USA Baseball announces Roster for Women’s Baseball World Cup

06/08/2012

SALT LAKE CITY — With the IBAF World Cup in Edmonton, Alberta, just a couple of days away, the USA Women’s National Team finalized its 20-player roster on Wednesday night.

SALT LAKE CITY — With the IBAF World Cup in Edmonton, Alberta, just a couple of days away, the USA Women’s National Team finalized its 20-player roster on Wednesday night.

“I am really excited about this team we put together,” commented Manager Ruben Felix. “This is a gold-medal winning team and there is no reason we can’t bring home the gold.”

Eleven members of the Women’s National Team will be making their first-ever appearance for the Red, White and Blue. Malaika Underwood is the most seasoned veteran on the squad as she will be appearing in her fourth World Cup. Five others have appeared in two World Cups, while three more earned their second tour with the team.

The Women’s National Team will remain in Salt Lake City until Aug. 6 when they head North to Edmonton. There, it will make final preparations for the IBAF World Cup slated to begin on Aug. 10.

Felix will get his first look at the team on Friday night when Team USA will square off against the Aussie Stars for the first of two exhibition contests. The game will be played at Salt Lake City Community College with first pitch set for 9 p.m. (EST). Game two of the exhibition series with the Aussie Stars will take place Saturday afternoon beginning at 4 p.m. (EST).

Upon arrival in Edmonton, the squad will take part in two more exhibition games Aug. 7-8. On Aug. 7, the Women’s National Team will take on Australia followed by Canada on Aug. 8. Both games will be played at St. Albert University and are set for a 7:30 p.m. (EST) start.

The World Cup begins with pool play Aug. 10-17. First up for Team USA is The Netherlands (Aug. 10) followed by Australia (Aug. 11), Japan (Aug. 12), Canada (Aug. 13) and Cuba (Aug. 14). After an off day on Aug. 15, the Women’s National Team will resume play against Chinese Taipei (Aug. 16). Pool play wraps up with a contest against Venezuela on Aug. 17.

The top four teams from pool play will advance to the medal rounds beginning on Aug. 18 with the semifinals. The finals will be played on Aug. 19. All games will be played at either Telus Field or John Fry Park in Edmonton.

The Women’s National Team is managed by Ruben Felix. He is assisted by Jonathan Pollard, Jenny Dalton-Hill and Ed Kurakazu.

The USA Baseball Women’s National Team roster is as follows:
Veronica Alvarez, C, Miami Fla.
Jill Barrett, IF, Greenwood, Ark.
Kayla Bufardeci, IF/P, Castro Valley, Calif.
Kristin Caldwell, P, Bear, Del.
Samantha Cobb, IF, Garland, Texas
Caitlin Everett, OF, Sunnyvale, Texas
Tamara Holmes, OF, Albany, Calif.
Jennifer Hunter, P/IF, Tarpon Springs, Fla.
Anna Kimbrell, C/P, Fort Mill, S.C.
Natalie Land, IF, Mayo, Fla.
Alexa Maldonado, OF/P, Short Hills, N.J.
Clarisa Navarro, IF/P, La Joya, Texas
Bessie Noll, IF/P, Minneapolis, Minn.
Stacy Piagno, P/IF, St. Augustine, Fla.
Marti Sementelli, P, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Michelle Snyder, IF, Wenatchee, Wash.
Ashley Sujkowski, P, Rossford, Ohio
Malaika Underwood, IF, San Diego, Calif.
Mackenzie Vandergeest, C, Newbury Park, Calif.
Donna Williams, C/P, Fremont, Calif.