International: USA Softball U-18 Women’s National Team Ready for Junior Pan American Games in Columbia Starting Saturday

The USA Softball U-18 Women’s National Team has arrived in Barranquilla, Colombia, where the 2021 squad sets its sights on claiming gold at the Junior Pan American Games.

Held Saturday, November 27 through Thursday, December 2,

before traveling to Lima, Peru to compete at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Women’s World Cup slated for Dec. 6-12.

Click here to view the released schedule for the 2021 Junior Pan American Games

The eight participating countries will open the Junior Pan American Games in two groups with the top two teams in each group advancing to the Super Round.

The U.S. enters the tournament as the world-ranked No. 2 team and will compete in Group A alongside No. 30 Peru, No. 32 Argentina and No. 40 Colombia while No. 4 Mexico, No. 5 Puerto Rico, No. 11 Venezuela and No. 14 Brazil will battle it out in Group B.

Team USA will begin Opening Round on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 10 a.m. ET against No. 32 Argentina followed by match ups against No. 40 Colombia (Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. ET) and No. 30 Peru (Nov. 29 at 10 a.m. ET).

Following the conclusion of Opening Round, the top two finishers from each group will advance to the Super Rounds with the final two countries at the top of the leader board going head-to-head in the Junior Pan American Championship Final on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. ET. The third and fourth-place teams will compete for the bronze medal earlier that day.

“We are excited to be back in Barranquilla after bringing home the gold at the 2019 U-17 Pan American Championship,” said U-18 Women’s National Team Head Coach, Kyla Holas. “We’ve really enjoyed our experiences in this city as well as the Pan American Games event and are looking forward to another great week of softball in Colombia. Our coaching staff is extremely excited to see this team come together and work towards gold.”

Led by Holas (Pasadena, Texas) and Assistant Coaches Suzy Brazney (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Lisa Navas (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), the 15-player roster competing in the Junior Pan American Games was announced in June following selection by the Women’s National Team Selection Committee (WNTSC).

Here is the list of the 16 who will compete for Team USA:

• Maci Bergeron, Catcher
• Valerie Cagle, Pitcher
• Erin Coffel, Infield
• Kinsey Fiedler, Infield
• Megan Grant, Infield
• Rylee Holtorf, Infield
• Alissa Humphrey, Pitcher
• Olivia Johnson, Catcher
• Mac Morgan, Pitcher
• Joecellia Roberts, Infield
• Keagan Rothrock, Pitcher
• Haidyn Sokoloski, Utility
• Karli Spaid, Infield
• Keely Williams, Outfield
• Violet Zavodnik, Outfield

The Red, White and Blue will look to stand atop the podium in America’s first-ever youth continental multi-sport event with the gold medal team earning a berth to the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games.

Following the Junior Pan American Games, the USA Softball U-18 Women’s National Team will travel to Lima, Peru to begin their quest to a fourth-consecutive WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship title, having won the previous three World Championships in 2015, 2017 and 2019. The official schedule of the WBSC U-18 Women’s World Cup can be found on USASoftball.com.

Broadcast and live stream coverage will be announced at a later date.