The Top 15 Softball Stories of 2021: #12… USA U-18 Team Goes Undefeated in International Play This Fall (& Valerie Cagle Leads the Way!)

We continue our list of the Top 15 Softball Stories of 2021, which will run through December 31^st when we’ll present our No. 1 story of the year.

Here are the previous stories (clink on link to read):

• #15… Ty’Liyah Hardeman Foregoes Playing for Bethune Cookman to Support Family after Mom Dies, Now at Kennesaw State
• #14… Dakota Wagner Promotes Tourette Syndrome Awareness Through Her Successes On & Off the Field
• #13… Sara Goodrum, the Trailblazing Former Oregon Duck Softball Player, Makes History in the MLB Ranks

Also, on New Year’s Day 2022, we’ll list all 15 of the top stories of the year as well as run 15 more that were considered.

We’ve surveyed the softball community and talked internally as well to come up with what were the most impactful and relevant stories of the year pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball.

Where applicable, we are providing the text to the original articles and/or references when the story first happened.

• Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2020
• Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2019
• Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2018

To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: [email protected].

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Today’s Story of the Year: #12

Team USA’s 18U Goes Undefeated at Junior Pan American Games & WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup as Valerie Cagle Stars with Bat & Arm

Japan may have Team USA’s number when it comes to taking Olympic Softball Gold, after having blanked the Americans 2-0 last July in the finale and having won Gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics (softball wasn’t part of the Games in either 2012 or 2016), but the performance of the young U-18 team this Fall gives the USA hope for a bright future.

This Fall, the Red, White & Blue went undefeated in two international events—the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup and the Junior Pan American Games—and came up clutch time and time again.

If there was an MVP for the Americans’ success overall, it would have to be Valerie Cagle, the outstanding right-handed pitcher/hitter at Clemson who is a redshirt sophomore (COVID-related) but has shined in two seasons with the Tigers.

Cagle, who batted .404 with 17 home runs and 45 RBIs this year for Clemson while producing a 28-7 pitching record, a 1.16 ERA and recording 267 strikeouts in 216.2 innings, was equally impressive in international play.

Named the ACC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year—the first ever to get both in the same year for the conference—Cagle was the star in each of the finales for Team USA as she hit the walk-off RBI single in one championship while throwing a perfect game in the other!

Here’s the rundown of the big wins for Cagle and her American teammates in events that took place very recently—both within the last three weeks…

— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball

To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: [email protected].

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Breaking News: Team USA Defeats Chinese Taipei 1-0 in the Bottom of the 7th to Win WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup Finale

Originally published Dec. 12, 2021 on Extra Inning Softball

The United States U-18 team captured the championship trophy Sunday afternoon at the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup in Lima, Peru, but it didn’t come easy as Team USA had to pull out the win in the bottom of the 7^th on a one-out RBI single by Valerie Cagle to plate the only run in the championship finale.

This, the day after the USA team had run-ruled Chinese Taipei 9-2 in six innings to get the right to be the home team.

Cagle was also the star in the circle for the Red, White & Blue as she went all seven innings allowing just four hits while striking out 13 in the shutout masterpiece. Hsia-Ai Ke took the loss, giving up six hits while striking out five in 6.1 innings.

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!

USA beats Chinese Taipei in the World Championship Final!! 🏆🥎 pic.twitter.com/DXv1qyxTsd

— WBSC #Softball 🥎 (@WBSCsoftball) December 12, 2021

USA finished the event 8-0 to capture Gold while Chinese Taipei fell to 7-1 to take home the Silver Medal. Earlier Puerto Rico defeated Mexico 4- to win the Bronze.

After a scoreless contest heading into the bottom of the 7^th, Olivia Johnson, the clean-up hitter, singled to lead off the bottom of the 7^th and was replaced by pinch runner Karli Spaid.

Valerie Zavodnik walked to put runners on first and second, but a nice defensive player by Chinese Taipei’s third baseman Yu-Zhen Deng got the lead runner at third on a sac bunt attempt by Maci Bergeron.

Thus, with one out, the table was set for Cagle’s game—and event-winning—single to left field that plated Zavodnik to give USA the win.

The Americans had six hits on the game with Johnson and Cagle both going 2-for-3. Yi-Hsuan Chiu, batting second in the lineup for Chinese Taipei, went 2-for 3 in a losing cause.

We will more on today’s action later on Extra Inning Softball…

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International News: More on the Thrilling 1-0 Walk-Off Win for Team USA Over Chinese Taipei at the 2021 WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup

Originally published Dec. 12, 2021 on Extra Inning Softball

The following information was released by USA Softball after today’s championship win in Lima, Peru…

After a tight defensive battle through six innings, the U-18 Women’s National Team (WNT) edged out No. 6 Chinese Taipei in a thrilling 1-0 walk-off victory to claim the 2021 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 World Championship title.

Today’s win marks the fourth-straight World Championship gold medal from the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT) program, having won the previous three World Championships in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Finishing the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup with an undefeated 8-0 record, Team USA’s dominant campaign to the gold medal was led by stellar pitching performances that garnered a 0.46 ERA with 78 K’s.

Named tournament Most-Valuable-Player (MVP), Valerie Cagle (Yorktown, Va.) finished fourth in strikeouts (20) with Keagan Rothrock (Whiteland, Ind.) following closely behind with 18.

🥎🇺🇸🎙️ The MVP of the tournament, Valerie Cagle, spoke about the USA Softball performance in the tournament, what this title means for the program and the Olympics as a goal.#U18SoftballWC pic.twitter.com/E6YzHXwfcz

— WBSC #Softball 🥎 (@WBSCsoftball) December 13, 2021

Leading the tournament in perfect games, Alissa Humphrey’s (Micanopy, Fla.) control in the circle contributed to Team USA’s success as only five runs were allowed through eight games.

The superior U.S. pitching staff was backed by an offense that scored an impressive 57 runs with a .371 team batting average.

Landing atop the offensive leaderboard was Erin Coffel (Bremen, Ind.) who earned an award for the Most Runs Scored with nine runs and 11 hits, including two home runs to put her in the top two with a .478 batting average and .556 on-base percentage.

Also leading the pack with nine runs scored was Kinsey Fiedler (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) who finished third in hits (10) and fourth in RBI (6), right behind Coffel and Maci Bergeron (Rayne, La.) who each racked up seven RBI apiece.

Slugging a few hits of her own was Megan Grant (San Bruno, Calif.) who led the tournament with four doubles and finished fourth in batting average (.438) and third in on-base percentage (.550).

Named to the 2021 WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup All-World Team for an outstanding performance throughout the tournament were five members of Team USA:

• Valerie Cagle
• Erin Coffel
• Megan Grant
• Rylee Holtorf
• Alissa Humphrey

Today’s Gold medal victory was led by an outstanding pitching performance from Cagle in which she tallied 13 strikeouts in seven complete innings.

A solid defense kept the U.S. in the game while Cagle, Olivia Johnson (Pearland, Texas), and Violet Zavodnik (Murrieta, Calif.) each reached base twice before Cagle came in clutch with the game-winning hit to seal the win and claim the World Championship title for Team USA.

Getting the start in the circle for the U.S., Cagle came out strong and never looked back, retiring the first five out of six batters she faced via a strikeout. A quiet day at the plate for both teams, Zavodnik looked to make some noise with a single to the outfield in the bottom of the second but a slick double-play from the Chinese Taipei defense quickly ended the at-bat.

A leadoff single in the top of the third gave Chinese Taipei their first baserunner of the day.

Remaining unfazed, Cagle issued back-to-back strikeouts before Bergeron fired a ball down to second to prevent a stolen base and record the third out of the inning. After going down in order, Team USA took the field again in the top of the fourth where Cagle picked up two more K’s to keep the score knotted 0-0.

Both offenses remained silent until a leadoff single from Johnson in the bottom of the fifth put a runner on for the Eagles. A two-out single from Cagle allowed Johnson to move into scoring position but a strikeout would cut the rally short and send the game to the sixth.

Despite two singles from Chinese Taipei in the top of the frame, the U.S. defense remained sharp as Bergeron once again showed off her arm by picking-off a runner at third to end the inning.

A thrilling 1-0 victory over Chinese Taipei to claim the 2021 @WBSC #U18SoftballWC Championship title 🏅

8-0 record ✔️
Walk-off win ✔️
Fourth-straight @WBSC World Cup gold medal ✔️

Recap → https://t.co/5VgiQAFHsZ pic.twitter.com/IGmjMdctF6

— USA Softball (@USASoftball) December 13, 2021

A lone hit from Fiedler in the bottom of the sixth wouldn’t be enough for the U.S. to score as the game advanced into the seventh where Cagle continued to shine, recording her 13th strikeout of the game to keep Chinese Taipei off the basepaths and give Team USA another chance at the plate.

With her second single of the day, Johnson gave the Eagles a leadoff baserunner in the bottom of the seventh. A walk to Zavodnik would put another runner on before a fielder’s choice would cause an out at third, leaving the U.S. with runners on first and second with one out.

Stepping up to the plate and wasting no time, Cagle drove the first pitch she saw to the left-center gap allowing Zavodnik to speed home and score the game-winning run to give Team USA the 1-0 walk-off gold medal victory for the 2021 U-18 World Championship title.

Following tonight’s win, the U-18 WNT will return to the U.S. with two Championship titles, having claimed the 2021 Junior Pan American Games gold medal in Barranquilla, Colombia earlier this month.

Between the two tournaments, Team USA finished with a 14-0 record and a team batting average of .413. The U.S. offense slugged a total of 137 hits including 19 home runs and 21 doubles, resulting in 128 runs scored.

Defensively, Team USA allowed only five runs through all 14 games. A force to be reckoned with in the circle, the U.S. pitching staff tallied 140 strikeouts in 76 innings pitched while throwing 12 shutouts and four perfect games to finish the year with a 0.28 ERA.

Team USA Results in the WBSC U-18 Women’s World Championship
Date	Opponent	Time	Live Streaming	Stats
Dec. 6	USA 10 – Czech Republic 0	3 p.m. ET	Click here	Box Score
Dec. 7	USA 8 – Colombia 0	12 p.m. ET	Click here	Box Score
Dec. 7	USA 5 – Mexico 3	4:30 p.m. ET	Click here	Box Score
Dec. 8	USA 1 – Puerto Rico 0	1:30 p.m. ET	Click here	Box Score
Dec. 9	USA 10 – Netherlands 0	1:30 p.m. ET	Click here	Box Score
Dec. 10	USA 13 – Peru 0	7 p.m. ET	Click here	Box Score
Dec. 11	USA 9 – Chinese Taipei 2	1:30 p.m. ET	Click here	Box Score
Dec. 12	USA 1 – Chinese Taipei 0 Gold Medal game	4 p.m. ET	Click here	Live Stats

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International News- Team USA Run Rules Mexico 10-0 to Win Junior Pan American Games; Valerie Cagle Throws Perfect Game (12.03.21)

Originally published Dec. 3, 2021 on Extra Inning Softball

The American 18-U team wasn’t perfect in the Junior Pan American Games that concluded Wednesday night in Columbia, but the Red, White & Blue was pretty darn close—especially the pitching staff.

Team USA took home the Gold Medal with a 10-0 run rule win over Mexico and a perfect game thrown by Valerie Cagle who had eight strikeouts in the four-inning game.

Overall, the Gold Medal winners were dominant on both sides of the ball, going 6-0 in the Games and winning by scores of (most recent first): 10-0 (Mexico), 6-0 (Mexico), 4-0 (Puerto Rico), 13-0 (Peru), 29-0 (Columbia) and 9-0 (Argentina).

That’s 71 runs scored in the six wins (11.83 average per game) and NO RUNs given by the USA pitchers!

Team USA entered the tournament as the world-ranked No. 2 team and played alongside No. 30 Peru, No. 32 Argentina and No. 40 Colombia in Group A while No. 4 Mexico, No. 5 Puerto Rico, No. 11 Venezuela and No. 14 Brazil have battled it out in Group B.

Game recap and photos here provided by USA Softball…

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Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021: U-18 Women’s National Team claims Junior Pan American Championship title after 10-0 victory over Mexico

After recording a 10-0 (four innings) run-rule victory over No. 4 Mexico and finishing the tournament with an undefeated 6-0 record, the USA Softball U-18 Women’s National Team (WNT) claimed the gold medal at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games.

Valerie Cagle (Yorktown, Pa.) led the charge tonight, tossing a perfect game while striking out eight of the 12 batters she faced.

The U.S. offense combined for 11 hits with Olivia Johnson (Pearland, Texas) going 3-for-3 and Erin Coffel (Bremen, Ind.) and Violet Zavodnik (Murrieta, Calif.) each accounting for two hits apiece, including a long ball from Zavodnik to keep the U.S. home run streak alive at six games.

“I am so proud of these athletes for their grit throughout our quest to the podium,” said U-18 Women’s National Team Head Coach, Kyla Holas. “They have met every challenge faced before them and really came together as a team. We are very appreciative of the opportunity to compete in the Junior Pan American Games and can’t thank Barranquilla enough for their support during our stay. We’re looking forward to heading to Lima for another great week of softball.”

Cagle came out firing in the circle, issuing three quick strikeouts to retire the side in order and send the U.S. plate.

After a line out to centerfield from Keely Williams (Cibolo, Texas), Kinsey Fiedler (Summit, Mo.) saw four straight balls to put the first runner of the game on base for Team USA. A pop-out would look to slow the U.S. momentum, but Zavodnik battled through a tough at-bat to crush a ball over the centerfield fence and give the Eagles an early 2-0 lead. Johnson kept the rally going with a double to left field, but a strikeout would end the inning.

A quiet second inning from both sides kept the score 2-0 and sent Team USA back into the field where Cagle picked up her fifth strikeout in the top of the third.

At the plate again for the Red, White and Blue, Fiedler drew another walk to get things going in the bottom of the frame. Coffel followed suit with a base hit to put two runners on for the U.S. before a sac bunt from Zavodnik and a defensive miscue allowed Fiedler to score with Coffel and Zavodnik both advancing on the play.

With runners in scoring position, Johnson delivered a single over the head of the second baseman to put the Eagles up 5-0. Another sac bunt from Maci Bergeron (Rayne, La.) would move Johnson to third, setting the stage for Haidyn Sokoloski (Flower Mound, Texas) to drive a ball to left field and tack on another run for Team USA. A groundout and a fly out would end the inning, but not before the U.S. pulled ahead, 6-0.

Continuing her dominance in the circle, Cagle silenced another three Mexico bats via a strikeout, bringing her total to eight K’s through four innings. Williams came out strong for the Eagles in the bottom of the frame with a single to right field and a stolen base to spark the already hot U.S. offense.

Coffel continued the momentum with her second base hit of the day, scoring Williams and advancing to second on the throw. With the score now 7-0, Zavodnik kept the foot on the gas, doubling to left field to add another run to the U.S. lead. A pitching change switched things up for the Mexico defense but would not slow down the Eagles as Johnson drove a hard ground ball to centerfield to plate Zavodnik and bring Team USA within one of the run-rule.

Joecellia Roberts (Modesto, Calif.) gave the U.S. another base runner after being hit by a pitch, allowing Johnson to advance into scoring position. Karli Spaid (Chicago, Ill.) entered the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of fourth and came up big with a clutch single to left field to score Johnson and claim the 10-0 run-rule victory over No. 4 Mexico.

The Red, White and Blue dominated the 2021 Junior Pan American Games, shutting out all six of their opponents while scoring a combined total of 71 runs.

The U.S. offense proved superior with a team batting average of .460 and a total of 63 hits – including 13 home runs.

Zavodnik led the offense, hitting an impressive .643 (9-for-14) with three home runs, five walks and a .737 on base percentage. Coffel racked up nine hits of her own while slugging two home runs and tallying seven RBI.

The U.S. pitching staff put on an outstanding performance in the circle, allowing only five hits in the tournament while combining for a remarkable 0.00 ERA and striking out 62 batters in 30 innings pitched.

In addition to claiming the Gold medal at America’s first-ever youth continental multi-sport event, tonight’s victory earned Team USA a berth to the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games.

The USA Softball U-18 Women’s National Team will continue their travels tomorrow as they head to Lima, Peru for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Women’s World Cup.

Scheduled for Dec. 6-12, the U.S. will look to claim a fourth-consecutive WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship title, having won the previous three World Championships in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

The official schedule of the WBSC U-18 Women’s World Cup can be found on USASoftball.com.