FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2018

USA Softball Women's National Team arrives in Tokyo, Japan for USA vs Japan All-Star Series

TOKYO — Members of the 2018 USA Softball Women's National Team (WNT) have landed in Tokyo, Japan for the USA vs Japan All-Star Series, USA Softball announced today. Team USA will participate in three games against the Japan National Team, including a series-opening matchup at the Tokyo Dome. The U.S. will also participate in the Sendai Citizen Exchange Program where members of the National Team will meet and interact with local students at Sendai City Shogen Higashi Junior High School.

Click here t<https://www.teamusa.org/usa-softball/team-usa/women>o view the 2018 Japan All-Star Series roster<https://www.teamusa.org/usa-softball/team-usa/women>

The USA Softball WNT and Japan kick off the series on Wednesday, June 20 at 7 p.m. JST time (5 a.m. CT) at the Tokyo Dome, including a pre-game “Home Run Derby”. From there, the U.S. will head to Sendai for the second game, set to take place at Shellcom Sendai on Thursday, June 23 at 6 p.m. JST (4 a.m. CT). The U.S. and Japan will close out the series on Saturday, June 25 at the Fukushima Azuma Stadium, which was added as an official venue for baseball and softball events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Representing the U.S. at the USA vs Japan All-Star Series are: Sis Bates (Ceres, Calif.), Kylan Becker (Miami, Fla.), Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif.), Amanda Chidester (Allen Park, Mich.), Hannah Flippen (San Diego, Calif.), Courtney Gano (West Covina, Calif.), Delanie Gourley (Lakeside, Calif.), Carley Hoover (Clemson, S.C.), Jazmyn Jackson (San Jose, Calif.), Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.), Jenna Lilley (North Canton, Ohio), Amanda Lorenz (Moorpark, Calif.), Mo Mercado (Temecula, Calif.), Jessica Moore (Sutter, Calif.), Dejah Mulipola (Garden Grove, Calif.), Bubba Nickles (Merced, Calif.), and Nicollete Udria (Covina, Calif.).

Team USA will be led at the USA vs Japan All-Star Series by four-time Olympian Laura Berg (Corvallis, Ore./head coach at Oregon State) in addition to assistant coaches Patty Gasso (Norman, Okla./head coach at Oklahoma), Melyssa Lombardi (Norman, Okla./associate head coach at Oklahoma) and two-time Olympian Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.).

Live stats will be available during the USA vs Japan All-Star Series, and fans at home can follow along with recaps and more at USASoftball.com.<https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Events/2018/June/20/Japan-All-Star-Series>

About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 69 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.

As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit www.USASoftball.com<http://www.usasoftball.com/>.

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Katie Willis I Communications Manager
USA Softball
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Visit Us Online: USASoftball.com<http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball>

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