Combined perfect game, Lowe grand slam lead Team USA to Championship Sunday at the Pan American Qualifier

MARACAY, Venezuela — The USA Softball Pan American Qualifier team needed two wins Saturday to advance to play on Championship Sunday and they did just that in two run-rule victories, 15-0 over Argentina and 7-0 over Cuba, both in five innings, at the Pan American Qualifier in Maracay, Venezuela. With the wins today, the team has qualified for both 2011 Pan American Games as well as the 2010 International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s World Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. 

The USA will have to face both Venezuela and Canada to get the Gold Medal. Team USA will play the loser of the Venezuela/Canada game, which is played tonight at 9:30 a.m./CT, on Sunday morning. The winner of that game will advance to the Championship Game to play the winner of Canada/Venezuela later Sunday.

USA 15, Argentina 0 (5)

Nikki Nemitz (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) took the circle for the Red, White and Blue and was backed by stellar defense and a productive offense through five innings. 

The U.S. scored a run in the second and it looked like it was going to be the inning for multiple U.S. runs to go up on the board but the bases were left loaded. Ashley Hansen (Chandler, Ariz.) singled to score Megan Langenfeld (Bakersfield, Calif. ), who also singled. Ashley Holcombe (Fayetteville, Ga.) walked to load up the bases with one out. A fielder’s choice by Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) and a runner’s interference on Holcombe gave the team three outs and three runners on. 

Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) added another run in the third off a solo home run that cleared the large left field fence. But it was the fourth inning that the damage was done with seven runs scored on no outs and all batters earning a hit before the first out. However what may have been most impressive thing about the inning was a triple play turned by Argentina.

Duran came back with another home run this time a two run shot over centerfield. Holcombe, Langenfeld, Kaitlin Cochran (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Tammy Williams (Osceola, Mo.) all contributed doubles in the inning with William’s and Langenfeld’s driving in a run. 

The U.S. scored six runs in the fourth off of four hits including a two-run home run by Hansen. Langenfeld plated two runs with a single to right field with the other runs coming off a sac fly by Kaitlin Cochran (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and a fielder’s choice by Duran. 

Nemitz was on fire retiring 10 batters with a strikeout including eight consecutive strikeouts. She earned her third win of the Pan American Qualifier in as many starts. She allowed one base hit in the bottom of the fifth. 

USA 7, Cuba 0 (5) 

Next up after the run-ruling of Argentina was the second elimination game of the day with a matchup against Cuba. Team USA also matched up with Cuba on Aug. 6 in a 7-0 victory. 

Duran continued her hot streak with a home run to left field, giving the U.S. an early 1-0 lead in the first. Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) faced Cuba for the second time in two days and was stellar in the first inning with three strikeouts.

The United States went on a two-out rally in the third with Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) hitting a double down the left field line. She went on to score when Tammy Williams (Osceola, Mo.) hit a double to right centerfield. Williams is leading the team with six doubles of which her sixth came later in the fourth. A base hit by Duran gave the U.S. another run and a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third. 

The game was put out of reach with one swing in the fourth, a Lowe grand slam that gave the United States a 7-0 lead in the fourth. Langenfeld led off the inning with a single with Hansen reaching on a fielder’s choice that failed to get the out at second with Langenfeld. A sac by catcher Melissa Roth (Long Beach, Calif.) pushed runners to second and third. Bases were loaded up with Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) was hit by a pitch. Lowe took her pitch to right centerfield to clear the bases and give the USA a 7-0 win. 

“Today was a good day for us to grow as a team. We had a tough loss yesterday against Canada but we battled back today to beat two teams and get back into contention to play for the gold tomorrow,” said Lowe. “The pitchers threw great today and the offense put the runs up we needed to get a win. We are ready to come out tomorrow and take on Venezuela and Canada and bring the medal home to the U.S.” 

Brandice Balschmiter (Newark, N.Y.) came in to pitch the final two innings of play, striking out four batters. Abbott hurled eight strikeouts for her fourth win of the qualifier. This is the second combined perfect game of the tournament with the first coming in the first game with Nikki Nemitz (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) and Balschmiter in the circle. 

Now with the two wins, the USA is set to play on Championship Sunday. Continue to check out www.usasoftball.com for complete coverage of the event including box scores, recaps and live stats.

About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation's largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.

About USA Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men's, Women's, Junior Boys' and Junior Girls' National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women's National Team is one of the only two women's sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive as well as claimed two World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visithttp://www.usasoftball.com/.