Win: J. MacKay Loss: K. Vizcaya Save: None
AGUASCALIENTES, Mex - The USA Baseball Women's National Team won gold at the 2019 COPABE Women's Pan-American Championships with an 8-5 victory over Venezuela at Estadio de Beisbol Alberto Romo Chavez in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Alex Hugo (Olathe, Kan.) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
The U.S. went undefeated in the tournament, finishing with a 7-0 record and outscoring its opponents 124-20, and earned a berth to the 2020 World Baseball Softball Confederation Women's Baseball World Cup.
Four U.S. batters finished the day with multi-hit performances, led by Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.), who hit her second home run of the tournament to kickstart Team USA's offense in the second inning.
Mackay came in as relief for the red, white, and blue, and allowed two runs on three hits and struck out two batters to earn the victory. Marti Sementelli (West Newton, Mass.) started on the bump and gave up three runs on five hits while striking out one batter. Meggie Meidlinger (Sterling, Va.) picked up the save as she struck out one batter for Team USA. Krisbel Vizcaya suffered the loss for Venezuela.
Hugo went 15-for-23 (.652) in the tournament, hitting six singles, five doubles, four home runs and 18 RBIs to be named MVP of the tournament. She also earned awards for best batter, most home runs (four) and was named to the all-tournament team for her work at second base.
Kylee Lahners (Laguna Hills, Calif.), Megan Baltzell (Stafford, Va.) and Jamie Mackay (Newport Beach, Calif.) were also named to the all-tournament team at third base, outfield, and relief pitcher, respectively. Lahners was given the award for most runs produced in the tournament, scoring 15 in the tournament and knocking in 17 RBIs.
Key Moments
- Schutte led off the bottom of the second inning with her second home run of the tournament, giving the U.S. a 1-0 lead.
- Jade Gortarez (Riverside, Calif.) hit an RBI-single up the middle to give the U.S. a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the second inning.
- An RBI-single and RBI-double gave Venezuela a 3-2 lead in the top of the third inning, marking just the third time the U.S. had trailed in the tournament.
- Baltzell led-off the bottom of the third inning with a solo home run over the right field wall to tie the game at 3-3.
- Ashton Lansdell (Marietta, Ga.) hit a two-RBI double to center field in the bottom of the third inning to give the U.S. a 5-3 lead.
- RBI-singles by Hugo and Gortarez in the bottom of the third inning extended Team USA's lead to 7-3.
- Venezuela gained ground on the U.S. in the top of the fourth inning when an error and a fielder's choice brought the score to 7-5.
- Lansdell capped the scoring for Team USA when she scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth inning, ending the game with a final score of 8-5.
- Meidlinger came on in the top of the seventh and pitched a perfect inning in relief to pick up the save and secure the gold for Team USA.
Notable Information
- Four U.S. batters finished the day with multi-hit performances, including Alex Hugo (3-for-5), Jade Gortarez (2-for-2), Brittany Schutte (2-for-4) and Ashton Lansdell (2-for-4).
- The U.S. has qualified for the 2020 World Baseball Softball Confederation Women's Baseball World Cup and is joined by Canada, Mexico and Venezuela.
- This is the Women's National Team's fifth gold medal in its history and the first since defeating Canada in the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games.
- The U.S. outscored its opponents 124-20 during tournament action.
- Alex Hugo was named tournament MVP, going 15-for-23 (.652) at the plate and hitting six singles, five doubles, four home runs and tallying 18 RBIs.
- Alex Hugo, Kylee Lahners, Megan Baltzell and Jamie Mackay were named to the all-tournament team for their work at second base, third base, right field and relief pitcher,
- Kylee Lahners was given the award for most runs produced in the tournament, scoring 15 in the tournament and knocking in 17 RBIs.
