This weekend must be one of mixed emotions for Ken Ericksen as the head coach of Team USA is having his Olympic squad compete this weekend against his South Florida Bulls, the university he coaches for his “day job!”
Friday was the first game with Game 2 on Saturday and both were pitching dominant by the #1 ranked team in the world… here are the recaps courtesy of USA Softball.
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Saturday, March 13, 2021: Carda & Osterman Teamup for One-Hitter in 8-0 Shutout Win Against South Florida
The USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) continued their “Stand Beside Her” tour, presented by Major League Baseball (MLB), dominance with an 8-0 shutout victory over the Bulls.
Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) and Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif.) took control in the circle, combining for 16 strikeouts while the U.S. offense also came alive as eight batters recorded a hit in the win.
Team USA had their first runner of the game in the top of first inning with a two-out walk from Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) but was unable to get on the board while Osterman came out firing in the bottom of the frame with three-straight strikeouts. A 1-2-3 second inning from both squads kept the score knotted, 0-0, before Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) blasted a solo home run to give USA a one run lead in the top of third. Continuing to slay in the circle, Osterman retired the Bulls in order in the bottom of the frame to bring Team USA back to the plate.
Back-to-back singles from Moultrie and Amanda Chidester (Allen Park, Mich.) would put two runners on for Team USA in the top of fourth, but two ground outs and a strikeout would end the at-bat. Osterman and the U.S. defense retired the next three USF batters via two strikeouts and a fly out in the bottom of the fourth, keeping the Bulls off the bases for four-straight innings. Team USA added to their lead in their next at-bat, taking advantage of a leadoff double from Stewart and a single from Janie Reed (Placentia, Calif.). A sac-fly from McCleney would plate Stewart before a two-run home run from Ali Aguilar (Orangevale, Calif.) put the U.S. on top, 4-0.
Carda took over pitching duties in the bottom of the fifth, retiring the side in order with two ground outs and a strikeout. Unable to continue the offensive rally, the Bulls quieted Team USA in the top of sixth while Carda and the U.S. defense returned the favor in the bottom of the frame with a fly out and two strikeouts. The U.S. offense came alive in the top of the seventh, plating four runs off of a sac-fly from Chidester and base hits from Carda and Flippen to put them ahead, 8-0, with three outs remaining in the game. USF got their first hit of the game in the bottom of the seventh, but a ground out and two strikeouts from Carda would seal the win for the Red, White and Blue.
Osterman struck out 11 batters in the contest, allowing just one USF batter to make contact with a foul ball fly out to Chidester while Carda fanned five batters in three innings of work.
Team USA will return to action tomorrow at 3pm ET for the final game against USF at the USF Softball Stadium. Tickets for the game will be limited to a pass list due to COVID-19 restrictions, however live streaming will be provided through ESPN+ with live stats also available on USASoftball.com.
USF gets a runner off a single over third base, but @acarda3 records the final two outs of the game with K’s!
FINAL
🇺🇸 8 | USF 0— USA Softball Women's National Team 🇺🇸 (@USASoftballWNT) March 13, 2021
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Friday, March 12, 2021: Ricketts tosses no-hitter in 12-0 shutout win over University of South Florida
Team USA’s Keilani Ricketts (San Jose, Calif.) tossed a nine-strikeout no-hitter as the USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) defeated the University of South Florida (USF) 12-0 (four innings).
Capitalizing on eight walks by the USF pitching staff, Ali Aguilar (Orangevale, Calif.) and Amanda Chidester (Allen Park, Mich.) led the U.S offense with two hits apiece while Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) and Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif.) each contributed with one hit.
Team USA wasted no time in getting the offense going as Janie Reed (Placentia, Calif.) and Aguilar led the game off with walks followed by a line drive double to left field from Chidester to score Reed and advance Aguilar to third. Another walk from Hannah Flippen (San Diego, Calif.) would load the bases for the U.S. offense before a fielder’s choice ground ball from Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) would plate another run for the Red, White and Blue.
Back-to-back walks and a single from Carda extended Team USA’s lead, 5-0, before a groundout ended the inning to bring the Bulls to the plate for the bottom of the frame. Ricketts quickly issued two strikeouts before a hit-by-pitch put a baserunner on for USF. That proved no harm, though, as Ricketts fired back to force a groundout for the third out of the inning.
The U.S. added four runs to their lead in the top of the second, with Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) starting things off with a leadoff walk followed by a single to right field from Aguilar. Grabbing her second RBI of the night, Chidester singled to left field to plate Arioto and advance Aguilar to second, bringing up Flippen who would lay down a sacrifice bunt to put runners in scoring position for Moultrie.
A fielder’s choice slap bunt from Moultrie would score Aguilar followed by a double from Munro to add two runs to the U.S lead, putting them ahead 9-0. Ricketts and the U.S. defense remained solid in the bottom of the second inning, retiring the Bulls in order via two strikeouts and a groundout. Three runs crossed the plate for the U.S. in the top of third inning, followed by a scoreless fourth inning from both squads to seal the 12-0 run-rule victory for Team USA.
The 18-player roster will be without Rachel Garcia, Dejah Mulipola and Bubba Nickles as well as assistant coaches Laura Berg, Howard Dobson, Tairia Flowers and Heather Tarr who all remain with their respective collegiate teams.
Joining Head Coach Ken Eriksen to assist with coaching will be Laura Ricciardone, Kyla Holas and two-time Olympian Kelly Kretschman.
