XI Men’s Softball Pan American Championship
Softball Canada Gilles LeBlanc Men’s National Team
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
Name (Hometown)
Bryan Abrey (Richmond, BC)
Shane Boland (St. John’s, NL)
Patrick Burns (Saskatoon, SK)
Sean Cleary (Harbour Main, NL)
Bradley Ezekiel (Harbour Main, NL)
Jason Hill (St. John’s, NL)
Blake Hunter (Nanaimo, BC)
Cory Jones (Leduc, AB)
Brett Larson (Irma, AB)
Justin Laskowski (Warman, SK)
Derek Mayson (North Vancouver, BC)
Devon McCullough (Saskatoon, SK)
Tyler Pauli (Mitchell, ON)
Zach Pierce (Saskatoon, SK)
Mathieu Roy (St-Gervais, QC)
Colin Walsh (Petty Harbour, NL)
Coaching Staff
Position — Name (Hometown)
Head Coach — John Stuart (Meritt, BC)
Assistant Coach — Doug Allin (Peachland, BC)
Assistant Coach — Jeff Ellsworth (St. Lawrence, PEI)
Assistant Coach — John Hill (St. John’s, NL)
Assistant Coach — Les Howey (Conception Bay, NL)
Athletic Therapist — Adam Davis (Ottawa, ON)
Manager MNT — Mike Branchaud (Ottawa, ON)
Umpires
Name (Hometown)
Scott McLaren (Penticton, BC)
Mike Morrissey (Peterborough, ON)
Pan American Championship
(Dates/Times converted to Eastern Daylight Time)
April 24 Canada vs. Colombia 2:00pm EDT
April 25 Canada vs. Argentina 8:00pm EDT
April 26 Canada vs. Puerto Rico 8:00am EDT
April 27 Canada vs. United States 3:00pm EDT
April 28-29 Super Round TBD
April 30 Medal Round TBD
