SALEM, Va. – Sixty-four teams from across the nation took the field today to begin their quest for the coveted 2021 USA Softball GOLD National Championship title, the pinnacle of Junior Olympic (JO) play.
Opening Day saw teams spread throughout three locations in Virginia’s Blue Ridge: Botetourt Sports Complex in Troutville, Va. and Arnold Burton Softball Complex and James Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va.
Small ball and situational hitting were common themes in the 16-Under division on Day One. With 340 total hits – forty percent of which being singles – teams were able to get on base and rally together to pull off big wins. Nine teams dominated both in the box and on the base paths and came out on top with scores in the double-digits.
Pitchers fought hard in the circle on the first day of action, accumulating 226 strikeouts. Several pitchers racked up 10 or more strikeouts including Julia Miller (Ohio Lasers Red 04), Dixiana Sims (Georgia Impact Deyton 2004) and Reganne Bennett (Carolina Elite SC - Fusetti). Megan Nuechterlein (Finesse 16U Dreher/Lesko) had total command in the circle firing 20 strikeouts in just 10 innings of play.
Bats were hot in the 18-Under division with 448 total hits on Day One of pool play, including 37 home runs. Out of the 32 games that were played today, seven games were won with the winning team scoring over 10 runs, nine games were shutouts, and six games were one-run nail-biters.
Pitchers held their own in the 18-Under division as well, with five pitchers throwing over 10 strikeouts including Emily Winstead (Lady Lightning Gold Elite Jones), C. Bennent (Louisiana VooDoo 18 Gold), Taylor Norton (Richmond Storm), Kamila Vicente (Southern Power - DeGroat), and Meghan Harrington (Team Virginia Mizuno - Harrington).
The participating teams earned a berth to their respective GOLD National Championship through a network of qualifying tournaments and through berths awarded by USA Softball’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Both divisions will continue pool play on Tuesday before moving into double-elimination bracket play, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday for both the 16-Under and 18-Under divisions. The Championship duels for both divisions will take place on Saturday, July 24 at 3 p.m. ET with the “if-necessary” games at 5 p.m. ET. Live stats and video coverage will be available all week long at 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. |
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