OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Although the USA Softball Men’s National Fast Pitch Team is one of the most decorated in the world, it has been 21 years since the Americans stood atop the World Championship podium. Team USA aims to change that July 17-27 when they compete at the 2009 International Softball Federation Men’s World Softball Championship in Saskatoon, Canada.

“I think we’ve got a good mix of guys that will make us competitive with the best teams in the world,” coach Pete Turner (Stockton, Calif.) said. “We have some great hitters but if our bats are struggling, it’s not game over for us. We have a strong pitching staff that I think can carry us through.”

The squad will be led by pitchers Terry Luster (Bunceton, Mo.), Travis Price (Corona, Calif.) and Paul Koert (Brooklin, Ontario). Also competing are Frank DeGroat Jr. (Ringwood, N.J); Chris Delarwelle (Forestville, Wis.); Nate Devine (Sonora, Calif.); Don Garvey (Appleton, Wis.); Paul Koert (Brooklin, Ontario); Adam LaLonde (Ashland, Ky.); Kyle Magnusson (Minot, N.D.); Tyron McKinney (Asland, Ohio); Blake Miller (Kingsville, Texas); Daryn Miller (Creve Coeur, Ill.); Matt Palazzo (Des Moines, Iowa); Stephen Pinocchio (Jamestown, Calif.); Landy Rodriguez (West Haverstraw, N.Y.); Marcus Tan (Union City, Calif.) and Chase Turner (Stockton, Calif.).

The 17 men are part of a program that has won five gold medals (1966, 1968, 1976, 1980 and 1988), one silver (1972) and three bronze (1984, 1992 and 2000). In 2004, the last time the World Championships were contested, Team USA finished a disappointing fourth.

“Not winning a medal was a little shocking to us to be quite honest,” Turner said. “We were cruising through the pool play but when we got to the playoffs, I think we kind of got ahead of ourselves and lost control of the situation. Before we knew it, we were out of contention and asking what just happened. I don’t think any of us want to feel that way again.”

Team USA starts the 2009 World Championships by going against the one of the best teams, five-time World Champion New Zealand, which has won the last three World titles (1996, 2000 and 2004), when pool play kicks off July 17. Also competing in Saskatoon are 2004 World silver medalists Canada and bronze medalists Australia, although the United States will not face those teams in pool play.

“There is going to be a lot of competition in Saskatoon. There are a lot of countries with a lot of talent,” Turner said. “But what happened in 2004 doesn’t determine what is going to happen here in 2009 so it’s a clean slate for everyone. We’re going to go out there and play our hardest every day like we would have if we were the defending World Champions.”

The other pool play matches for Team USA are with Denmark on July 18; Japan on July 19; Philippines on July 20; Botswana on July 21; Great Britain on July 22; and Mexico on July 23. The World playoffs are July 24-25 with the medal rounds on July 26. Following the bronze medal game at noon, two teams will play for the 2009 International Softball Federation World Men’s Softball Championship title at 3 p.m. in the Bob Van Impe Stadium.

As a tune-up for the 2009 World Men’s Championship, the men competed in four exhibition games in Salem, Va., going undefeated against the Virginians (Salem, Va.) and Keatings (Pa.) Fitness Center.

“I am happy with the results. The guys played real well (against the Virginians and Keatins) so it was a great tune-up for the World Championships,” Turner said. “I am happy with the way that they were hitting the ball out there. And our pitching staff did exactly what we wanted, putting up zeros on the board. I really think this is one of the strongest men’s teams that we’ve had in a while.”

The team will hold exhibitions July 15-16 against the Philippines, Saskatoon Diamondbacks and Bruno Merchants in Saskatoon. “These games are just tune-ups to get everyone playing together as a team, to get everyone understanding their roles and responsibilities before we get into Worlds,” Turner said.

For more information about Worlds, visit www.2009worldsmensfastpitch.com.

About ASA

The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.

About USA Softball

USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive as well as claimed two World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.