Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic — Two days after nearly being eliminated from the Pan American Championship, the USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) bounced back and dominated the final day with a pair of run-rule victories. After dropping the opening medal round game, the U.S. won its final four contest to claim the Gold.

Behind Kelly Barnhill’s no-hitter, the reigning champs knocked off Mexico in 9-0 (5) on Sunday in the title game. Her performance nearly mirrored Cat Osterman’s perfect game twirled in the 2003 Pan American Games against Canada nearly 14 years ago to the day on the very same field.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. defeated Canada 11-3 (5) to advance to the Gold Medal Game for a rematch with Mexico, who’s extra-inning win over the U.S. in the first round of playoffs sent the Americans to the loser’s bracket to battle their way back. 

“Unbelievable,” said head coach Ken Eriksen.  “I think it’s the first time in double-page system that a team has lost the first game and then won four-in-a-row to win the tournament.  We needed a wakeup call.  I don’t know if anyone realized that we were at the brink of elimination over the course of the next four years because of the way the system is setup.  This team took it upon themselves and they got in a groove.  We had really good pitching and defense yesterday to carry through and it made the hitters more comfortable.  Michelle Moultrie, Amanda Chidester, Valerie Arioto and Jess Moore did an incredible job in leadership.  I was here the last time Team USA won a Gold Medal on this field when Cat Osterman pitched a perfect game and Kelly Barnhill almost matched her today.  History repeats itself here in Santo Domingo.”

Barnhill got the start and retired the first three batters she faced. After hitting the first batter of the second innng, she retired the final 12 to earn the victory. Barnhill fanned 10 and did not walk a batter.

The U.S. bats came alive during a nine-run outburst in the bottom of the second  Ali Aguilar put the Red, White and Blue on the board with a two-run bomb to centerfield. Following a pitching change, Janie Takeda sent a first-pitch, three-run home run over the centerfield fence to extend Team USA’s lead to five runs. 

The U.S. continued to pounce offensively scoring the final four runs with two outs thanks to an error that extended the inning. Amanda Chidester plated Kelsey Stewart and put runners on the corners.  On a 3-1 pitch, Valerie Arioto hit a no-doubter, over the leftfield fence for the third home run of the inning.  

“I was really excited going in to today,” said Barnhill.  “For us to win Gold on this field like so many of the Olympians before us is amazing.  It’s something that I’ve been dreaming of, to be like those Olympic pitchers, and to be on that path that they were once on is really special because we’re all on the same path in the end.”

In the victory over Canada, the United State bounced back from a three-run deficit after the first inning with 11 unanswered runs. Moultrie shined at the plate for Team USA, going 3-for-4, including a three-run home run which put the U.S. up in the top of the fourth inning. 

Each U.S. batter recorded a hit in the win over Canada, while Jessica Moore  earned the win after entering in relief in the top of the first inning.  Moore tossed four and one-third scoreless innings with one strikeout, two hits and one walk.  Danielle O’Toole got the start in the circle for the U.S. while Barnhill tossed the final out of the game.

With their backs against the wall, the United States accomplished what no other team has been able to do in the history of the event. 

“It would have been so easy to just fall apart after that loss,” said Arioto.  “It just shows our closeness and how we believe in each other and each person’s heart.  We did it as a unit.  That loss could have really set us back, and we said ‘No way, we’re fighting.’  We fought every single pitch.  It wasn’t every single game, it was every single pitch.  The world saw our heart there, we just laid it out and played some good softball.”

As a team, the U.S. hit an astounding .436 with 19 home runs and 102 RBI in 12 games played.  Haylie McCleney paced the offense, hitting .613 (19-for-31) as the leadoff batter with one home run, five RBI and 17 runs scored.  Arioto picked up 18 RBI while hitting .357 (10-for-28) and amassing a .857 slugging percentage.  From the circle, the U.S. staff combined for a 1.40 ERA.  Moore was a perfect 4-0 with 16 strikeouts and a 0.68 ERA in 20.2 innings in the circle.  Barnhill went 3-0 while fanning 40 batters with a 0.35 ERA in 20 innings pitched. 

Up next for Team USA is the Japan Cup, which will be held August 25-27 in Takasaki City, Japan.  It will be a battle of the top-four ranked teams in the world as No. 1 Japan, No. 2 USA, No. 3 Canada and No. 4 Australia are all slated to compete. 

Fans can follow along with the USA Softball National Team programs all year long at USASoftball.com. 

— Courtesy of USA Softball

Portland, Ore. — Lake Air Little League, from Waco, Texas (Southwest Region), won the 2017 Little League Softball® World Series tournament by defeating Rowan Little League, from Salisbury, N.C. (Southeast Region), 7-2.

Southeast captured the lead in the first inning as Brooke Kennerly drove in the first run of the conest with a single. The lead was short lived as Southwest answered with three runs in the bottom half of the frame. Following an error that evened the game a 1-1, a wild pitch put Southwest in the lead for good. Makayla Ramos closed out the scoring in the first with a RBI single.

Little League Softball World Series Tournamen

Southwest took control of the game with a four-run second inning, highlighted by a double off the bat of Yanijah Quintanilla and a single from Ramos.

Daniella Ramirez earned the win for Southwest. She went the distance, allowing two runs on five hit with a strikeout and a walk. Madelyn VonCanon suffered the defeat allowing three runs on two hits and walking one.

Southwest collected nine hits led by Ramos and Asharah Thibodeaux, who each recorded a multi-hit contest. 

— Courtesy of llbws.org

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LOUISVILLE, Ky.  A large portion of the NFCA Convention program is dedicated to education, but another focal point is the recognition of coaching achievements both on and off the field.

Over the course of four days, coaches will be recognized for victory milestones, on the field achievements, off the field success, classroom excellence, community service and illustrious careers. There will be two new addition to this year’s plaudits as the Humanitarian Award and Diamond Kinetics Technology Scholarship will presented for the first time.

The 2017 National Convention is being held Dec. 6-9 at Bally’s Las Vegas.

NFCC Information/Registration | Convention Registration | Speakers | Schedule | Awards

Highlighting the convention is the 2017 Hall of Fame Banquet. The 27^th induction features Ashland head coach Sheilah Gulas, former OC Batbusters coach Gary Haning, Carson-Newman head coach Vickie Kazee-Hollifield and retired Connecticut head coach Karen Mullins and will be enshrined on Dec. 8 in a ceremony held in Paris’ Champagne Ballroom. Haning and Mullins will be recognized as part of the Pioneer category which recognizes a member that has contributed above and beyond to the sport of fastpitch softball through service, leadership, coaching and/or participation.

The NFCA has been inducting members into its Hall of Fame since 1991 with the current total standing at 72. At the conclusion of the banquet, the Class of 2018 will be announced

At the Victory Club Luncheon on Thursday, Dec. 7, head and associate head coaches receive recognition for milestone victories obtained during the 2017 season. In 2017, honorees range from 100 to this year’s high mark of 1,600 wins. Be sure to attend so you can find out who earned monumental milestones, while enjoying lunch and conversation with your peers.

The Donna Newberry “Perseverance” and Humanitarian Award recipients, Indianapolis head coach Melissa Front and Mark Larriba, head coach at Flower Mound (Texas) High School, will be presented their awards at the Softball Summit presented by USA Softball on Friday, Dec. 8.

The Champions brunch on Saturday, Dec. 9 showcases coaching staffs that guided their teams to successful seasons, including national championships with regional and national awards. Along with entire staffs, individuals garner recognition in the Easton Assistant Coach of the Year category.

The Mary Nutter Scholarship recipients, Diversity Convention Grant honoree, top academic programs, sponsored by Easton, and leading StrikeOut Cancer fundraisers will also be recognized during the convention.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT) blasted three home runs and used a five-run fifth to become back-to-back World Champions after defeating Japan 13-4 to take home the Gold Medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Women’s World Championship.  

“For them to start here in January (Junior Women’s National Team tryouts) and end here in July, it’s great to come full circle,” said Head Coach Laura Berg. “I am proud of how they came together. Although the team was chosen in January, we didn’t start practicing together until June. Two months isn’t a lot of time but it was like they knew each other and knew what they were capable of doing. They all knew there was one goal and that was winning gold.”  

Box Score 

Bubba Nickles launched a three-run home run to put the Red, White and Blue up, 3-0 in the top of first. With the long ball, Nickles broke the  WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship record for home runs with her sixth.  Japan would answer back with three runs of their own off a two-run double by Eri Shimoyama and RBI single by Hiroyo Hattori to tie the ballgame. 

Japan would jump ahead in the bottom half of the second after a single from Reina Matsumoto brought home Miyu Miyamoto, while Fujimoto was caught at home by a perfect throw from centerfield by Hannah Adams to keep the score, 4-3.

Trailing 4-3 heading into the fifth, the U.S. would regain the lead with its five-run inning. Adams led off with a single to center field before a two-out home run by Baylee Klingle made it 5-4. Lou Allan and Jessica Harper followed with a pair of singles before coming home off a three-run shot by Alissa Dalton, extending the U.S. lead to 8-4. 

Nickles went on to break another JWWC record in the top of the sixth inning after picking up her 29th RBI of the WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship after bringing home Adams and Bates on a two RBI double to center field to make it 10-4. Japan was retired in order for the third straight inning after Lugo issued a pair of strikeouts and a groundout went Klingler’s way to catch the runner at first.

Holding a 10-4 lead, the U.S. capped off its scoring with three more runs in the seventh which included RBI single by Nickles (her 30th) and Klingler. 

Lugo earned the win in the circle for the U.S. with five innings of shutout ball, striking out five and allowing four hits. In addition to Nickles home run and RBI record, she also set a batting average (.690) mark, going 20-for-29. As a team, the USA Softball JWNT broke the JWWC home runs record with 15.

“It’s not just about coming out and staying strong, but adjusting to whatever good teams, like Japan, bring our way,” said Nickles. “To play a sport since I’ve played since I was little was really awesome and shows that the love of the game is all across the world. (Having softball back in the Olympics) is a huge milestone and I really feel like this is going to motivate so many more girls in the U.S. to play international, in the 2020 Olympics and beyond.”

“I think we adjusted really well,” said Klingler. “When we would get knocked down, we got right back up and kept going defensively and offensively. Japan is a very good team but it’s the game of softball. We all put in long hours all for this moment right here and we pulled through.”

Team USA will have some time off before ending the season competing at the Major League Baseball (MLB) RBI World Series in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 10. Follow along with Team USA all year long at USASoftball.com.

— Courtesy of USA Softball

OTTAWA — Government House leader Bardish Chagger apologized in the House of Commons Thursday for making light of opioid-related deaths in Ontario.

She heckled a Conservative MP during a Monday debate about Canada’s opioid crisis. Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte MP Alex Nuttall said his riding saw 36 deaths related to opioids in 2017. His colleague Ken Hardie raised the statistic in a follow up, prompting Chagger to say, “Oh that’s it? That’s not so bad, is it?”

Opposition House leader Candice Bergen called the remark “heartless and cruel” and “incredibly hurtful” to those who have been affected by the country’s opioid epidemic, and asked for an apology.

Watch: Government House leader apologizes for flippant remark

The Liberal MP rose and said her comments “were not intended to diminish the seriousness” of the issue and said opioids have been linked to 85 deaths in her own riding of Waterloo.

MPs of all party stripes were taking part in the “take note” debate — which is conducted to solicit different viewpoints that may shape government policy.

Opioids have been linked to the deaths of more than 9,000 people across Canada between January 2016 to June 2018, according to Health Canada.

Chagger called the issue a “national crisis” and offered a mea culpa. “On this issue, if I have offended anyone, I can promise I have no problem apologizing. I apologize,” she said.

Baton Rouge, La. — Scrap Yard Dawgs claimed their first Cowles Cup in franchise history with a 5-2 win over the USSSA Pride in the winner-take-all contest of the final series in the 2017 NPF Championship held at Tiger Park on the LSU campus.

Rookie Kasey Cooper charged the offense with three RBI, the bulk coming on a two-run home run in the sixth inning that gave the Scrap Yard Dawgs (35-19) the lead for good. 

Monica Abbott tossed her second complete game of the afternoon, limiting the Pride to two runs on four hits, while striking out 11. It was Abbott’s two-hit, 14-strikeout performance earlier in the day that forced the decisive third game.

Abbott was named MVP of the NPF Championship series. Over the course of the Championships, the southpaw limited foes to 15 hits and struck out 56 over 29 innings.

The Pride (43-11), who received a leadoff homer from Megan Wiggins for an early advantage, reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third after Kirsti Merritt delivered a two-out RBI single to score Sierra Romero.

Angel Bunner relieved starting pitcher Kelsey Nunley in the fourth inning and retired the side in her first two innings of work, but yielded the go-ahead homer to Cooper in the sixth inning.

The Scrap Yard Dawgs gave Abbott additional breathing room in the top of the seventh. Meagan May Whitley led off with a solo shot that landed in the left field berm and Cooper later drew a bases loaded walk to force home a run that stretched the lead to 5-2.

Abbott finished the game off in style with consecutive strikeouts of Romero and pinch hitter Gionna DiSalvatore.

Kayla Winkfield led the way with two hits and five others contributed one apiece as the Scrap Yard Dawgs totaled seven in the contest. 

— Courtesy of NFP

SASKATOON — When Chris Wenzel knew he was going to die, he had an unusual request for his wife.

The well-known Saskatoon tattoo artist asked that his ink-adorned skin be removed and preserved before he was buried. He wanted his kids and grandkids to see his life’s work long after he was gone.

“He thought that would be really cool,” his wife, Cheryl Wenzel, said Wednesday. “I thought, that’s different but, yeah, that’s cool.

“I don’t care what it takes. I’m going to get this done for him.”

Her 41-year-old husband, owner of Electric Underground Tattoos, died after an illness on Oct. 28. Before his death, he discovered Save My Ink Forever, a U.S.-based company that preserves tattoos.

First job on such a scale

His wife contacted the company which had never worked on such a scale before. There were only a few parts of her husband’s body that weren’t covered in artwork and he wanted all his finished tattoos preserved.

Kyle Sherwood, the company’s chief operating officer, went to Saskatoon to surgically excise Wenzel’s skin from 70 per cent of his entire body and preserve it with a special formula in a frame.

The entire job will cost about $80,000 and take about three months.

Cheryl Wenzel was in the room with Sherwood when he began removing the skin.

“I was able to point out which tattoos (Chris) wanted.”

Wenzel’s passion for tattoos was evident from a young age when he inked his aunt at nine years old, she said.

“He just fell in love with it. He fell in love with art and had such a passion for tattoos,” she said. “He would say he was a slave to the needle because he loved to tattoo so much.”

Her husband’s skin art will eventually hang on the wall of his tattoo studio, Wenzel said.

“You can hang a picture on a wall. You can do so many different forms of art,” she said. “A tattoo is something that has been done for hundreds of years. It’s just preserving it.”

‘Ground-breaking’ preservation: Sherwood

Sherwood said his company has preserved hundreds of tattoos, but the work he’s doing on Chris Wenzel is the largest-scale preservation in North America. He removed seven designs from the artist’s back, chest, legs and arms.

“This is pretty ground-breaking,” he said.

Sherwood doesn’t normally travel to do his work, but he didn’t trust anyone else to do the job.

Preserving her husband’s artwork is a fitting tribute to a man with a “great spirit,” Cheryl Wenzel said. But she added it’s more for their children, nine and 13, who are already showing promise following in their father’s footsteps.

“This tribute means the world to them,” she said. “This is something they knew dad wanted and it’s something that dad’s going to get.”