IWAKUNI, Japan –– Closing out the end of their eight-day training in Iwakuni, the USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) posted two wins today over Toyota Red Terriers and Hitachi Sundiva to give them the overall sweep of their opponents with an 8-0 record through four doubleheaders.
The Red, White and Blue tallied 29 runs in their
Game One
USA 3, Toyota 1
The U.S. struck first in the top of the third inning after a single from Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) put a runner on for Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) who sent a line drive to centerfield to score Munro all the way from first, putting Team USA on top 1-0. With Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) in the circle, two quick strikeouts followed by a two-out single would put a runner on for the Toyota offense but that didn’t last long as Munro fired a throw down to second to catch the runner stealing and end the inning.
The Red, White and Blue maintained their 1-0 lead until the bottom half of the fourth when Hitachi pushed a run across to tie the game. A leadoff single followed by a walk and hit-by-pitch would load the bases for the Sundivas before a passed ball would allow a run to score. Thanks to a walk from Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) and a home run off the bat of McCleney, the U.S. would regain the lead in the top of fifth, 3-1. Abbott and the U.S. defense continued to do work, retiring the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings to keep Toyota at one.
Bubba Nickles (Merced, Calif.) and Stewart would look to extend the U.S. lead in the top of the seventh, but a fly out and a ground out would leave them stranded. Team USA sealed the 3-1 victory in solid defensive fashion in the bottom of the frame with a groundout, pop out and a strikeout from Abbott.
McCleney led the U.S. offense with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate while scoring all three of the U.S. runs. In the circle, Abbott remained solid throughout, fanning 11 batters and limiting the Toyota offense to just two hits.
Game Two,
USA 4, Hitachi 1
Team USA once again jumped out on top with a 1-0 lead in the top of third inning after Stewart led things off with a double to right field and was advanced 60 feet on a dropped third strike to Janie Reed (Placentia, Calif.). A great job of situational hitting by the U.S. offense, Chidester then sent a ground ball to the right side of the field to score Stewart and put Team USA on top, 1-0.
Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif.) got the start in the circle for the Eagles and kept the Sundivas off the board through the first two innings before Keilani Ricketts took over pitching duties in the bottom of the third with a 1-2-3 outing.
The U.S. tacked on three runs to their lead in the top of the fifth after Stewart once again led off the inning with a base hit followed by a walk to Taylor Edwards (Murrieta, Calif.) to put two runners on for Chidester. A hard ground ball up the middle would make its way to the fence after a fielding error from the centerfielder, which allowed Chidester to clear the bases with an inside the park home run. Rachel Garcia (Palmdale, Calif), who entered for Ricketts in the bottom half of the fourth, retired the side in order with two strikeouts and a groundout to shutdown the Hitachi offense through the fourth and fifth innings.
Osterman took over in the circle for the final two innings of the game, allowing Hitachi to plate one run in the bottom of the sixth after a pair of singles and a sac-fly pushed a run across for Hitachi to cut the U.S. lead, 4-1. The U.S. bats went down in order in the bottom of the frame to bring Hitachi to their final at-bat of the game, which was quickly shut down by Osterman and the U.S. defense with two strikeouts and a ground out to seal the 4-1 win.
Stewart sparked the U.S. offense in Game 2, going 2-for-3 at the plate while the U.S. pitching staff of Carda, Ricketts, Garcia and Osterman combined for six strikeouts.
Team USA will now travel to Tokyo, Japan where they will join five other participating countries for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where the sport of softball returns to the Olympic Program after a 13-year hiatus.
Re-sparking the Olympic Dream for millions of softball athletes and fans across the globe, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will mark Team USA’s fifth Olympic Games appearance after finishing atop the podium in 1996, 2000 and 2004 and earning the Silver Medal in 2008. The world-ranked U.S. WNT joins No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Canada, No. 5 Mexico, No. 8 Australia and No. 9 Italy as the six teams who will vie for the Gold Medal starting July 21-27. A full schedule of the Tokyo Olympic Games can be found at USASoftball.com with television channels and times being released at a later date.
About USA Softball
USA Softball (USAS) is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USAS sanctions competition through a network of Local Associations, which includes all 50 states and select metro associations. USAS is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USAS annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USAS umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USAS is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USAS, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.
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