International & NPF

TEAM USA Softball Rolls on with 6-1 Win over China at 2016 World Championships

Team USA Softball

Surrey, B.C., Canada  — The USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) combined for nine hits as the Red, White and Blue remained undefeated at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s World Championship with a 6-1 win over China.  In their first Championship Round game, the U.S. offense had a strong showing from veteran Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) while plating runs in the second, third and fifth innings en route to the win.

Box Score

“Our pitching staff did a phenomenal job today,” said Head Coach Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla.).  “I’m really excited about what our pitchers and catchers are doing together.  Top that off with timely hitting from Michelle Moultrie, who showed that experience pays off in those types of situations.  We did a lot of little things really well.  Whether it was Aubree Munro knocking down their running game or Haylie McCleney taking a pitch to get on base for us.  It’s not always the home run that’s going to win the game.  Sometimes it’s the little things and tonight we did that very well.”

Delanie Gourley (Lakeside, Calif.) got the win in the circle for the U.S., striking out five batters while allowing just three hits over the course of four innings pitched.  Kelly Barnhill (Marietta, Ga.) entered the circle in the top of the fifth, throwing two scoreless frames with one strikeout and one hit, while Jessica Moore (Sutter, Calif.) pitched the final inning with three strikeouts and no hits allowed.

The U.S. struck first in the bottom of the second inning as Moultrie tripled to right field to put a runner in scoring position with one out.  With Amanda Chidester (Allen Park, Mich.) at bat, a passed ball would allow Moultrie to cross the plate for the first run of the game.  China would get a one out walk in the top of the third, but catcher Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) fired the ball to Delaney Spaulding (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) to catch the runner on a stolen base attempt to keep China scoreless.

Team USA added four insurance runs in the bottom of the third inning to extend their lead to 5-0.  Starting the rally was Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.), who was hit by a pitch and came around to score on a triple from Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.).  Two batters later, Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) singled to bring Stewart home.  Following Moultrie’s second hit of the game, two runners were on base for Chidester, who put the barrel on the ball for a double to center field to bring the final two runs across the plate.

Munro caught the second Chinese runner on a stolen base attempt in the top of the fourth after the leadoff batter reached on a single.  Two outs were quickly record with a fly ball to Moultrie in right field and a pop fly to Ali Aguilar (Orangevale, Calif.) at third.  On a 2-2 count, Munro connected with Spaulding as the runner attempted to steal second base for the third out of the at-bat.

Tacking on another run in the bottom of the fifth, the U.S. pushed their lead to 6-0.  After Aguilar reached on a fielding miscue by the second baseman, she swiped second on a stolen base and scored after a single from Spaulding was mishandled by the right fielder.

China was able to push across one run in the top of the seventh after six scoreless frames.  After Moore issued a strikeout to the first batter of the inning, a runner would get on base with a hit-by-pitch.  A defensive miscue put runners on the corner for China with one out before Moore fired back with her second strikeout of the inning.  After a delayed stolen base attempt, the runner at third was able to cross the plate, but another strikeout from Moore ended the game with Team USA earning the 6-1 win.

“We’ve been practicing really hard and had a lot of time to work on our swings,” said Moultrie.  “Having the day off yesterday really helped us as we were able to work closely with our coaches one-on-one with our swings and communication.  We’re just really excited to keep getting further into the tournament.”

Team USA will return to action tomorrow evening against Australia for an 8 p.m. PT matchup.  Live stats and links for pay-per-view streaming can be found at ASAUSASoftball.com.

About ASA/USA Softball

Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.2 million.  ASA/USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles as well as claimed eight World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please visit http://www.asausasoftball.com.

About the World Baseball Softball Confederation

Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland — the Olympic Capital — the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 213 National Federation and Associate Members in 142 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide annually.

The WBSC also governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women’s).

For further information, please go to www.WBSC.org or follow the WBSC on Twitter at @WBSC.

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