Team USA: No. 1 USA Softball Women’s National Team to face No. 5 Mexico at Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy Feb. 12-14

In preparation for the highly-anticipated Tokyo Olympic Games, USA Softball has announced a three-game series between the world-ranked No. 1 U.S. Women’s National Team (WNT) and No. 5 Mexico as part of the Stand Beside Her Tour presented by Major League Baseball (MLB).

Set to be held Feb. 12-14, 2021 at the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy, the WNT will compete in their first international competition of the season following a mid-January training camp.

The two countries along with No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Canada, No. 8 Australia and No. 10 Italy make up the six who will vie for the Gold Medal in Tokyo this July.

Fans will not be allowed in the park for the three-game series due to COVID-19 restrictions, however free live stats and streaming will be available at USASoftball.com.

“It is important for our Women’s National Team to train together ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games and we’re excited about the opportunity to face a high-level opponent like Mexico,” said USA Softball CEO, Craig Cress. “We thank Mexico for working with us as well as Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers MLB Youth Academy for hosting and making this three-game series possible for Team USA and Team Mexico.”

Following the postponement of the pre-Olympic Stand Beside Her tour, presented by Major League Baseball (MLB), and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Red, White and Blue squad renews their focus on claiming a fourth Olympic Gold Medal.

The USA Softball Women’s National Team roster includes two Olympians, 12 members of the 2018 World Championship team and 13 members of the 2019 Pan American Games Gold Medal team.

The U.S. is also loaded with former or current student athletes from four athletic conferences: Big Ten (two), Big 12 (two), SEC (five) and Pac-12 (five) who represent 13 NCAA Division I universities.

Five athletes have won one or more NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) National Championships with their respective university, while four have garnered USA Softball Player of the Year honors at least once during their career.

“We are thrilled to be back on the field training together in our preparation for the Tokyo Games,” said Women’s National Team (WNT) Head Coach, Ken Eriksen. “It’s fortunate for us to have the opportunity to play against opponents like Team Mexico as we continue to evaluate where we are on our timeline.”

Here is the USA Softball Women’s National Team:

Replacement Players

Mexico’s pre-selection roster for the series includes team captain Sashel Palacios (Arizona State), Dallas Escobedo (Arizona State), Danielle O’Toole (Arizona), Sierra Hyland (Cal Poly), Victoria Vidales (Texas A&M), and Tatyana Forbes (NC State) among other high-profile athletes.

“The Mexican National Softball Federation and it’s sports government entities, the Mexican Olympic Committee (COM) and CONADE, are thrilled about the upcoming series versus Team USA, the No. 1 world ranked team by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC),” said Team Mexico President, Ing. Rolando Cruz Guerrero. “We thank USA Softball for their invite and for working with us to showcase a preview of the Olympics games.”

“This series is a great opportunity for our players to once again get together and compete with the world’s best team,” stated Co-Head Coaches Carlos Bernaldez & Carlos Caro.

“It will be a great time to get the COVID rust out and we are convinced it will be great quality softball. Our players’ high level of play, commitment and work ethic are second to none, and it’s our responsibility to find opportunities like this to ensure our players are challenged and can prepare themselves. We know that this series will provide top notch competition and we want to provide our athletes with the best opportunities to succeed in their quest of preparing and competing for a medal in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.”