Fifteen travel players and two former college players are in Puli, Taiwan, to represent the United States in the 2020 International Women’s Invitational Tournament Jan 16-23, 2020.
The American team is made up of a mix of players from various high schools and travel organizations from Indiana. In addition to the two former college players, there are six high school seniors, three sophomores, two freshman and four 8th graders who have made the trek across the Pacific.
They will play one exhibition game on Jan 17 in Taipei (which is Jan 16 in the United States), and then play six pool play games before entering the single elimination bracket round on Jan 20.
One of our first Inside Pitch posts last year was from Lindsey Long (#74, 2022, Extra Inning Extra Elite 100) who wrote about the trip and the earthquakes they experienced while there.
Lindsey, who now plays for Texas Glory 16U Naudin, is one of two returning players on the Taiwan trip this year.
The roster for this year’s team is below, and includes several committed players:
The team will have all its pool play games in the morning Taiwan time so that parents and others back home can view the live streaming in the early evening (Taiwan is 13 hours ahead of the eastern US time zone).
Note: the games may be live streamed; Extra Inning Softball will provide information via social media if broadcasts are available.
The schedule is as follows:
Game times (Eastern time in the U.S.)
- Jan 16—8:30 pm (exhibition)
- Jan 17—7:30 pm & 9 pm (pool)
- Jan 18—7:30 & 9 pm (pool)
- Jan 19—7:30 & 9 pm (pool)
- Jan 20 —TBD (single elimination bracket)
As Lindsey wrote in her blog post, the team will use its free time for study tables and to tour cultural sites, visiting several Buddhist temples, a monastery, and some of the local markets for shopping.
The trip is organized by Softball One, which is a travel organization from the Indianapolis area. One of its founders is Laview Wumas-Wen, who was a member of the 2008 Taiwanese Olympic softball team that competed in Beijing and is now living in Indiana.
Her former Olympic coach hosts the International Women’s Invitational Tournament every year in Puli, Taiwan. Teams from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea all attend, and Softball One is now sending their 4th team to the tournament over the last 10 years.
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USA Team Roster for 2020 International Women’s Invitational Tournament
First | Last | Jersey # | Pos | University/School | Class | Travel Team | Committed |
Bailey | Benefiel | 7 | P | Graduate of Purdue Fort Wayne From Pendleton, Indiana | N/A | Played at PFW | |
Savannah | Sarkine | 11 | SS | Graduate of Otterbein University From Avon, Indiana | N/A | Played at Otterbein | |
Jordan | Benefiel | 4 | P | Pendleton Heights High School | Senior | Shockwaves- Davis | Austin Peay State University |
Courtney | James | 8 | OF | Fishers High School | Senior | Shockwaves- Davis | Northern Illinois University |
Victoria | Breckler | 97 | C | Brownsburg High School | Senior | Shockwaves-Chasteen | Kentucky Christian |
Taylor | Erschen | 75 | 3B | Lawrence North High School | Senior | Beverly Bandits | Dayton |
Kennedy | Morgan | 18 | OF | Hamilton Southeastern High School | Senior | Indy Dreams | Uncommitted |
Emme | Morris | 19 | C | Northview High School | Senior | Shockwaves- Davis | Uncommitted |
Lindsey | Long | 50 | 1B | William Henry Harrison High School | Sophomore | TX Glory- Nadine | Uncommitted |
Leah | Wilige | 23 | P | Ben Davis High School | Sophomore | Indy Ten | Uncommitted |
Taylor | Grino | 14 | OF | Southmont High School | Sophomore | Eclipse | Uncommitted |
Elena | Locascio | 12 | P | Zionsville Community High School | Freshman | Gators- Craft | Uncommitted |
McKenzie | Walters | 5 | 2B | Tri-West High School Freshman | Freshman | Indiana Dreams- Greene | Uncommitted |
Lily | Craig | 28 | C | Will attend Palm Harbor University High School (Florida) | 8th grade | Clearwater Boombers | Uncommitted |
Hailey | Thompson | 1 | P | Will attend Brownsburg High School | 8th grade | SoftballOne- Minton | Uncommitted |
Madeline | Herman | 46 | P | Will attend Avon High School | 8th grade | SoftballOne-May | Uncommitted |
Whitney | Duell | 22 | SS | Will attend William Henry Harrison High School | 8th grade | Schockwaves- Tesnar | Uncommitted |