Olympic Prep: With the Tokyo Olympic Games Just a Week Away, Team USA Finishes Up Exhibition Play in Japan

After the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games last summer, the international event is now just a week away!

Team USA wrapped up exhibition play with four wins over the last two days in Japan (see recaps below) and now begins its quest to a fourth Olympic Gold Medal.

Softball at the Tokyo Games will run from July 21 to 27—here is the complete schedule:

 As a tune-up before heading to Tokyo, the Red, White & Blue team played a pair of doubleheaders over the last two days in Iwakuni, Japan, which is on the west side of the island about 500 miles from where the Olympics will be held.

Team USA will now join five other participating countries for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where the sport of softball returns to the Olympic Program after a 13-year hiatus.

Re-sparking the Olympic Dream for millions of softball athletes and fans across the globe, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will mark Team USA’s fifth Olympic Games appearance after finishing atop the podium in 1996, 2000 and 2004 and earning the Silver Medal in 2008.

The world-ranked U.S. WNT joins No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Canada, No. 5 Mexico, No. 8 Australia and No. 9 Italy as the six teams who will vie for the Gold Medal.

The countdown has begun!

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Team USA closes out Iwakuni Training Camp with 3-1 win over Toyota and 4-1 win over Hitachi (Tuesday, July 13, 2021 games)

Closing out the end of their eight-day training in Iwakuni, the USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) posted two wins today over Toyota Red Terriers and Hitachi Sundiva to give them the overall sweep of their opponents with an 8-0 record through four doubleheaders.

The Red, White and Blue tallied 29 runs in their eight competitions while limiting their opponents to a low of four runs scored. The U.S. offense totaled 47 hits throughout the training with five home runs while the pitching staff dominated in the circle with a combined total of 71 strikeouts.

Game One
USA 3, Toyota 1

The U.S. struck first in the top of the third inning after a single from Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) put a runner on for Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) who sent a line drive to centerfield to score Munro all the way from first, putting Team USA on top 1-0. With Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) in the circle, two quick strikeouts followed by a two-out single would put a runner on for the Toyota offense but that didn’t last long as Munro fired a throw down to second to catch the runner stealing and end the inning.

Starters for our final game in Iwakuni ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/EPZWB18uf3

— USA Softball Women's National Team 🇺🇸 (@USASoftballWNT) July 13, 2021

The Red, White and Blue maintained their 1-0 lead until the bottom half of the fourth when Hitachi pushed a run across to tie the game. A leadoff single followed by a walk and hit-by-pitch would load the bases for the Sundivas before a passed ball would allow a run to score. Thanks to a walk from Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) and a home run off the bat of McCleney, the U.S. would regain the lead in the top of fifth, 3-1. Abbott and the U.S. defense continued to do work, retiring the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings to keep Toyota at one.

Bubba Nickles (Merced, Calif.) and Stewart would look to extend the U.S. lead in the top of the seventh, but a fly out and a ground out would leave them stranded. Team USA sealed the 3-1 victory in solid defensive fashion in the bottom of the frame with a groundout, pop out and a strikeout from Abbott.

McCleney led the U.S. offense with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate while scoring all three of the U.S. runs. In the circle, Abbott remained solid throughout, fanning 11 batters and limiting the Toyota offense to just two hits.

Game Two, 
USA 4, Hitachi 1

Team USA once again jumped out on top with a 1-0 lead in the top of third inning after Stewart led things off with a double to right field and was advanced 60 feet on a dropped third strike to Janie Reed (Placentia, Calif.). A great job of situational hitting by the U.S. offense, Chidester then sent a ground ball to the right side of the field to score Stewart and put Team USA on top, 1-0.

Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif.) got the start in the circle for the Eagles and kept the Sundivas off the board through the first two innings before Keilani Ricketts took over pitching duties in the bottom of the third with a 1-2-3 outing.

The U.S. tacked on three runs to their lead in the top of the fifth after Stewart once again led off the inning with a base hit followed by a walk to Taylor Edwards (Murrieta, Calif.) to put two runners on for Chidester. A hard ground ball up the middle would make its way to the fence after a fielding error from the centerfielder, which allowed Chidester to clear the bases with an inside the park home run. Rachel Garcia (Palmdale, Calif), who entered for Ricketts in the bottom half of the fourth, retired the side in order with two strikeouts and a groundout to shutdown the Hitachi offense through the fourth and fifth innings.

Osterman took over in the circle for the final two innings of the game, allowing Hitachi to plate one run in the bottom of the sixth after a pair of singles and a sac-fly pushed a run across for Hitachi to cut the U.S. lead, 4-1. The U.S. bats went down in order in the bottom of the frame to bring Hitachi to their final at-bat of the game, which was quickly shut down by Osterman and the U.S. defense with two strikeouts and a ground out to seal the 4-1 win.

Stewart sparked the U.S. offense in Game 2, going 2-for-3 at the plate while the U.S. pitching staff of Carda, Ricketts, Garcia and Osterman combined for six strikeouts.

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U.S. Women’s National Team tops Toyota 5-0 and Hitachi 5-1 in Day Three of exhibition doubleheaders in Iwakuni (Monday, July 12, 2021 games)

The bats were hot for the USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) as the Red, White and Blue picked up another pair of wins at Kizuna Stadium in Monday action (Japan time).

The U.S. kicked off their third exhibition doubleheader in Iwakuni, Japan with a 5-0 shutout win over Toyota Red Terriers before closing the day with a 5-1 (five-innings) victory over Hitachi Sundiva, which was called after five-innings due to inclement weather in Iwakuni.

The U.S. pitching staff took control in today’s games with Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) and Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif.) combining for a no-hitter in Game 1 with 11 strikeouts followed by a nine-strikeout performance from Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) in Game 2

At the plate, Team USA combined for 16 hits in the two games with four batters having a multi-hit day at the plate including home runs from Amanda Chidester (Allen Park, Mich.) and Hannah Flippen (San Diego, Calif.).

Game One
USA 5, Toyota 0

Team USA wasted no time in getting the offense going as Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) and Janie Reed (Placentia, Calif.) led off the game with back-to-back singles followed by a home run from Chidester to give the U.S. an early 3-0 lead. Osterman got the start in the circle for the Eagles and quickly issued a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts and a fly out to bring Team USA back to the plate.

A leadoff walk to Rachel Garcia (Palmdale, Calif.) would look to start something for the U.S. offense, but a line drive double play by the Toyota defense would clear the bases before another line out would end the inning. Osterman continued dealing through the next two innings, fanning six-straight batters to put her at eight strikeouts through the first nine batters she faced.

The top of the fourth brought in two more runs for Team USA after Garcia sent a two-out single up the middle followed by a long ball over the left field fence from Flippen to extend the U.S. lead, 5-0. Toyota got their first baserunner of the game in the bottom of the fourth with a hit-by-pitch, but a ground out and a fly out would retire the side. A three-up, three-down fifth inning for both sides would bring Team USA to the plate for the top of the sixth, but a strikeout and two fly outs would end the at-bat with the U.S. maintaining the five-run lead.

Carda took over pitching duties in the bottom of the sixth and retired the side in order before leading off the top of the seventh for the U.S. offense with a single to centerfield. McCleney would send a two-out double to right field to advance Carda to third, but a strikeout would leave them stranded. Toyota drew a walk in the bottom of the frame to put a runner on, but a ground out and two pop outs would retire the side, earning Team USA the 5-0 victory.

The U.S. pitching staff of Osterman and Carda combined for a no-hitter in the shutout win, allowing just two Toyota batters to reach base on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Osterman took control throughout the first five innings, collecting 10 strikeouts while Carda fanned one batter in the final two innings of the contest. At the plate, Team USA combined for seven hits with home runs off the bats of Chidester and Flippen to plate all five of the U.S. runs.

Starters for our game against Hitachi 👇 pic.twitter.com/UcF18cEbLp

— USA Softball Women's National Team 🇺🇸 (@USASoftballWNT) July 12, 2021

Game Two
USA 5, Hitachi 1 (Five-innings)

A scoreless first inning from both sides would bring Team USA back to the plate in the top of the second to take a one-run lead. Back-to-back singles from Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) and Ali Aguilar (Orangevale, Calif.) would start the inning for the U.S. before Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) ripped a base hit to right field to put the Eagles on top, 1-0. Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) looked to extend Team USA’s lead with a single to left field, but Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.), who reached base on a fielder’s choice earlier in the inning, was thrown out at home to end the at-bat.

Abbott, who got the start in the circle for Team USA, retired the first nine batters she faced to keep Hitachi off the board through three innings, but a two-out rally by the Sundivas in the bottom of the fourth would level the score, 1-1. A fly out and a strikeout would start the inning strong for Abbott and the U.S. defense, but timely hitting by the Hitachi offense would string together three singles to plate the tying run.

The U.S. offense responded without hesitation in the top of the fifth with Stewart leading off the inning with a single followed by an infield error from the Hitachi defense to allow Munro to reach base and advance Stewart to second. Reed then ripped a double to left field to clear the bases for Team USA and put them back on top, 3-1. A pair of singles from Chidester and Moultrie followed by a bases loaded hit-by-pitch to Delaney Spaudling (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) would bring two more runs in for the U.S. before a ground out would end the rally.

With the U.S. regaining the lead in the top of the fifth, Abbott came out firing in the bottom of the frame with a 1-2-3 shutout inning by way of three strikeouts. With one out in the top of the sixth, rain and lightning at Kizuna Stadium caused the game to be called with Team USA securing the 5-1 win.

The U.S. offense strung together nine hits in the final game of the day with Reed and Stewart going 2-for-3 at the plate while scoring three of Team USA’s five runs. Abbott dominated in the circle with nine strikeouts and allowed just three Hitachi batters to reach base.