The medal round will commence on Thursday, June 28, as the Red, White & Blue will meet the second place squad out of Pool A, Venezuela (6-1), at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Shortstop Monica Harrison (2-for-2, two runs scored), right fielder Neena Bryant (2-for-2, run), catcher Bree Ensminger (1-of-3, run) and left fielder Katie Schroeder (1-of-3, run) each knocked in a pair of scores.
Tennessee rising sophomore Tiffany Huff was 0-for-1 in the contest at the plate but drew a walk and later scored as part of Team USA ’s 11-run outburst.
In Tuesday's 18-0 win over Russia in four innings, Huff contributed a perfect 2-for-2 effort coming off the bench with a triple and two RBI to improve her event average at the Junior World Championships to .429 (6-of-14). She is now 6-of-15 and hitting .400.
On Wednesday, after a scoreless opening frame, the Americans nabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the second on a two-RBI base hit by Bryant to right field. Third baseman Maggie Viefhaus led off the inning with a walk against Italian hurler Greta Cecchetti and advanced on a base hit by Harrison. Both runners would score on the Bryant single.
The Red, White & Blue sent 12 hitters to the dish in registering eight runs on seven hits in the top of the third to grab firm control of the contest. Viefhaus contributed an RBI-double and Harrison plated second baseman Ashley Hansen and Viefhaus on an infield base knock to make it 5-0. A wild pitch allowed Harrison to score before Ensminger came through with a two-run single up the middle to grant Team USA a eight-run advantage. With a runner on base, Schroeder recorded an inside-the-park home run to bring Ensminger to the plate for a 10-tally lead.
Replacement second baseman GiOnna DiSalvatore upped the U.S. lead to 11 runs in the top of the fourth with an RBI single to left field to conclude the scoring.
Event organizers are doing a live webcast of some of the games through the official event website:
http://www.wksoftbaljunioren2007.nl/home-en
For more information including live statistics, please visit the Junior Women’s World Championship page through USA Softball at www.usasoftball.org.
Updates on Huff and the U.S. squad will be posted at www.utladyvols.com as they become available.