No. 1 USA Softball Women’s National Team to face No. 10 Italy at USSSA Space Coast Complex

April 21, 2021

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No. 1 USA Softball Women’s National Team to face No. 10 Italy at USSSA Space Coast Complex


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2021
Web Release: Link

 

VIERA –– The world-ranked No. 1 USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) returns to action today against No. 10 Italy in a 5 p.m. ET contest set to be held at Space Coast Complex (5800 Stadium Pkway, Melbourne, FL 32940). The game is a part of the 2021 “Stand Beside Her” tour, presented by Major League Baseball (MLB), and will provide much-needed preparation for the Tokyo Olympic Games where the two countries along with No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Canada, No. 5 Mexico and No. 8 Australia make up the six who will vie for the Gold Medal in Tokyo.
 
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Due to travel delays last week, the previously announced four-game series between Team USA and Team Italy was postponed with today’s game being the first competition of the month for the Red, White and Blue. Fans will be allowed to attend today’s game at a limited capacity with social distancing encouraged while inside the ballpark. Attendance is free to the public with gates opening at 4 p.m. ET.
 
The 18-player roster will be without Rachel Garcia, Dejah Mulipola and Bubba Nickles as well as assistant coaches Laura Berg, Howard Dobson, Tairia Flowers and Heather Tarr who all remain with their respective collegiate teams. Assisting Head Coach Ken Eriksen with coaching will be Kyla Holas and two-time Olympian Kelly Kretschman while Courtney Gano, Haylie Wagner, Jessie Warren, Randi Rupp and Samantha Show will join the team as training players for the month of April.
 
Following the postponement of the pre-Olympic “Stand Beside Her” tour, presented by MLB, the Red, White and Blue squad resumed preparations for the highly anticipated Tokyo Olympic Games in January with a series of monthly training camps and exhibition games. Currently participating in a mid-April training camp at Jackie Robinson Training Complex (JRTC) in Vero Beach, Fla., today’s contest will mark Team USA’s eighth game of the 2021 season where the U.S. squad garners a 7-0 record with wins over Team Mexico, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. Additional training locations and tour stops will be announced at a later date. For more information on the 2021 “Stand Beside Her” tour, presented by MLB, please visit StandBesideHerTour.com.
 
Media interested in acquiring additional information should contact Morgan Palmer (mpalmer@usasoftball.com).

About USA Softball
USA Softball (USAS) 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 & Paralympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USAS sanctions competition through a network of Local Associations, which includes all 50 states and select metro associations.  USAS 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.  USAS annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships.  The USAS 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, USAS 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 USAS, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.