Haarlem, Netherlands -
The USA Softball Women’s National Team made and early statement at the
International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s World Championship on Friday
when they run-ruled the host country, the Netherlands, 10-0 in 3.5 innings to
move to 1-0 in the pool-play portion of the tournament. Amanda Chidester (Allen
Park, Mich.) led the way with six RBI in a 2-2 performance at the plate that
included a two-run homer in the second inning and grand slam in the fourth. Jessica
Moore (Sutter, Calif.) lead the way from the circle pitching four complete
innings and allowing just two hits.
Click here to
view the box score
“On this team we really have
17 leaders,” said USA Head Coach Ken Eriksen. “It’s just a matter of which of
those leaders are going to step up on a given night. Tonight it was Amanda
Chidester from the plate and Jessica Moore in the circle. They set the tone and
the rest of the team followed.”
The
first inning was not indicative of the final score as both teams struggled to
get much going offensively. Aside from a Raven Chavanne (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
walk, neither team managed a base runner and the 0-0 score stretched into the
second. Moore gave up a one-out single but retired the next two Netherland
batters to preserve the shutout.
In
the bottom of the second Team USA broke open the scoreless game when, with
Lauren Gibson (Pasadena, Md.) on first, Chidester sent the first pitch of her
at-bat deep over the left field fence to give the Americans a 2-0 lead.
“It
was such a great feeling to get that first home run and put our team up,” said
Chidester. “Jessica (Moore) was pitching a great game and I knew if we could
put together some runs early it would be hard for them to come back against
her.”
The
2-0 USA lead lasted through the top of the third as Moore notched her second
three up, three down inning of the game. In the bottom half Team USA blew the
game open with eight runs on seven hits, two walks and an error. The inning was
highlighted by Chidester’s full-count bomb over the left field wall with the
based loaded that made the score USA 8, Netherlands 0.
“A
few days ago I asked Coach (Howard) Dobson to tell me one thing he thought could
improve my swing,” said Chidester. “He gave me a few drills to work on and
since then I’ve felt very comfortable at the plate. He deserves credit for what
he and the rest of the coaching staff have done to get us ready for this event.
They put us in positions to make big plays and fortunately tonight I had the
opportunity to come through with some big hits for the team.”
The
Americans added two more runs in the inning and held a 10-0 advantage when the
dust settled.
Britt
Vonk doubled in the top of the fourth for the Netherlands but Moore managed to
get three other batters to ground out in the at-bat stranding her on base and
the USA Women went away with their first win of the 2014 ISF World
Championship.
The
Americans will next face Botswana at 12:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. CDT) on Saturday. Live
streaming and live stats are available via www.USASoftball.com
throughout the ISF World Championship. Log on and follow Team USA as
they seek a tenth World Championship Gold.
About
ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing
Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic
Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations
and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local
associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to
over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million.
For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
About USA
Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the
USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs
together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting
these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic
competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the 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 including the last seven consecutive as well as
claimed six World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA
Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com.
About ISF
Headquartered in Plant City, Florida (USA), the ISF is a member of
the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the world governing body for
the sport which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and
SportAccord (formerly the General Association of International Sports
Federations). Softball (women’s fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996
Games in Atlanta. There are 127 affiliated countries in the ISF and millions of
participants in the sport worldwide.