USA Softball International Cup has 2 players in front of ‘hometown’ crowd in Columbus
The USA Softball program is so deep in talent, it has two teams competing against some of the world’s top-ranked teams this week at the USA Softball International Cup in Columbus.
Monday, the first of seven days in this 10-team round robin at the South Commons Softball Complex, the 19-and-under team, USA U-19, showed they belong here, beating No. 20 Peru 9-0 and No. 6 Chinese Taipei 7-1.
Two of the 20 players on the USA U-19 roster, Charla Echols and Kelley Lynch, are from Newnan, only about 75 minutes away.
Echols, 18, is an infielder from Northgate High School, where she twice was named second-team all-state. She was selected to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team this spring after leading Michigan State in on-base percentage (.456) and finishing second in batting average (.344) to her older sister, Ebonee (.353), who was a senior. Since then, Echols has transferred to Florida.
Lynch, 18, is an infielder and pitcher. She will play for the University of Washington. She was named the 2019 Gatorade National Player of the Year after leading East Coweta High School to its second straight Georgia High School Association Class 7A state championship in 2018 — both titles won at South Commons.
Now, she’s playing here with USA emblazoned on her jersey.
“Comfortable in the field, comfortable in the dirt,” she said. “… It’s the same game, no matter what name’s across your chest.”
But it’s different when you’re doing it for your country and your family is in the stands.
“It’s an incredible experience,” she said. “We’re just so thankful that we have this opportunity to play for USA, and even more special that me and Charla get to play in front of a hometown crowd.”
Charla said, “I’m so glad that my family gets to be here, and we get to see a lot of friends. There’s nothing like it — nothing like it — and I’m so thankful for it.”
In the victory over Peru, Lynch pitched four hitless innings with 10 strikeouts and three walks.
“I just went out there and threw,” she said. “It felt good.”
Lynch also walked and scored in her only at-bat. Echols, playing third base, went 1-for-1 with two RBI and one run scored.
In the victory over Chinese Taipei, Echols went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Lynch didn’t play.
USA U-19 trailed Chinese Taipei 1-0 through five innings but scored two runs in the sixth and five in the seventh.
“This team was very resilient,” Echols said, “and that’s kind of what we build ourselves on. So even though we were down, we knew we still had a chance to come back. I’m glad we stayed together. We kept fighting.”
That other Team USA
Oh, yeah, that other Team USA, the No. 1-ranked U.S. Women’s National Softball Team, started the tournament in dominating fashion as well.
USA beat No. 13 Philippines 8-1. USA’s second game Monday, the one against Scrap Yard, an independent professional team based in Conroe, Texas, a suburb of Houston, wasn’t finished before this story’s deadline.
In the victory over the Philippines, starting pitcher Keilani Ricketts earned the win. She allowed one run on two hits and no walks with nine strikeouts. Ally Carda pitched the final inning, striking out the side and allowing one hit.
USA’s leading hitters were Haylie McCleney (3-for-4, one run), Kristi Merritt (1-for-2, walk, double, three RBI), Kelsey Stewart (1-for-1, two walks, two runs), Shelby Pendley (2-for-2, one walk, one run, one RBI) and Dejah Mulipola (1-for-3, two runs, three RBI). Mulipola and Valerie Arioto homered.
Monday’s other results
Other scores from Monday’s games:
▪ No. 2 Japan 3, No. 8 China 0.
▪ China 9, Philippines 6.
▪ No. 4 Puerto Rico 15, No. 20 Peru 0.
▪ Chinese Taipei vs. Puerto Rico (late).
Tuesday’s schedule
▪ Puerto Rico vs. Japan, 11 a.m., Field 6
▪ Philippines vs. USA U-19, 11:30 a.m., Stadium
▪ Japan vs. Chinese Taipei, 1:30 p.m., Field 6
▪ USA 19 vs. China, 2 p.m., Stadium
▪ Chinese Taipei vs. Scrap Yard, 4 p.m., Field 6
▪ China vs. USA, 4:30 p.m., Stadium
▪ Scrap Yard vs. No. 5 Mexico, 6:30 p.m., Field 6
▪ USA vs. Peru, 7 p.m., Stadium
Speaking her mind
The International Olympic Committee voted three years ago to return softball, along with baseball, to the Olympic program in 2020 for the Summer Games in Tokyo.
It was a reversal of the vote 14 years ago, when the IOC dropped softball and baseball. So softball has been in the Olympics during only four of the 28 Summer Games: 1996 in Columbus (won by the USA); 2000 in Sydney, Australia (won by the USA); 2004 in Athens, Greece (won by the USA); and 2008 in Beijing, China (won by Japan).
To understand the ill feelings remaining from that decision, just ask Team USA assistant coach and four-time Olympian Laura Berg, who was an outfielder on all four of those Olympic teams, collecting three straight gold medals and one silver medal.
“Softball did nothing bad to be removed from it,” Berg said during the USA Softball International Cup news conference Friday. “It ended up being a political thing, which is a bunch of B.S., to me, to be honest. But I am excited that it is back.”
Telling their story
Along the main walkway in the South Commons Softball Complex, several “Did you know?” yard signs are placed to give visitors a little understanding about the facility’s significance.
One declares, “South Commons hosts over 12,000 players annually.”
Another announces, “Softball has generated an estimated $147,756,155 in economic impact in our community since 1995 when the complex was built.”
A $4.8 million renovation helped Columbus attract this tournament.
History lesson
Remember: The inaugural Olympic softball tournament, hosted by Columbus in 1996, was played not at South Commons but a half mile west on Fourth Street at Golden Park.
That stadium was available because of the cooperation from Columbus State University and the now-defunct Columbus RedStixx minor league baseball team, then the Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The RedStixx moved their home games to CSU that summer so Golden Park could be used for Olympic softball.
But Team USA has won a gold medal at South Commons. That was the Superball Classic in 1995. It served as a warmup tournament for the Olympics. Competing against the USA during Superball were Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Puerto Rico.
This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
