USA Softball Women’s National Team defeats Mexico in WBSC Women’s World Championship opener

Chiba, Japan — In their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s World Championship opener, the USA Softball Women’s National Team defeated Mexico, 5-2. Highlighting the day was Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.), who put the Red, White and Blue on the board first with a two-run shot in the third inning, while starting pitcher Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) posted a 13-strikeout performance.

“I thought we played well for Game 1 of the tournament,” said Head Coach Ken Eriksen. “Anytime that you come out for the first game, there’s always going to be butterflies and nervousness. We have one of the youngest teams in the tournament, from player 1-17.Team USA is still developing and working towards not only this week but the future.”

“Getting the first win here at Worlds is huge and will obviously help us out later on in the week,” said Women’s National Team member, Haylie McCleney. “It was nice to get the nerves out, jitters out and have everyone come together as a unit. Hopefully we can continue to build upon this win throughout the rest of the tournament.”

Both sides were retired until the bottom of the second inning, when Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) led off with a single to left field for the first hit of the game by either side. Despite reaching third through the lineup, a strikeout, groundout and fly out ensued to leave Arioto stranded.

Mexico managed to put their leadoff batter on base to start the top of the third inning but Abbott issued three straight strikeouts to end the inning and bring her total to eight strikeouts.

The Red, White and Blue plated two runs in the bottom half of the third frame after Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) reached on a walk and came home thanks to McCleney’s two-run shot over the centerfield fence.

In the fourth inning, both Mexico and the U.S. would put runners aboard with Team USA loading the bases via walks, however, the score remained 2-0 in favor of the U.S. after both were kept off the board.

Abbott and the U.S. defense continued to do work in the fifth and sixth innings, and the offense wasn’t done yet. Ahead 2-0, Delaney Spaulding (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) connected for a one-out single and reached second before crossing home after a RBI double from Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.). A walk to McCleney soon put runners on the corners for the U.S. before Janie Reed extended the Eagles lead on a line drive to left field.

In her World Championship debut, Rachel Garcia (Palmdale, Calif.) entered the circle for Team USA. Mexico quickly put runners on base after a walk and single, resulting in Danielle O’Toole (Upland, Calif.) replacing Garcia in the circle with one out. After striking out, Mexico would go on to plate two, bringing the score to 5-2. Kelly Barnhill (Marietta, Ga.) then came in and issued a strikeout to close out the game.

McCleney went 2-for-3, while both her and Reed each tallied two RBI. From the circle, Abbott went six complete innings with 13 strikeouts with three hits allowed. Garcia, O’Toole and Barnhill combined to pitch the final inning, with two strikeouts and two hits allowed between the three.

The U.S. is back in action tomorrow, August 4 at 3:30 p.m. JT (1:30 a.m. CT) against Chinese Taipei. Live stats will be available through USASoftball.com.

The Red, White and Blue will also play Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Puerto Rico and South Africa as part of preliminary round-robin action before heading into the playoff rounds.

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.

Athletes apart of the 2018 USA Softball World Championship roster include Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.), Ali Aguilar (Orangevale, Calif.), Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.), Kelly Barnhill (Marietta, Ga.), Kasey Cooper (Dothan, Ala.), Taylor Edwards (Murrieta, Calif.), Rachel Garcia (Palmdale, Calif.), Sahvanna Jaquish (Highland, Calif.), Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.), Kirsti Merritt (Lake Penasoffkee, Fla.), Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.), Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.), Danielle O’Toole (Upland, Calif.), Janie Reed (Placentia, Calif.), Keilani Ricketts (San Jose, Calif.), Delaney Spaulding (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.).

Group A includes No. 1 United States, No. 5 Chinese Taipei, No. 6 Puerto Rico, No. 7 Mexico, No. 8 Netherlands, No. 11 New Zealand, No. 15 Philippines and No. 35 South Africa, while Group B includes No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Canada, No. 4 Australia, No. 9 Italy, No. 12 China, No. 14 Great Britain, No. 17 Venezuela and No. 33 Botswana.

“The Women’s Softball World Championship in Chiba will be an exciting and challenging 73-game top-tier global competition,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari in a release by the WBSC. “The stakes will be extremely high with the tournament awarding one nation a ticket to be part of softball’s historic return at the Tokyo 2020 Games — this is where softball’s Road to Tokyo 2020 begins.”

ROAD TO TOKYO 2020

The first opportunity to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be at the WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship. The first place finisher in Chiba will be awarded direct entry into Tokyo 2020 without having to pass through qualifiers. Should Japan win the World Championship, the second-place finisher would be granted the Olympic spot.