VIERA, FLA. - Defense and a Megan Baltzell home run were the highlights of the game on Saturday as the Women's National Team kept its perfect record in the 2018 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women's Baseball World Cup with a 3-1 victory over Venezuela at the USSSA Space Coast Complex in Viera, Fla.
Most of Team USA's offense came in the second inning courtesy of a two-RBI single off the bat of Jade Gortarez (Riverside, Calif.). The shortstop finished 2-for-3 in the contest and is hitting .500 with three doubles so far in the tournament.
Venezuela would answer in the bottom half with a run of its own to cut the lead to 2-1 but a play at the plate got the third out of the inning and kept the U.S. in front. That score would stand through the sixth, thanks to outstanding defense on both sides of the diamond.
For the fourth game in a row, the U.S. got a strong start on the mound despite a long weather delay. After giving up a run on three hits in the second inning, Marti Sementelli (Newton, Mass.) settled in and allowed just two hits over the next four innings to give the stars and stripes six solid innings of work.
Amanda Gianelloni (Napoleonville, La.) starred for Team USA at second base, making multiple big plays to keep Team USA in front. Her defense was highlighted by a diving snag that started a double play to cut a Venezuelan rally short in the bottom of the seventh.
The red, white and blue added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning for the final 3-1 score when Baltzell launched a ball 363 feet over the right field wall for Team USA's first dinger of the tournament.
Through four games, Baltzell is hitting a team-best .700 with four doubles, nine RBI and four walks.
Team USA improves to 4-0 in the 2018 World Cup with the victory and is the only undefeated team in Group A. The squad has also outscored its opponents 46-2 so far through the event. This is just the second time in Women's National Team history that the U.S. has started a World Cup with four consecutive wins with the last time coming in the 2014 event when the team took home the silver medal.
Team USA's next game will be Sunday, August 26, at 6 p.m. ET as the squad takes on Chinese Taipei in the final game of pool play at the USSSA Space Coast Complex in Viera, Florida. The game will be streamed live on the WBSC YouTube channel.
Continue to follow @USABaseballWNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Women's National Team.