The USA Softball International Cup is over. The U.S. Women’s National Team won gold with a 2-0 win over Japan. The U.S. Women’s Elite Team won bronze with a 7-0 win over Canada. Here are some key numbers from Devon Park.
U.S. Women’s National Team (5-0, gold)
The National Team hit .377 with a 1.097 OPS, nine home runs, 39 RBIs and 40 runs over five games. The staff struck out 37.
Montana Fouts: 2-0, 16 strikeouts in 11.1 innings, five hits allowed. All 16 strikeouts came in her starts against China and Japan, eight in each.
Lexi Kilfoyl: 1-0, eight strikeouts and one earned run in 7.2 innings, five hits allowed in two starts.
Maya Brady: .538, seven hits, two home runs, nine RBIs. Tournament MVP.
Janae Jefferson: .545, two home runs, a team-high seven runs. Offensive MVP.
Jocelyn Erickson: .571, one home run, six RBIs. Her grand slam capped the 10-1 win over China.
Dejah Mulipola: Defensive MVP. She caught 25 innings behind the plate and threw out one of two runners who tried to steal.
The National Team swept all four awards: Brady, Jefferson, Mulipola and Fouts (Most Valuable Pitcher).
U.S. Women’s Elite Team (3-2, bronze)
The Elite staff struck out 21. The lineup did its part too.
Morgan Zerkle: .500, nine hits in 18 at-bats, two home runs, a team-high nine RBIs, 1.500 OPS.
Ana Gold: .357, three home runs, five RBIs, a team-best 1.543 OPS.
Taylor Shumaker: .333, one home run, four RBIs, including a 2-for-2, three-RBI day in the bronze-medal game.
Aleena Garcia: .364, two doubles, four RBIs, three runs, a .909 OPS.
Ally Carda: 1-0, 10 strikeouts over a team-high nine innings, with 4.1 innings of one-hit ball in the third-place win.
NiJaree Canady: 1-0, 6.1 innings, four strikeouts, two earned runs.
A couple of standouts
Janae Jefferson led the National Team’s offense. She hit .545 with two home runs and a team-high seven runs. In the gold-medal game she got the U.S. on the board with a sacrifice fly and added a double to set up the insurance run.
Morgan Zerkle led the Elite Team’s lineup. She hit .500 with two home runs and a team-high nine RBIs. Her best day came against American Samoa, where she drove in five on a three-run homer and a walkoff two-RBI triple. She continues to make the case for a bigger role in 2028.
Adversity answered
Neither team had an easy path in the International Cup.
The National Team fell behind Canada by five runs in pool play and answered with a 10-7 win. Karlyn Pickens was huge in that comeback. She allowed one run on three hits and struck out two over 3.2 innings of relief to pick up the win.
In the opener the Elite Team gave the lead back to Chinese Taipei before Ana Gold’s go-ahead home run in the eighth pulled out a 6-4 win.
A few more numbers
The two teams combined for 27 two-out RBIs, 14 from the Elite Team and 13 from the National Team. Both lineups came through with two down.
The National Team spread its power around. Seven different players homered, and six hit .429 or better.
The Elite Team had depth of its own, with six hitters at .333 or better.
The National Team staff struck out 37 and allowed just 20 hits over 31 innings, close to two strikeouts for every hit.
