Hutchins, Wolverines Earn Silver Medal at Canada Cup
7/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SURREY, B.C. -- The USA Softball Elite Team, led by University of Michigan coach Carol Hutchins and getting contributions from four members of Michigan's national championship team, earned a silver medal at the Canada Cup after finishing the tournament 10-1. The U.S. rolled through the pool play with a 7-0 mark and then won three straight in bracket playoffs, including a 10-2 win over Australia in the semifinal. The Australian National Team, however, came back to upset the Americans 3-0 in the gold-medal contest.
The Michigan contingent represented the Maize and Blue well, especially All-America hurler Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS), who went 3-0 with a 1.70 ERA and struck out 20 while walking only five in a team-high 24.2 innings of work. Ritter earned two of her victories in the bracket playoffs, including a 2-1 victory over the Canada Elite squad in which she struck out seven and allowed just two hits. Tiffany Haas (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill HS) scored one of the runs in the win over Canada Elite. Haas started 10 games, hit .222 and scored seven runs, which was the third-best total on Team USA.
Round two of the bracket finals was a 6-5 win over Japan that included three lead changes and a USA run in the top of the seventh for the game-winner. Women's College World Series MVP Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) collected two hits in the win while Haas went 1-4 with a run scored. Findlay started all 11 games, hitting .265 with a home run and five RBI. Jessica Merchant (Wayland, Mich./Wayland HS) scored as a pinch runner in a four-run sixth that gave the U.S. a short-lived 5-2 lead. Japan knotted the contest with three in the bottom half of the frame, but the U.S. manufactured the game-winner in the seventh with a single, sacrifice and another single.
USA reached the gold-medal contest with a semifinal rout (10-2) over Australia. Ritter surrendered two runs, but her lineup backed her with a 10-run effort that included a pair of hits from Haas. Leading 3-2, Michigan's two-time All-American second baseman led off a seven-run fourth inning for USA with a single. Two Aussie errors contributed to the seven-run frame and eventual run-rule win for the Red, White and Blue. It was USA's second such victory of the tournament.
Forced to play a rematch with Australia and face former Olympian pitcher Melanie Roche, the U.S. struggled in the gold-medal game, committing five errors and collecting just two hits vs. Roche.
"This game is about making plays and tonight we did not," noted head coach Hutchins. "It's been a long week and our team gave all they had. If there is one thing they did do it was becoming much better as a team. These ladies brought a great spirit all week."
USA Softball's Canada Cup Coverage
Wolverines Help USA Elite to 6-0 Start at Canada Cup (7/7/05)
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
