U.S. PREPARING FOR ANOTHER TOURNEY IN OKC
2010-02-26

Five months from today the 5th World Cup of Softball will be in its last day at the stadium in Oklahoma City located at the Amateur Softball Association’s headquarters. So, the ASA is hard at work now for the four-team invitational tournament that starts on July 22nd.

Sanctioned by the International Softball Federation, the event in 2010 will feature Canada, Japan, the USA Futures Team, and the U.S. women’s national team. The latter, along with Canada and Japan, will be fresh off the ISF XII Women’s World Championship in Venezuela (June 23-July 2). All three took part in last year’s World Cup of Softball 4.

Tickets are already on sale for what has been a well-attended event in its first four years.

ASA Executive Director Ron Radigonda said, “For our athletes, the World Cup provides one of the only opportunities to play before a home crowd with 'USA' written across their chests so we hope people come out to the stadium to make this experience special for them.”

Expected to represent Team USA are two-time Olympians Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza, Cat Osterman, and Natasha Watley, who helped lead the U.S. to the gold medal at the Summer Games in Athens (2004) and a silver medal finish in Beijing (2008). Members of the Olympic silver medal-winning team of a year-and-a-half ago also scheduled to play in the 5th World Cup of Softball are Monica Abbott, Andrea Duran, Vicky Galindo, Lauren Lappin, and Caitlin Lowe.  The official roster for USA Futures will be chosen by the USA Softball Women's National Team Selection Committee and will be named at a later date to be announced.

“The USA Futures team will be a great way to identify the future pipeline of our national team program,” added Radigonda.