The road to the 2028 Olympic Games is officially underway with the United States hosting Group Oklahoma City in a World Cup qualifying event at Devon Park.
Team USA, which is loaded with talent, has not surrendered a single run through the first four games. The fifth game, a battle between the United States and China, is scheduled for Tuesday evening and features two unbeaten teams in a quest for the No. 1 seed heading into Wednesday’s playoffs.
The top two teams out of Oklahoma City will play in the World Cup Championship Round in Australia in 2027.
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While the play on the field has been fantastic, the crowd has not. This tournament marks the second one hosted by Devon Park this summer that has had pathetic attendance numbers, which isn’t a good sign with the Olympics up next.
Because Los Angeles doesn’t have an Olympic-worthy venue to host the softball competition, Devon Park will be hosting.
Yes, I know that the International Cup and World Cup Group Oklahoma City play aren’t the same, but it definitely is a preview of what is to come.
So why is nobody showing up?
I did a deep dive across all social media platforms to figure out the answer to this question and what I found was a variety of excuses, from it being too hot outside to football season to it being poorly promoted.
Most importantly, the United States’ games are not competitive, which could be a good problem to have with a gold medal on the line in a couple of years. Through the first four games, the Eagles have outscored their opponents 45-0.
- vs. Mexico, 11-0
- vs. Brazil, 17-0
- vs. Netherlands, 8-0
- vs. New Zealand, 9-0
- vs. China, TBD
The offense has been incredible, with the United States sitting atop the leaderboard in every category:
Batting Average
- Jayda Coleman, .875
- Maya Brady, .700
- Aubrey Leach, .625
- Janae Jefferson, .571
Slugging Percentage
- Jayda Coleman, 1.500
- Maya Brady, 1.400
- Megan Grant, 1.250
OBP (minimum 2.1 at-bats per game)
- Jayda Coleman, .818
- Maya Brady, .786
- Janae Jefferson, .727
- Aubrey Leach, .700
- Skylar Wallace, .667
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Runs
- Maya Brady, 9
- Janae Jefferson and Skylar Wallace, 6
- Jayda Coleman and Megan Grant, 4
Hits
- Jayda Coleman and Maya Brady, 7
RBIs
- Megan Grant, 11
- Maya Brady, 7
Home Runs
- Alyssa Brito, Megan Grant, Dejah Mulipola and Maya Brady, 2
As for pitching, each of Team USA’s five arms has seen time in the circle with Montana Fouts, Karlyn Pickens and Kelly Maxwell, each recording a complete-game shutout.
Lexi Kilfoyl and Rachel Garcia split the other game.
Strikeouts
- Karlyn Pickens, 10
- Montana Fouts, 8
- Kelly Maxwell, 7
USA, China, the Netherlands and Mexico have all locked up their playoff spots, with USA and China earning the top two seeds despite not being done with opening round play.
The winner of Tuesday’s game between USA and China will be the No. 1 seed and the loser will be the No. 2 seed. They will face each other again on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to Australia.
The Netherlands and Mexico will be the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively. The winner will play the loser of the USA and China game, with the winner of the latter matchup advancing into 2027.
Brazil and New Zealand will play in a consolation game to start Wednesday’s competition.
Playoff Schedule
Game 16, 10:00 a.m. CT: Brazil vs. New Zealand
Game 17, 1:00 p.m. CT: USA vs. China
Game 18, 4:00 p.m. CT: Netherlands vs. Mexico
Game 19, 7:00 p.m. CT: Winner of Game 18 vs. Loser of Game 17
All games are broadcast live on the All Women’s Sports Network and internationally via the WBSC official streaming platform, GameTime.
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Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
