![guadalajara-2011](http://www.fastpitchwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/guadalajara-2011-300x206.jpg)
USA to take on Venezuela Monday at 6 p.m..From USA Softball
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — The 2011 USA Softball Women’s National Team will begin its quest to bring home the eighth Pan American Games Gold Medal in program history on October 17 when they take the field against Venezuela at 6:00 p.m. CT. Arriving in Guadalajara, Mexico on Thursday, the most decorated softball team in the world brings a roster full of new faces ready to continue the tradition built before them.
“This is a huge honor to get to travel to Mexico and wear this uniform,” said pitcher Chelsea Thomas (Pleasantville, Iowa). “To compete in this elite tournament is very special for our sport. Anything we can do to get international publicity for our sport can only help our mission to convince International Olympic Committee (IOC) members that our sport belongs in the Olympic Games. I am excited to face different competition in the Pan American countries and I know getting to stand on the podium and hear our National Anthem would be the ultimate award for myself and my teammates.”
USA Softball enters the Pan American Games following a Gold Medal finish at World Cup of Softball VI in Oklahoma City, marking the fifth straight World Cup title for the Americans. Team USA has won seven Pan American Championships (1979, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007) including the last six. The program has a record of 78-3 since softball debuted in the 1979 Pan American Games.
“The Pan Am Games have a rich history of great softball,” Head Coach Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla./Head Coach at the University of South Florida) said. “To represent your country, listen to the National Anthem on foreign soil and compete for a Gold Medal are all very uplifting opportunities. We plan on doing all three with great integrity. We had solid training for five days, getting back to the basics of USA Softball and are ready to play hard.”
The softball competition in the multi-sport Pan American Games is scheduled for Oct. 17-23. After opening on October 17, the team has doubleheaders the next two days, facing the Dominican Republic (11 a.m.) and Mexico (8 p.m.) Oct. 18 and Cuba (1:00 p.m.) and Puerto Rico (4 p.m.) on Oct. 19. On Oct. 20 at 1 p.m., Team USA faces Canada, the 2011 World Cup of Softball Bronze Medalists. The team finishes pool play against Argentina on Oct. 21 at 4:00 p.m. The playoffs are Oct. 22 with the medal round scheduled for Oct. 23. Schedule is subject to change.
Athletes slated to compete for USA Softball in Guadalajara:
Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif./California senior);
Whitney Canion (Aledo, Texas/Baylor junior);
Kaitlin Cochran (Yorba Linda Calif./Arizona State 2009);
Lauren Gibson (Pasadena, Md./Tennessee junior);
Kelly Grieve (Asheville, N.C./Tennessee 2011);
Taylor Hoagland (Flower Mound, Texas/Texas junior);
Ashley Holcombe (Fayetteville, Ga./Alabama 2009);
Molly Johnson (Tucson, Ariz./Kentucky 2010);
Stacy May-Johnson (Reno, Nev./Iowa 2006);
Jenae Leles (Sacramento, Calif./Arizona 2009);
Meagan May (Spring, Texas/Texas A&M junior);
Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla./Florida senior);
Christi Orgeron (New Orleans, La./ULL junior);
Keilani Ricketts (San Jose, Calif./Oklahoma junior);
Jordan Taylor (Valencia, Calif./Michigan 2011);
Rhea Taylor (Buford, Ga./Missouri 2011); and
Chelsea Thomas (Pleasantville, Iowa/Missouri junior).Eriksen leads the way as the head coach and is joined by assistant coaches Mike Larabee (Fayetteville, Ark./Head Coach at the University of Arkansas), Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz./Head Coach at Cal State Northridge) and Mike White (Eugene, Ore./Head Coach at the University of Oregon).
The team recently completed one week of exhibition competition against Texas A&M University and the University of Houston thanks to the Houston Amateur Softball Association (ASA) who hosted the team. Capturing three victories, the training was imperative to preparation for the Pan American Games.
USA SOFTBALL Notes and Story Lines for the Pan American Games
– With all Pan American Games rookies, the roster has 10 current collegiate athletes and seven who have completed their collegiate eligibility; making the 2011 roster the youngest USA Softball Pan American Team ever. Keilani Ricketts is the youngest team member who just turned 20 on September 1. Stacy May-Johnson is the eldest at 27. In 2010, Cochran and Holcombe (the veterans of the group) helped Team USA to the Gold Medal at the 2010 International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s World Championship in Caracas, Venezuela.
– Ten (10) states represented in hometowns for the 17-person roster, making it more diverse than the California dominated rosters of the past. Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Nevada, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas are all represented
– In the 2011 NCAA Women’s College World Series, a highly popular ESPN property in early June, six athletes on the roster participated in the event in Oklahoma City. The athletes who participated are Rhea Taylor and Chelsea Thomas for Missouri, Ricketts for Oklahoma, Michelle Moultrie for Florida, Valerie Arioto for California and Whitney Canion for Baylor.
– Utility Taylor Hoagland speaks moderate Spanish and has taken two semesters at Texas. The entire side of her father’s family speaks Spanish. She is one-fourth Bolivian and has visited her family in Bolivia before.
– Outfielder Rhea Taylor has a minor in Spanish and her major is International Business at the University of Missouri.
– Catcher Meagan May returns to the Red, White and Blue uniform after being named to the USA Softball Futures roster in 2010; However, she did not compete with the Futures Team after suffering head injuries from a car accident where she flipped her car four times but thankfully was not seriously injured. She was added to the Pan American Games roster September 6 after Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.), withdrew from the team in August for personal reasons.
– Shortstop Molly Johnson suffered an ankle-injury this summer that sidelined her during the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship and the World Cup of Softball, however, she has been cleared to play and will be a solid defensive presence for the U.S. team.
– Arioto broke her leg sliding during the second practice of Cal’s 2010-11 season. When she learned she would have to red shirt the entire season, she made recovering in time for the 2011 USA Softball Women’s National Team Selection Camp in June her priority. A healthy Arioto nabbed a spot on the team and is now an offensive leader.
– Head Coach Ken Eriksen is in his first year as the Head Coach for USA Softball. He was an assistant coach at the 2003 Pan American Games and also played in the Pan American games as a catcher and was a silver medalist in 1991 with Team USA.
– Assistant Coaches Tairia Flowers and Mike White both played in the Pan American Games for Team USA. Flowers, an Olympic and World Champion, has two Gold Medal from the Pan American Games in 2003 and 2007. White has been at three Pan American Games and won a silver medal in 1999.
– With no Olympic Games for softball in 2012, the Pan American Games is the only Multi-sport event in the world that USA Softball participates in as of right now. Participation in the World University Games is also on the horizon.
Funding of USA Softball has been nearly eliminated after the IOC decision; The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America currently funds the program for the Women, Men, Junior Women and Junior Men’s National Team programs.
NOTE: Steve Walker of Mustang, Okla., has been ASA/USA Softball’s Director of Information and Technology for over 20 years. Steve met his wife Adrianna, a Mexico native, in the U.S. through international softball years ago and they now live in Oklahoma with three children. She has continued to play the game and was invited by the Mexican National Team to come back and play for Mexico at the Pan American Games. Thus, USA Softball also has a family tie to host country, Mexico, in the sport of Softball.
Live stats will be available via http://www.usasoftball.com/.
Editor’s note: Guadalajara is on Central time.
Leave a Reply