Japan Cup: Valerie Arioto’s Three-Run Homer in 1st Leads Team USA to 3-2 Win Over Japan in Championship Game

If there was any doubt who the top team in the world is—at least in 2019–it was put to rest this weekend as the No. 1 USA Women’s National Team captured the Japan Cup with a 3-2 win over the No. 2 host country.

The nail-biting title game win follows on the heels of championships won by Team USA at the Pan American Games and the USA Softball International Cup.

The final meeting between world-ranked No. 1 USA vs No. 2 Japan prior to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games showcased what many expect to see next July – a stadium packed with fans and a hard-fought battle between the two softball powerhouses.

With just one run deciding the game, a three-run home run off the bat of Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.), who earned the title of 2019 Japan Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP), proved to be the difference maker in a game that saw three Olympic pitchers in the circle.

For Team USA, it was the pitching duo of Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) and Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) that limited Japan to two runs while Yukiko Ueno faced Team USA for the first time since the Gold Medal Game of the 2018 World Baseball Softball (Confederation (WBSC) Women’s Softball World Championship.

Saturday evening Japan-time, the USA had to beat Team Japan for the second day in a row and thanks to the offensive heroics of Arioto, that’s exactly what happened.

Arioto hit a three-run home run to left field in the top of the first, driving in Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) , who walked to lead off the game, and Ali Aguilar (Orangevale, Calif.), who had singled with one out.

That would be all the runs the Eagles would get off the pair of Japanese pitchers, Nozomi Ozaki, who went six innings and took the loss, and Yukiko Ueno, who pitched the 7^th, but it would all Team USA would need.

Legendary hurlers Monica Abbott would go five innings giving up two runs in the bottom of the 2^nd but get the win and Cat Osterman would close out the final two innings for the save.

Abbott would scatter four hits including a Saki Yamazai two-run home run in the 2^nd inning and strike out four while Osterman would strike out three and give up just one hit.

No additional runs crossed the plate throughout the remainder of the game, though both sides put plenty of base runners on through the next five innings of play.

Arioto singled in the top of the third while a leadoff double by Japan in the bottom of the frame threatened to tie the ballgame. A sac bunt, line out and strikeout from Abbott ended the threat, however, with Team USA holding their one-run lead.

The host team’s best chance to tie the game came in the bottom of the 3^rd when Hitomi Kawabata hit a leadoff double but Abbott induced a bunt pop up, a line out to third and a strikeout to eliminate the threat.

The Red, White and Blue looked to score a run in the top of the fourth after a one-out single by Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) and walk to Jazmyn Jackson (San Jose, Calif.), but a great catch by the right fielder on a McCleney line drive and strikeout prevented a run from scoring.

The U.S. put another pair of runners on base in the top of the fifth after Arioto picked up her third hit of the contest and Delaney Spaulding (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) was hit by a pitch, but a strikeout and ground ball ended the at-bat.

Japan put base runners on in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings by way of singles, but each time the U.S. defense held steady and got out of the innings unscathed.

In their final at-bat of the contest, Team USA threatened once again after Aguilar singled and Arioto walked, but a strikeout and fly ball brought Japan back to the plate.

Three outs away from the win, a fly ball, strikeout from Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) and ground ball to Spaulding at shortstop ended the game with Team USA earning the victory.

Arioto would finish the night going 3-for-3 with a walk and run scored while Aguilar went 2-for-4. McCleney batting in the leadoff spot drew a pair of walks. Overall, the USA WNT had seven hits with Munro and Spaulding getting a single and double, respectively.

Team Japan had five hits on the night, but couldn’t string together more than one hit in an inning other than the second.

“This tournament showed a complete maturation of the 2019 season for our program,” said Women’s National Team Head Coach, Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla./Head Coach at South Florida).

“When you’re able to stay together as a unit and progress from playing independently to becoming a team, things come to fruition and you saw that as we won the USA Softball International Cup, the Pan American Games Gold and now the Japan Cup.”

“The pitchers were really starting to gel, the catchers really knew how to work batter’s and our defense bought in to how we play together. Our support staff is unreal. We have to thank Mike Roberts, Lance Glasoe, Howard Dobson, Laura Berg and Tairia Flowers who volunteered their time all summer long. Total team effort today.”

“I don’t think anybody should get lost on what transpired here today,” Eriksen added when asked about tonight’s game setting the tone for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“The history of these two programs for one and then to see some of the greatest players to ever play the game and represent our sport at the international level – Yukiko Ueno, Eri Yamada, Cat Osterman, Monica Abbott, Valerie Arioto, Natsuko Sugama and Yu Yamamoto to name a few. These athletes are the heart and soul of this sport and every little girl around the world who plays softball should want to play like these women. Phenomenal athletes.”

Members of the 2019 USA Softball WNT, along with additional invitees, will now set their sights on the 2020 Olympic Team Selection Trials, which are slated for October 1-6 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The roster for the 2020 USA Softball WNT, which will be led by Eriksen, will be announced at the conclusion of the Selection Trials and a press conference featuring the 2020 roster will be held on the morning of October 8.

The Selection Trials are open to the public with free admission. From Selection Trials, the 2020 WNT will participate in the “Stand Beside Her” tour, a series of competitions and training opportunities as they prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The “Stand Beside Her” message encourages fans everywhere to stand united in their support of the WNT and the United States in their journey to the Olympic Games.

The complete schedule for the “Stand Beside Her” tour, including dates and locations, will be announced at a later date.

Japan Cup

Takasaki City, Japan

Aug. 30 – Sept. 01, 2019