Japan Cup: 8-2 Win Over No. 2 Japan Lands Team USA in Championship Game

The USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) sealed a spot in the Championship Game of the 2019 Japan Cup with an 8-2 win over No. 2 Japan.

Team USA’s offense continued their hot-hitting ways, combining for 13 hits while three U.S. pitchers limited Japan to just five hits.

“Our pitchers were really solid today,” said WNT Head Coach, Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla./Head Coach at South Florida). “Ally Carda got us off to a good start, Cat Osterman came in and really knocked Japan down and then Rachel Garcia closed it out for us. We had some clutch plays by some of our veterans and I was really impressed by Dejah Mulipola behind the plate.”

“Our mentality on offense has always been to move the runners and I was pretty impressed with people giving themselves up for the team to advance people on base. We did that yesterday and did it again today, which is always a good sign going into the future.”

Scoring in all but two plate appearances in the game, the Red, White and Blue struck early with a run in the top of the first inning. A walk to Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) put the leadoff batter on base and a sac bunt by Janie Reed (Placentia, Calif.) moved McCleney into scoring position. Ali Aguilar (Orangevale, Calif.) drove a ball to the outfield for an RBI single, giving the Eagles a 1-0 edge.

Japan tied up the game in the bottom of the frame after a leadoff single, hit batter and single to right field allowed a run to cross the plate.

Team USA regained the lead in the top of the third inning, driving in four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Stringing together the hits, Reed singled with one out and moved to second on a single up the middle by Aguilar. Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) picked up two RBI with a double to left field and a walk to Shelby Pendley (Rio Rancho, N.M.) continued the momentum for the Red, White and Blue.

A single off the bat of Kirsti Merritt (Lake Panasoffkee, Fla.) loaded the bases and another run crossed the plate after a walk to Jazmyn Jackson (San Jose, Calif.). Another run came after a single to left field by Dejah Mulipola (Garden Grove, Calif.).

Japan plated their last run of the contest in the bottom of the third inning. Eri Yamada reached on a catcher’s interference and a misplayed throw to first base put a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs. A caught foul tip recorded the first out before a hit batter loaded the bases for Japan. Yamada scored on a ground out to third base, but a ground ball to Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif.) in the circle limited the damage to just one run.

The U.S. offense responded again in the top of the fourth inning by driving in another run to regain a four-run lead. McCleney’s second walk of the game and back-to-back singles from Reed and Aguilar loaded the bases for Arioto, who hit a sac fly to center to bring McCleney home.

Jackson added another run to lead in the top of the fifth inning, singling to right field to bring Merritt home after she led off the at-bat with a triple down the right field line. An RBI double by Mulipola in the top of the seventh scored the final run of the game for Team USA, putting the Eagles up 8-2 and three outs away from the win.

A strikeout from Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas), who had entered the circle in the fourth inning for Carda, retired the first batter for Japan. Rachel Garcia (Palmdale, Calif.) came into the game and got Japan to popup and ground out to Arioto at first base for the final two outs of the game.

At the plate, Arioto drove in three of Team USA’s runs while Jackson and Mulipola each drove in a pair. Aguilar was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate while Jackson, Merritt, Mulipola and Reed each had two hits in the win. Osterman earned the win in the circle, tossing three and one-third innings with four strikeouts and two hits allowed. Carda issued two strikeouts with three hits and one earned run in three innings while Garcia closed out the game for the staff.

Team USA awaits the winner of No. 2 Japan and No. 6 Chinese Taipei in the Championship Game, which is scheduled for Sunday, September 1 at 4 p.m. JST (2 a.m. CT). Live stats and live streaming will be available and links can be found at USASoftball.com.

Japan Cup

Takasaki City, Japan

Aug. 30 – Sept. 01, 2019