Valerie Arioto lifts Women's National Team to shutout win over Canada

July 22, 2015

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Valerie Arioto lifts Women's National Team to shutout win over Canada at Toronto 2015 Pan American Games

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada  — Team USA took the lead in the first inning and never looked back as the eagles continued to soar in a 7-0 (six inning) shutout win over host country Canada at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.  The U.S. came out on top with the help of a two-run blast by Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) in the bottom of the first inning, pounding out 11 hits through the six inning contest to move to 3-0 in the preliminary rounds.

 

Click here for live stats, box scores and more from the Pan American Games

 

"I thought we played pretty good fast pitch softball tonight," said Head Coach Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla.).  "We executed at the plate, put the ball in play, moved the runners and got the timely hits.  Sara did a great job of getting out of that first inning against a very offensive team like Canada.  Janelle called a fantastic game behind the plate against some crucial hitters and was just phenomenal behind the dish."

 

Despite issuing two walks in the top of the first inning, U.S. starter Sara Nevins (Pinellas Park, Fla.) was lights out in the circle as she quickly squashed an early rally attempt by Canada with a pair of strikeouts to bring Team USA to the plate.  Raven Chavanne (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) got things going for the Red, White and Blue in the bottom half of the inning, utilizing her speed for an infield single to put the leadoff runner on base.  Two batters later, Arioto continued to shine in the cleanup spot by blasting the ball over the centerfield fence for a two-run home run to give Team USA an early 2-0 lead.  The scoring did not end there, however, as Sierra Romero (Murrieta, Calif.) connected for her first hit of the game with a single, stole second base and then advanced to third on a fielding error on the attempted throw down.  With Romero on third, Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) hit a line drive single to center to add to the U.S. lead to make it 3-0 after one complete inning.

 

Both sides would get base runners through the next few innings but failed to change the score until the bottom of the fourth when the U.S. plated another run.  Janelle Lindvall (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) led off after reaching on a fielding error by the defense and advanced to second base on a sac bunt by Kellie Fox (San Diego, Calif.).  With the runner in scoring position, Haylie McCleney (Morris, Ala.) peppered a ball down the right field line for a standup triple to score Lindvall and extend the lead to 4-0.

 

Jaclyn Traina (Naples, Fla.), who entered in relief for Nevins in the middle of the fourth inning, stifled the Canadian offense in the top of the fifth, issuing three strikeouts to keep Canada off the board.  Romero added the fifth U.S. run of the game after blasting a ball to the gap between right and center field for a standup double with two outs.  Moultrie then recorded her second RBI of the game with a single to centerfield to give Romero plenty of time to cross the plate.

 

Needing just two runs to end the game via the run-rule, Team USA did just that as Fox led the charge with a leadoff single and moved to second base as McCleney followed suit after legging out an infield single.  An error on a bunt by Janie Takeda (Placentia, Calif.) would allow Fox to score while both McCleney and Takeda advanced an additional base to put runners on second and third.  Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) ended the game in walk-off fashion with a hard ground ball to centerfield to score McCleney and give Team USA the 7-0 (six inning) win.

 

"We did a great job of getting out of that first inning with runners on base," said Arioto.  "Sara did a great job of getting us out of the top of the inning and our pitching staff has done a great job of keeping our opponents off the board.  We're playing really good softball, moving runners and getting the timely hits.  We’re not always going to get the big hit so for us to move the runners and execute is key."

 

Nevins earned her second win of the Pan American Games, striking out four batters while issuing just two hits through her three and two-third innings pitched.  Traina also shined in the circle, getting five strikeouts while allowing one hit in her two and one-third innings pitched.  For the offense, Romero captured her third multi-hit game of the Pan American Games, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Moultrie also had a 2-for-3 night with two RBI. 

 

Up next for the U.S. is a 4:30 p.m. EDT game against Cuba.  Live stats will be available throughout the Pan American Games and fans at home can follow along with recaps and more at ASAUSASoftball.com.

 

About ASA/USA Softball

Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body 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 74 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 2.5 million.  ASA/USA 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 visithttp://www.asausasoftball.com/.

 

 

Codi Warren

 

Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications

Amateur Softball Association of America/USA Softball

Office 405.425.3431 | Cell 405. 420. 2817