DALLAS, Texas (September 2, 2024) — The U.S. U-18 Women’s National Team (WNT) posted its final win of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 World Cup Group C Stage Event, defeating Canada in an 7-0 run-rule victory to punch its ticket to the World Cup Finals held in 2025. The U.S. and Canada met in the No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup while Australia and Mexico finished opening round in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots. Team USA’s win sends Canada to take on Mexico – who defeated Australia earlier in the day – for the second spot in the Finals.
With a trip to the 2025 WBSC World Cup Finals on the line, the U.S. and Canada kicked off the action at 3:30 p.m. CT. Shining for the Eagles at the plate was Townsen Thomas with a 3-for-4 performance, while Harlie Chism and Ella McDowell went 2-for-3 on the day.
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Taking care of business in the circle was Addisen Fisher, allowing only three hits through six innings while retiring eight via strikeout. The U.S. offense struggled to come alive through the first two innings but got on the board in the bottom of the third after a series of singles set McDowell up to push one run in – putting the Eagles ahead, 1-0. Despite a quiet fourth inning, pressure from Townsen Thomas and Elsa Morrison in the bottom of the fifth forced a series of fielding miscues from the Canada defense, allowing the Red, White and Blue to plate three before Bella Ruggiero sent a double to left field to tack on two more runs – extending the U.S. lead 6-0. A pair of singles and a double from Morrison in the bottom of the sixth pushed the final run across to seal the shutout win, 7-0, in walk-off fashion.
Today’s win marks Team USA’s third-straight shutout – and fifth overall – en route to clinching its spot in the WBSC World Cup Finals, with opening round wins over Ireland, Australia, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines. The U-18 WNT squad dominated throughout the tournament, winning each matchup by way of the run-rule. Leading the U.S. offense in its undefeated campaign through the Group C event was McDowell with a .733 batting average, followed by Thomas (.684) and McLaine Hudson (.526). The U.S. pitching staff of Fisher, Lexie Hames, Cameryn Harrison and Saylor Timmerman shined in the six wins – totaling 41 strikeouts and eight allowed hits while only giving up one run.
The Eagles led the tournament in eight offensive categories and three pitching categories – including batting average (McDowell – .733), hits (Thomas – 13), home runs (McDowell, Wells – 2), RBI (Allen, Wells – 9), Runs Scored (Hudson, Wells – 9), On-base-percentage (McDowell – .750), Slugging Percentage (McDowell – 1.267), Hits Allowed (Timmerman – 0), Runs Allowed (0) and Earned Runs (0). To view complete stat leaders, visit wbsc.org.
The U-18 WBSC World Cup Finals will take place in 2025 in Dallas, Texas, and will feature the top two teams from each Group event (Group A, Group B, Group C) in addition to two wild card selections. For more information, visit wbsc.org.
To learn more about the USA Softball Women’s National Team program, visit USASoftball.com.