THUNDER BAY, Ontario – The United States took down Mexico, 11-1, in the second game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s Baseball World Cup Finals at Port Arthur Stadium Monday afternoon. After coming off a victory in which the team did not see a single pitch, Team USA proved to be the same powerhouse as in years past and picked up a win in back-to-back days. This victory makes the U.S. the first team to notch two wins in the tournament.
Despite a somewhat rocky start, Team USA eventually showed its poise at the plate and applied unrelenting pressure that lasted the duration of the contest. The American bats were deemed to be a force that was simply unstoppable, as seven batters for the U.S. picked up at least one base hit and four players tallied multi-hit outings. Remi Schaber led the charge at the plate, as the designated hitter notched three hits, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Olivia Pichardo also went 3-for-4 and scored twice for the stars and stripes.
The arms of the U.S. played its part as well, as Mexico was limited to only one run and two hits over the course of seven innings. Kelsie Whitmore got the nod for Team USA and chalked up a more-than-sufficient performance, slinging four frames in which only two hits and one run were conceded. Jamie Baum took over in the fifth and kept Mexico’s offense quiet, tossing two scoreless innings of no-hit ball en route to picking up the save.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A hit-by-pitch in the bottom half of the first came back to bite Mexico, as Naomi Ryan drilled a 3-2 pitch through the right side to open the scoring.
- Alex Hugo forced a leadoff walk in the third inning and Team USA picked up momentum once again, this time with Schaber who collected her first RBI and base hit following a run-producing balk.
- With two outs on the board in the third, Anna Kimbrell sent a blooping ball to shallow left, scoring Schaber and giving the U.S. a 4-0 lead.
- Mexico saw a glimpse of offense in the top of the fourth, as an RBI single by Marcela Diaz wiped the possibility of an American shutout and made it 4-1.
- Schaber answered right back and struck again in the fourth frame, plating Ashton Lansdell who reached on a leadoff single.
- After a free pass was issued to Jillian Albayati, Valerie Perez continued the attack and took advantage of a bases-loaded situation, driving in two runs with a base hit to extend the U.S. lead, 7-1.
- Baum took over on the bump from there, entering in the fifth inning and sitting down Mexico’s batters in consecutive order.
- Back-to-back singles in the bottom of the sixth kept the ball rolling, Schraber continued to do damage and picked up another RBI base hit.
- A sacrifice fly off the bat of Perez made it 10-1, and was followed by a wild pitch to score Kimbrell and cement Team USA’s double-digit victory.
NOTABLES
- The U.S. played Mexico in the last game of the 2023 WBSC World Cup Group Stage, winning by a slim 2-0 margin.
- Team USA is 3-0 all-time against Mexico while 2024 marks only the third time the U.S. has played them.
- Although having played just one game, Schaber and Perez are tied for first tournament-wide in runs batted in (3).
- Pichardo stole two bags in Team USA’s win, enough to land her tied for first overall among stolen bases.
- Whitmore’s six punchouts puts her tied for first in strikeouts on the tournament leaderboard.
- The U.S. is the first team to notch two wins in the WBSC World Cup Finals.
QUOTABLE
- “This was a good team win,” Women’s National Team Manager Veronica Alvarez said. “To be able to come out and get a team win and not have just one person shine was exactly what we wanted to see."
- “The job at hand is really what I was focusing on,” Schaber stated. “As the designated hitter, providing offense is one of the most important things I can do. In the end, though, I just want to help the team in any way possible.”
ON DECK
The Women’s National Team continues round-robin play tomorrow, July 30th, and will face tournament host Canada (1-1) at 7:00 p.m. ET. Live stats will be provided via WBSC, and the contest will be streamed on GameTime while highlights will be posted to YouTube.
SOCIAL MEDIA
To follow along with all the action with the Women’s National Team, be sure to follow @USABaseballWNT on Twitter and @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.
