Leading the offense were Joshua Bryen (3-for-4), Shaun Beckley (2-for-3, two RBI) and Adam Rindfleish (2-for-4).

To reach the grand final, Australia played three games in twelve hours, defeating Argentina, Canada, and New Zealand. Shaun Beckley struck out twelve batters in the 5-1 win over Argentina with Zelman Tan and Adam Rindfleish each having a pair of hits. Australia coach Henderson was ecstatic after his team's performance and said, "I was confident going into the playoffs that we could win the championship. This was a terrific team effort with all the boys contributing throughout the tournament and coming good at the right time."

(This article appeared in the Aug.-Sep. 1997 edition of World Softball magazine, Volume 27, Number 2.)