VIERA, FLA. - A complete game shutout performance from Stacy Piagno (St. Augustine, Fla.) and a two-RBI triple from Malaika Underwood (San Diego, Calif.) to open the scoring highlighted a 14-0 victory for the USA Baseball Women's National Team in its opening game of the 2018 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women's Baseball World Cup in Viera, Florida, on Wednesday night.
Team USA dominated the game right from the start, chasing two pitchers and scoring 11 runs in the first inning to back up Piagno's stellar start.
A leadoff walk to Brittany Gomez (New Braunfels, Texas) followed by a hit-by-pitch brought Underwood to the plate, who wasted no time getting the U.S. on the board. She knocked a triple over the centerfielder to clear the bases and give the red, white and blue a quick 2-0 lead that it wouldn't relinquish.
Taking advantage of three more walks and three more hit-by-pitches, Team USA loaded the bases four times and brought in nine more runs before Puerto Rico was able to get out of the inning.
On the bump, Piagno tossed a four-hit gem to keep Puerto Rico off the board. The right-hander set the tone for the win with a quick three up, three down first inning and never looked back. She fanned six without issuing a walk or allowing a run in her five innings of work.
Puerto Rico looked to ruin the shutout in the third inning when the team loaded the bases with no outs after a hit-by-pitch, an error and a single. But Team USA managed to escape the jam unscathed with a groundout and a double play that ended the threat.
After its big first inning, the U.S. plated three more in the second for a 14-0 advantage before going quietly in the third and fourth.
Underwood and Megan Baltzell (Stafford, Va.) both collected multiple hits and three RBI in the victory, while Jade Gortarez (Riverside, Calif.) went 1-for-2 with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored. AJ Hamilton (Tallahassee, Fla.) also tallied three RBI for the stars and stripes and leadoff hitter Gomez drew three walks on the night.
With the win, Team USA opened the 2018 WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup 1-0 and will play its next game against the Netherlands at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 23, at the USSSA Space Coast Complex in Viera, Fla. 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.