A pair of UCLA softball alumnae helped team USA capture gold Sunday at the Women’s Softball World Championship in Surrey, British Columbia.
Team USA took home the championship with a 7-3 win to Japan, ending the biannual tournament with an overall record of 9-0.
Rising senior shortstop Delaney Spaulding and 2015 graduate pitcher Ally Carda played together in Westwood for two seasons before their reunion on the U.S. National Team roster.
Spaulding hit .272 and slugged .591 with two home runs and nine RBIs in eight games played. One homer was the team’s only grand slam of the tournament in an a 15-0 win over Austria.
Carda both started and re-entered the circle to make a relief appearance Sunday. Overall, she went 2-0 over in four appearances, totaling a 2.21 ERA while striking out 11 over 12 2/3 innings pitched.
Rising sophomore Paige Halstead also joined the national team and received a medal. She did not make an appearance, however, as she was the third catcher on the depth chart.
Sunday’s game marked the sixth consecutive time that Japan and the U.S. have battled for gold in the Women’s Softball World Championship. The nations have squared off in the final every other year dating back to 2002. Japan had taken the previous two golds entering this year. Their win in 2012 snapped a U.S. streak of seven championships.
The match also represented the second time this summer that the U.S. and Japan faced off with gold on the line. Team USA fell to Japan in the World Cup of Softball championship game less than two weeks ago.