 WESTMINSTER – For a team that just met less than 48 hours ago, Great Britain is starting to find its rhythm in the 2021 International Challenge.
Despite dropping its first contest of the tournament, Great Britain has rebounded with two victories over the Middle East, 7-5, and rallied past the Dominican Republic, 7-6, in walk-off fashion. “We just met two days ago,” said head coach Tohn Hughes. “We’re out here now playing for each other and playing for our country. It’s a big deal for everyone and it’s brought everyone together.” Great Britain’s Saturday didn’t begin with the most positive of starts. The Dominican Republic, eyeing its first win of the tournament, exploded for three runs in both the first and third innings. Both Graciela Dominguez and Laila Aponte laced home runs, giving the Dominican’s the early advantage. Hughes' girls weren’t going to go away quietly, though. Morgan Salmon replied to the Dominican Republic’s home run bonanza with a two-run shot of her own in the first frame to get Great Britain on the board. Trailing 6-2 entering the fourth inning, Hughes turned to keys over to pitcher Bailey Gertsch. Gertsch who was coming off a stellar performance against the Middle East, picked up right where she left off. In four innings of work, the Dominican Republic only mustered two hits while Gertsch mowed down the rest. “My best pitch is my changeup,” explained Gertsch. “I love throwing those because everyone expects it to be right down the middle and at the last moment, it just drops and leaves everybody chasing.” With Gertsch reasserting Great Britain’s reign in the pitching circle, Hughes' offense went to work at the dish. Two runs in the fourth and another RBI from Salmon brought the Brits all the way back within one, 6-5, with just the seventh inning to play. With the top of the order due up, Hughes knew exactly what needed to be done. Carys Lynch led the frame off with a single, leaving no choice for Salmon but to lay down a sacrifice bunt. The defensive pressure proved too much for the Dominican’s as an error left runners on the corners with no one out. In stepped Imogen Gie. “I heard my dad out of the corner of my ear,” said Gie. “Get [the bunt] down on the ground and move the runners over!.” But the fake bunt and steal worked out a bit better than Gie had scripted. The chaos Great Britain created allowed Lynch to reach home safely and also planted Salmon on second. All of the sudden, Gie’s at-bat turned into a clear-cut walk-off opportunity. One that she knew she wouldn’t waste. “In my first two at-bats, I had flown out to the right-fielder,” Gie said. “I was late on the ball twice and knew I had to be on top of it this time. I saw my cookie pitched, wanted to jump on it and get the win for my team.” Gie’s double to the gap in right-center gave plenty of time for Salmon to cross home and solidify Great Britain’s win, 7-6. “This was a total team win,” said Hughes. “We’re a big team and I was able to use every single player today. As a coach, you can’t ask for much more than that.” While Great Britain’s International Challenge may have started a bit rocky and understandably so, Hughes and company seem to have found a groove, a purpose and a common goal to fight for this weekend. “I’ve never been able to experience anything like this before,” Gertsch said. “It’s so much fun!” “It’s truly an honor,” added Gie. “It’s different when you have a flag across your chest and it’s exciting to be out here.”  By Kyle Koso
WESTMINSTER – When trouble is brewing on the softball field, sometimes the only solution is to dive into the problem. It’s an approach that certainly worked for Tara Vandewater, catcher for the Israel White team that was looking for its first win at Triple Crown’s International Challenge on Saturday at the Christopher Fields complex. After having a pitch tick off her mitt and bounce away in the first inning, Vandewater sprung to collect the ball and then flung herself back at home plate, just in time to tag out a Team Italy baserunner steaming in from third base. The key out showed the passion Israel White was bringing to the moment, and the squad followed through with a solid 9-1 victory over Italy that was called via run rule after five innings. Vandewater also singled in the game’s first run in the bottom of the first, and singled and scored in the fifth. “It went off my glove; I’d say it was an error on me. I knew I had to be better back there and do the most I could in that moment,” she said. “I watched a lot of the (Women’s College) World Series and everyone was in love with (James Madison pitcher) Odicci Alexander … I wanted to take bits and pieces of the energy of the World Series and be that spark plug. (When hitting) I’m trying to see pitches early, see it well, swing it hard.” One interesting thing about the Israel White roster is the geographic range. Vandewater is from Nebraska; there are other players from Seattle to Alabama, from New Jersey to southern California. “It’s great; the staff of Israel softball as well as the older kids have really taken advantage of the moment, (inspired) by our religion and ethnicity to bring us together and be proud of what we stand for.” “All these girls are gamers, and they’ve come together so quickly. The first time we met each other was last Tuesday,” said head coach Mike Gross. “They have a passion for the sport and the name on their shirt. So engaged and so involved with each other.” Israel White scored four runs in the second inning, with a two-run single from Sophia Sklar keying the frame. Italy got on the board in the fourth after Hannah Aguilar doubled and came home on a double steal, but Israel White countered in the fifth with extra-base hits from Scarlett Shanedling and Cara Levy. The game ended on an RBI single from Aly Gross. In the circle, Ella Yerkes pitched all five innings for the winning side. She was touched for three hits in the fourth inning but came out in the fifth and retired Italy 1-2-3. “In those (important) moments I’m just focused on hitting my spots, staying in the pitch and not thinking about other things,” Yerkes said. “It’s just me and my catcher, throwing strikes. “This has been really cool. Everyone has been super awesome; we’ve clicked fast, and it’s been a great experience meeting new people.” “I had a pitcher warming up just in case, but Ella got us ground balls and strikeouts, huge ones, when we really needed it,” coach Gross said. “She was painting corners, and the umpire was calling it … when she found that slot, she was excellent. I just met her Tuesday, so I’m not exactly sure what she throws, but she was dynamite today.” Aguilar had two doubles for Italy, and Carmella Muccilli had two singles.  WESTMINSTER – After sidestepping Italy, 9-3, Japan held off a late charge from the Netherlands, 3-2, to begin the tournament 2-0.
“Our dugout has been a lot of fun to start this thing,” said head coach Shannon Mortimer. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how well they’ve gelled since getting together in Colorado. We’re just vibing right now.” Japan didn’t have to wait long for its spark offensively. Bella Foran kicked off the contest with a triple to left-field, igniting the Japanese dugout. Two batters later, Ella Murchison drove Foran home to give her team the lead. With the help of starting pitcher Grace Fujino, they would never look back. “I think what helped me most today was my curveball and knuckleball,” Fujino explained. “My curveball allowed me to keep my pitches off of them while my knuckle kept them off balance.” Fujino’s poise in the circle had everyone guessing. The 2022 grad who plays her club ball with SCT- India Chiles breezed through the first seven batters she saw. Her command was so intoxicating, even the Netherlands coach forgot to substitute a player in the bottom of the third frame, ending the inning and keeping a two-run lead intact for Japan. “Her composure on the mound is awesome,” said Mortimer. “She’s very confident in her abilities. Her knuckle is absolutely nasty and that’s what kept them off-balance all afternoon.” Back at the dish, it was Jenaca Seki’s solo shot in the top of the third inning that gave Japan its two-run cushion. “It was high and inside,” Seki said. “All I was trying to do was get my hands on top. I was able to line something out of the park.” An inning later, Mari Takeda Bajan kicked off the fourth with a double that led to a run. Though the Dutch countered with two solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, Mortimer’s squad remained undeterred. “Focused is the operative word,” added Mortimer. “They’re focused. They want to win, they want to compete and most importantly, they want to honor Japan.” With time running out in the fifth, it was up to Takeda Bajan to take the reigns and close things out for Japan. In Fujino-like style, Takeda Bajan went three up, three down and struck out the final batter of the afternoon to solidify her team’s second win of the day, 3-2. “A lot of us do things on the quiet side,” Mortimer said. “We had a couple of zoom practices before this so I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to go but I think they all bonded over a common purpose.” “The best thing about this tournament is being able to play with other girls that look like me,” said Takeda Bajan. Team Japan may not have fully known each other a week ago but after two wins on Friday, they are well on their way to making sure everyone at the International Challenge will remember who they were.  By Kyle Koso
WESTMINSTER – For a lot of teams at the inaugural International Challenge, one looming question had to center on just how quickly would a group of strangers, albeit one bonded by nationality, figure out how to play together? For Team Philippines, the chemistry and camaraderie has taken root straight out of the gate, as the squad won both its games Friday at the Christopher Fields complex, topping Great Britain (16-4) and then the Dominican Republic in the nightcap, 10-2. There will be just a handful of other 2-0 teams when pool play continues Saturday at 8 a.m. Championship brackets are set to begin at 3 p.m. Against the DR, Team Philippines jumped ahead 6-0, and then responded to its only rough inning with another four runs in the third, with the game called due to time after the top of the fourth inning. Olivia Kam hit a two-run homer early, and Brooke Perez did solid work in relief of Kam to keep the DR offense on ice. “We’re not surprised; we were fortunate to get together and have a practice (earlier), and that prepared us to come together quickly,” said Philippine coach Jennifer Stewart. “I loved the energy, and they’ve just jelled, and that’s been the best thing. We want to be super geeked up, but not cocky. We want to stay humble, play our game and just have fun.” The good times are easy when the offense goes double digits on back-to-back games. Allyssa Alano, a St. Mary’s College commit, had three hits, a run and two RBI, doing a nice job of understanding her role when hitting second in the order. “Our team is like a family, and we are working together. For me, the job was to move the runners over, but if it was bases loaded like it was a couple of times, I want to get the ball in the outfield or at least put it in play,” Alano said. “We expected to go out hard because we’ve been working at it; we didn’t know much about the other teams, so we just figure all the teams are going to be good.” Kyra Chan had two doubles and scored twice from the leadoff spot; Baylee Howley-Bernardo drove in two runs with a double, and Kobie Hura (Rutgers commit) reached base twice, scoring a run and driving in another. Isabella Kam (Dartmouth commit) drove in two runs as well. “First game started a little rough, but we came together and brought the energy. This game, we were on fire with the bats so we wanted to jump on top quickly,” said Olivia Kam, who made a nice easy swing on her home run. “The pitcher left it right there; I was waiting for a mistake, and I took advantage. “We all get along so well. We weren’t forced to do any team bonding, and that has helped us play better.” Emily Albelo singled and scored for the Dominican in the third inning, one of just three hits for the team.  By Kyle Koso
WESTMINSTER -- One game in, the Canada White team was one loss down in Friday’s action at the inaugural International Challenge, with one last chance to get it right. That’s when the player wearing No. 1 for the squad, Jorde Chartrand, cured the concerns. Chartrand allowed just two hits and struck out 13 batters in six innings as Canada White posted a 4-0 victory over Team USA Red at the Christopher Fields complex. That helped ease the sting of an early loss to South Korea, as Chartrand worked out of some early trouble and kept USA Red off the board thanks to her baffling changeup and an ability to spot the high fastball and make it constantly tempting to batters. All the offense for Canada came in the bottom of the second inning, with Makalia Schneider driving in two runs on a well-struck single to right-center to get things started. A single from Avery Terpsma brought in a run, and a double from Hailey Bethune earned run No. 4, which was more than enough for Chartrand. The Central Arkansas signee from Saskatchewan worked around a hit, two walks and an error in the first inning, which ended on a bang-bang grounder to shortstop. The defense didn’t have to do much the rest of the way. “It’s all about adjusting to what’s going on in the game, and it’s a different environment from Canada to Colorado. Focusing in on your catcher then is pretty important,” Chartrand said about the first inning. “I was feeling pretty comfortable, getting to playing with everyone. The offense gave me some insurance, which was really helpful, knowing that they had my back and I had theirs. “You not only want to represent your country and do well, but also just win and compete with these bigger teams and countries. It’s an awesome feeling.” Canada White head coach Ashley VanBoxmeer appreciated how her team moved past the loss to South Korea and gave itself time to make a push in Game 2. “You want to come back strong after a not-so-hot start, but they rebounded. This is a team of all Canadians who are young,” she said. “They haven’t played in a year and a half because of COVID, and we told them to leave it all on the field. Jorde struggled some in Game 1, but she came back and gave us what we needed.” Schneider, who just finished her freshman year in high school, showed the savvy of a grizzled veteran in her at-bat in the second inning. Much of it was spent with two strikes as she fought off numerous pitches; she eventually measured up the perfect swing, driving the ball to the gap and getting two runners home with ease. “I was thinking abut what I need to do mechanically, looking at the release point and being aggressive. A couple swings were maybe mistakes, but I was looking for the outside high pitch so I could drive it and get the runners home,” Schneider said. “This is really nice. I like having the Canada leaf on my chest. It’s exciting to play for this team, and excited to see how we do in this tournament.” “We always say, ‘Pass the bat, Pass the bat.’ Be a spark, and she was a spark for us. We’re learning, and we see how those big swings get you fired up,” VanBoxmeer said. “It was a fighting at-bat, and to win it gives her team confidence … the next one wants to step up and pass the bat as well.” Team USA Red won its first game Friday against Mexico White, and in Game 2 got a stellar relief effort from Brianna Lopez (Corona Angels), a University of Hawaii signee. She went four innings and allowed three hits while notching eight strikeouts. Weather permitting, games will continue Friday, with bracket play taking over Saturday and championship day wrapping up Sunday before the start of Triple Crown’s Colorado 4th of July tournament. |
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