Five UCLA alumnae played for the U.S. squad that won the World
Cup of Softball in a 5-2 win over Japan in the championship game on
July 17.
Andrea Duran, Tairia Mims Flowers, Amanda Freed, Stacey Nuveman
and Natasha Watley all played on the team that went 6-0 during the
World Cup and outscored its opponents by a combined 59-3.
This was the first World Cup title for the U.S., as Japan won
the event in 2005, the event’s inaugural year.
“I definitely feel like now ““ it’s not just in
this tournament but the last couple years ““ it’s really
been the USA and Japan as the top two teams that have really
consistently battled,” Nuveman told the Associated Press.
Nuveman hit a home run in the championship game, as did
Duran.
The two of them were never teammates at UCLA, as Nuveman
graduated the year before Duran arrived in Westwood.
Duran finished her career at UCLA a month ago and the World Cup
games were her first with the U.S. National Team.
Duran started all six games for the U.S., hitting .333 with two
homers and five RBIs. Watley, the leadoff hitter for the U.S., led
the World Cup in runs scored with 10, hitting .421 with six
RBIs.
Prior to the championship game, the U.S. coasted through pool
play, with the closest game being a 6-1 victory over Canada.
Japan has emerged as the best softball team in the world aside
from the U.S., and the two countries have split the last two major
global softball tournaments.
The next major tournament in which the two teams could meet is
the World Championships in Beijing, which takes place from Aug. 27
to Sept. 5.
“We’re dead even right now in my opinion,”
Nuveman told the AP. “The world championship absolutely is
what we need to get to truly say we’re back at the top of the
world.”
The World Championships serve as the qualifiers for the 2008
Olympics, which also take place in Beijing.