FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2016

 

Amanda Chidester blasts two home runs as Team USA shuts out Austria 15-0 at WBSC Women’s World Championship

 

Click here for a box score

 

Surrey, B.C., Canada  — Home runs highlighted the day for the Red, White and Blue as the USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) captured a 15-0 (three innings) win over Austria in their second game at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s World Championship.  Four different U.S. batters sent the ball out of the park, including Amanda Chidester (Allen Park, Mich.), who twice hit the long ball in the shutout victory.

 

“The team had a lot of patience today at the plate,” said Head Coach Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla.).  “Austria’s pitching staff hit their spots really well, so when we have patience with our upper bodies and let the barrel of the bat get to the ball we can do a lot of things.  Ally Carda threw a lot of strikes today and then the rookie Kelly Barnhill came in and threw some good stuff.  I can’t wait to play Brazil tomorrow, and as a team we’ve got to keep that mental acuity as the competition will continue to get stronger.”   

 

Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif.) got the start in the circle for the U.S. and came out strong after retiring the first batter faced with a strikeout and the next two with ground outs.  The first three batters in the U.S. lineup would reach base as Jazmyn Jackson (San Jose, Calif.) doubled to center, Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) walked and Bianka Bell (Tampa, Fla.) was hit by a pitch.  Two batters later, Delaney Spaulding (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) cleared the bases with a grand slam to put USA up 4-0.  The scoring drive continued, as Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) singled and Chidester reached on a fielding error.  Janie Takeda (Placentia, Calif.) singled to plate Moultrie before Jackson recorded her second double of the game to bring Chidester and Takeda home.  The final two runs of the at-bat came after Stewart hit a two-run shot, making it a 9-0, U.S. ballgame.

 

Carda returned to the circle and issued three-straight strikeouts to bring Team USA back to the plate in the bottom of the second.  After a leadoff walk to Spaulding, Moultrie connected for a two-run home run and was followed by a solo shot from Chidester to extend the U.S. lead to 12-0. 

 

Kelly Barnhill (Marietta, Ga.) entered the game in the top of the third inning, picking up right where Carda left off with back-to-back strikeouts.  Austria would get their sole base runner of the game on base after being issued a walk, but Barnhill came back with a strikeout to end the top of the third.  Just three runs away from the run-rule victory, Team USA did just that as Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) singled through the right side, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a double from Moultrie.  Chidester then stepped to the plate and collected her second home run of the day, giving the U.S. the 15-0, three-inning shutout win.

 

For the day, Spaulding collected four RBI in a 1-for-2 showing, while Chidester and Moultrie each collected three RBI.  For the pitching staff, Carda earned the win after going two complete innings with four strikeouts and no hits allowed.  Barnhill finished the final frame with one walk and three strikeouts.

 

Up next for the U.S. is their final game of pool play against Brazil at 8 p.m. PT tomorrow evening.  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.

 

 

Codi Warren I Managing Director of Communications

Amateur Softball Association/USA Softball

2801 NE 50th Street

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111
405-425-3431 (O)

Visit Us Online: ASAUSASoftball.com

 

Follow along with USA Softball as they compete at the WBSC World Championships!

 

WBSC Women’s World Championship (July 15-24) –  http://go.teamusa.org/29JXAld  

WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship (July 24-30) –2016JMWC.com