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Team USA Pitchers Toss Three Shutouts in WBSC Weekend Action

Ali Aguilar had a two-run home run in the win over the Netherlands over the weekend. Photo by USA Softball.

Chiba, Japan — The USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) continues to roll in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s World Championship with three pitched shutouts this weekend in international play.

On the fourth day of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s World Championship, the USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) claimed two shutout run-rule victories over the Netherlands, 11-0, and New Zealand, 7-0, to remain undefeated in pool play after having previously beaten Chinese Taipei by a 7-0 score early Saturday morning U.S. time.

Backed by offensive power at the plate, Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) threw a no-hitter as Team USA picked up an 11-0 (four innings) win over Netherlands before a 7-0 (five innings) win against New Zealand concluded the day.

The U.S. is back in action Monday, August 6 at 6 pm JT (4 am CST) to face Philippines. Live stats will be available through USASoftball.com

“The team has some really good focus right now,” said Head Coach Ken Eriksen. “We’re taking it one pitch at a time. We’re not overthinking, we’re just trying to get the barrel to the ball. There’s no secret as to what we do.”

Here’s a closer look at each game with information provided by USA Softball…

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Valerie Arioto was 3-for-3 in the 7-0 win over New Zealand. Photo by USA Softball.
USA 7, New Zealand 0 (five innings)

It was a five-inning affair for the Women’s National Team as Kelly Barnhill (Marietta, Ga.) and Garcia combined for the 7-0 shutout victory over New Zealand, and Team USA improved to 4-0 at World Championship.

Team USA took to the bats and wasted little time taking the lead, posting a two-run first inning. Thanks to a two-out RBI single from Arioto and double from Moultrie, the U.S. quickly took the lead and struck first for the fourth game in a row.

The bats remained silent for New Zealand as Barnhill and the U.S. retired the side in order to bring the Red, White and Blue back up at the plate. The bottom half of the second saw Stewart draw a walk before she was brought home on a two-run shot by Kirsti Merritt (Lake Panasoffkee, Fla.).

In the third, New Zealand went down in order after a pair of fly outs and strikeout from Barnhill while the U.S. stranded Arioto and was unable to add to the lead.

The Team USA dugout sparked a two-out rally in the bottom half of the fourth as Reed drove home Jaquish to put the U.S. atop, 5-0.

A walk to New Zealand’s leadoff in the top of the fifth resulted in Garcia entering the circle and while a walk put runners on first and second, Garcia would catch New Zealand swinging for the third out.

Team USA tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Arioto singled and with McCleney entering to pinch-run, Spaulding doubled to center field to put two aboard. From there, Moultrie sent a grounder through the gap to right field, scoring the two and securing the run-rule win.

Arioto was 3-for-3 and Moultrie was 2-for-2 to lead Team USA’s offense. Barnhill pitched four innings and collected three strikeouts, while Garcia issued two strikeouts and walked one in her one inning of work.

Haylie McCleney was 2-for-3 with two runs scored in a 11-0 win over the Netherlands. Photo by USA Softball
USA 11, Netherlands 0 (four innings)

Despite a slow start for Team USA, the WNT opened up the game in the third during Game 1 of their doubleheader, resulting in an 11-0 (four innings) win over world-ranked No. 8 Netherlands.

Both sides came up scoreless through the first two innings, as Team USA stranded a base runner in each while continuing to shut down the Netherlands offense. Through two, Abbott had issued six strikeouts and allowed just one walk.

With one out, Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) singled on a line drive to right field but was caught advancing to second after Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) grounded into a fielder’s choice to shortstop. Team USA began a two-out rally from there, starting with a RBI single from Janie Reed (Placentia, Calif.) to score McCleney. Ahead 1-0, Ali Aguilar (Orangevale, Calif.) blasted a two-run shot past center field to extend the U.S. lead.

A three-strikeout performance by Abbott in the bottom half of the third sent the Red, White and Blue back to the plate.

Delaney Spaulding (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) drew a leadoff walk before touching home plate on a RBI double form Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.).

A pair of two-run shots from Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) and Reed put the U.S. up 8-0. A double from Aguilar and walk to Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) put two runners aboard, before Sahvanna Jaquish (Highland, Calif.) entered to pinch run for Arioto. Rachel Garcia (Palmdale, Calif.) entered to hit in place of Spaulding, and drove home the two to make it 10-0 in favor of the U.S.

With Spaulding back in the game to run, she rounded the bases on a line drive to center from Moultrie and quickly crossed home for an 11-0 lead.

Abbott and the U.S. defense retired the side in the bottom of the fourth to seal their third win of the tournament, with the starter finishing with 10 strikeouts and allowing no hits with one walk. Reed led the team with 3 RBI while four others (Aguilar, Garica, Moultrie, Munro) tallied two apiece.

Kealani Ricketts scattered three hits and had four strikeouts in the 7-0 win over Chinese Taipei. Photo by USA Softball.
USA 7, Chinese Taipei 0 (five innings)

Behind the arm of Keilani Ricketts (San Jose, Calif.), Team USA soared to a 7-0 (five innings) victory over Chinese Taipei. Ricketts pitched a complete game, while a five-run second inning got the U.S. offense on the board and put them in control early.

“It was great to see the hard work Keilani Ricketts has done the last month pay off today with a stellar performance,” said Head Coach Ken Eriksen. “No walks and controlling the at-bats. If we get the type of performances in the circle that we have gotten the last two days, combined with the defense and the timely hitting, we can be a fun team to watch.”

The Red, White and Blue looked to strike early in the top of the first inning after leadoff hitter Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) singled and second baseman Ali Aguilar (Orangevale, Calif.) was issued a walk. McCleney advanced to third one out later despite Aguilar out at second after Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) grounded into a fielder’s choice. Chinese Taipei escaped unscathed after another groundout stranded the two U.S. runners.

Chinese Taipei also placed a runner in scoring position after Meng-ting Lai led off with a single and one out later, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt but was kept from scoring after a groundout concluded the first frame.

The U.S. bats came alive in the top of the second inning, with Kirsti Merritt (Lake Panasoffkee, Fla.) setting the tone with a first-pitch double to right field. Merritt would advance to third before touching home thanks to a RBI single from Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) to put Team USA on the board. Janie Reed (Placentia, Calif.) and McCleney followed with walks to load the bases for the Red, White and Blue.

Aguilar doubled to right field to plate all three runners and extend the U.S. lead, 4-0. A double by Delaney Spaulding (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) to right would score Aguilar to tack on another run and make it 5-0.

Both sides went three-up, three-down until the bottom of the third inning when Chinese Taipei’s Lai connected for a two-out single to get on base but was called out advancing after Aguilar made the play at second.

The Red, White and Blue added some insurance runs in the top of the fourth inning. Reed led off with a single to right and reached second before Spaulding blasted a two-run home run to put Team USA up, 7-0. A pair of groundouts and fly out by the U.S. defense ensued to keep Chinese Taipei off the board.

In the top of the fifth inning, Merritt picked up her second hit of the game on a one-out single to left field and stole second before Kasey Cooper (Dothan, Ala.) was issued a walk. Both would be stranded and kept from scoring any additional runs after a fly out brought Chinese Taipei back to the plate.

Ahead 7-0, the WNT would complete the shutout victory after stranding Chinese Taipei’s Yi-hsuan Su with Ricketts’ fourth strikeout to close out the game.

Spaulding went 2-for-3 and Aguilar finished 1-for-2, with both tallying 3 RBI apiece for the offense. Ricketts picked up the win after throwing the five-inning shutout, allowing only three hits and issuing four strikeouts.

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The softball flagship competition will feature 73 games across 10 days of competition. The top four finishers from each group will advance to the double page playoff round, while nations not advancing will compete in the placement round.

The World Championship finale will take center stage on August 12 at 7 pm JST following the bronze medal match at 2 p.m. JST. The top nation will claim the first of five available softball spots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with Japan qualifying automatically as the host country.

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