AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico - The USA Baseball Women's National Team used two home runs to clinch a spot in the 2019 COPABE Women's Pan-American Championships gold medal game, defeating Mexico 17-2 on Friday at Estadio de Beisbol Alberto Romo Chavez in Aguascalientes, Mexico. 

The U.S. moved to 6-0 in the tournament and also secured its berth in the 2020 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women's Baseball World Cup. 

Six U.S. batters finished the day with multi-hit performances, led by Ashton Lansdell (Marietta, Ga.) and Alex Hugo (Olathe Kan.), who hit their second and fourth home runs of the tournament, respectively. 

Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.) started on the bump for the red, white, and blue, giving up two runs on three hits and striking out one batter to earn the victory. Jamie Mackay (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Meggie Meidlinger (Sterling, Va.) came on in relief, scattering one hit and striking out three batters. Yiselle Figueroa suffered the loss for Mexico.

Key Moments

• Mexico jumped out to an early lead in the first, using a leadoff single, a sac-bunt and a U.S. error to take a 1-0 lead.
• Team USA used RBI-singles by Malaika Underwood (San Diego, Calif.) and Brittany Womack (Escondido, Calif.) to give the U.S. a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
• Hugo's fourth home run of the tournament scored Lansdell in the bottom of the second inning to give Team USA a 5-1 lead.
• Megan Baltzell (Stafford, Va.) hit a two-RBI triple to right center and scored on a passed ball to extend the U.S. lead to 8-1 in the bottom of the second inning.
• The U.S. scored three more runs in the second on Lansdell's second home run of the tournament, pushing the red, white and blue ahead 11-1.
• Kylee Lahners (Laguna Hills, Calif.), Jade Gortarez (Riverside, Calif.) and Underwood hit back-to-back-to-back RBI-singles to push three more runs across for a 14-1 Team USA lead in the bottom of the second inning.
• Mexico capitalized on an RBI-single in the third inning to make the score 14-2.
• Womack hit a single to center field and scored on an error to in the bottom of the third inning, making it 15-2 in favor of Team USA.
• A pair of RBI-singles by Kelsie Whitmore (Temecula, Calif.) and Womack capped the scoring for Team USA, ending the game with a final score of 17-2.

Notable Information

• With the win, Team USA has secured a spot in the gold medal game on Sunday, August 25, and clinched a berth in the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup in 2020.
• The U.S. has outscored its opponents 116-15 in its six games in the tournament.
• Six U.S. batters finished the day with multi-hit performances, including Alex Hugo (2-for-3), Kylee Lahners (2-for-4), Malaika Underwood (3-for-4), Megan Baltzell (2-for-3), Brittany Womack (4-for-4) and Ashton Lansdell (2-for-2).<
• Brittany Schutte earned the win for the U.S., giving up two runs on three hits and striking out one batter.
• Alex Hugo leads Team USA with four home runs in tournament action.
• Kylee Lahners leads the U.S. offensively through five games, hitting .682 (15-for-22) with eight singles, six doubles, a home run and 16 RBIs in the tournament.

Up Next

• The USA Baseball Women's National Team will finish pool play at the 2019 COPABE Women's Pan-American Championships on Saturday, August 24 against Puerto Rico at 12 p.m. CT at Parque Deportivo Ferrocarrilero in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Social Media

• Stay tuned to @USABaseballWNT on Twitter, @usabaseball on Instagram and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Women's National Team.