International News: U.S. National Team Now 2-0 with Run-Rule Win Over Botswana at WBSC World Cup

The following game recap is courtesy of USA Softball…  

DUBLIN, Ireland – Team USA picked up its second win of the XVII World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup Group A event today with a 15-0 (five-innings) run-rule over Botswana.

A collective effort at the plate, four U.S. batters tallied a multi-hit game in the win with Aubrey Leach leading the pack behind a 2-for-3 performance with two singles, two RBI and three runs scored.

Kelly Maxwell got the start in the circle for the Eagles, fanning eight Botswana batters through three innings before Montana Fouts stepped in for the final six outs – each of which were recorded via a strikeout.

The U.S. got on the board early thanks to the Tennessee Vols duo pushing across the first run of the game with a leadoff single from Leach followed by an infield RBI from Kiki Milloy to put the Eagles on top, 1-0.

Once again sparking the fuse for the Eagles, Leach sent a deep sac-fly to left field in the top of the second to put the U.S. on top, 2-0, before busting the game open in the top of the third.

Aguilar got things started with a solo home run followed by a two-out rally that began with a single from Jocelyn Alo and a triple from Aliyah Andrews – her second of the tournament – to tack on another run.

The Eagles stayed hot with two outs, stringing together a walk, two singles and a double to extend the U.S. lead, 8-0. Team USA went down in order in the top of the fourth but quickly made up for the silence in the top of the fifth with a seven-run inning to put the run-rule in effect.

With three outs remaining, Fouts took care of business in the bottom of the frame with three K’s to seal the 15-0 five-inning run-rule.

Maxwell limited the Botswana offense to a solo hit through three innings while striking out eight before Fouts added six strikeouts of her own to combine for a 14-strikeout performance – allowing only three batters to make contact through five innings.

The Eagles return to action tomorrow, July 13, at 3 p.m. IST/9 a.m. CT against Australia (3 p.m. IST/9 a.m. CT) followed by matchups against Great Britain (3 p.m. IST/9 a.m. CT) and Ireland (6:30 p.m. IST/12:30 p.m. CT) on Friday, July 14, to close out opening round. The top four teams will battle it out in the playoff round on Saturday, July 15 with the top two teams going head-to-head for a chance to advance to the Stage 2 Finals.

The loser of the first play-off game will then take on the winner of the matchup between the third and fourth place teams for the second spot in the Finals, which will be held in 2024.

How to Watch the Games

Note: the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Stage 1 event is being streamed via GameTime.

Fans will have the option of three different services:

1. Tournament Pass ($29.99)
2. Group Pass ($12.99)
3. Daily Pass ($5.99)

Tournament Pass subscribers will have full access to all 57 games across all three Groups of the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup, while Group Pass subscribers will have full access to the 19 games played in the specific group that is subscribed for (Group A, B or C).

For more information on subscriptions, click here.

Fans will also have the opportunity to follow along via live stats by following the U.S. Women’s National Team on Gamechanger.

Team USA Starters:

Aubrey Leach (RF), Hannah Flippen (3B), Ali Aguilar (2B), Kiki Milloy (LF), Maya Brady (1B), Jocelyn Alo (DP), Aliyah Andrews (CF), Sahvanna Jaquish (C), Sis Bates (SS), Kelly Maxwell (P/Flex)

Winning Pitcher:

Kelly Maxwell (1-0) | 3 innings pitched | 1 hit allowed | 8 strikeouts

Relief Pitcher:

Montana Fouts | 2 innings pitched | 0 hits allowed | 6 strikeouts

Batting Leaders: 

• Aubrey Leach (2-for-3, 2 singles, 2 RBI, 3 runs scored)
• Sahvanna Jaquish (1-for-1, 1 single, 3 walks, 2 runs scored)
• Ali Aguilar (1-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 run scored)
• Hannah Flippen (2-for-4, 1 single, 1 double, 4 RBI, 1 run scored)

Game notes: 

• Four U.S. batters recorded a multi-hit game in the win
  • Alo, Bates, Flippen and Leach
• Seven of 11 U.S. batters recorded at least one hit on the day
• Flippen, Aguilar, Leach, Alo, Andrews and Bates start two-game hit streak
• Andrews recorded her second triple of the tournament
  • Totals two triples in five at-bats
• Flippen leads the U.S. offense through two games with a .714 batting average and four RBI
• Bates is 4-for-4 through the first two games of the tournament with three singles, one double and one run scored
• The U.S. pitching staff totals 21 strikeouts in 39 batters faced
• Today’s win improved Team USA’s overall World Cup record to 160-13.

On deck:

The Eagles return to action tomorrow, July 13, at 3 p.m. IST/9 a.m. CT against Australia (3 p.m. IST/9 a.m. CT) followed by matchups against Great Britain (3 p.m. IST/9 a.m. CT) and Ireland (6:30 p.m. IST/12:30 p.m. CT) on Friday, July 14, to close out opening round. The top four teams will battle it out in the playoff round on Saturday, July 15 with the top two teams going head-to-head for a chance to advance to the Stage 2 Finals. The loser of the first play-off game will then take on the winner of the matchup between the third and fourth place teams for the second spot in the Finals, which will be held in 2024.

Box score:

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