ROCKFORD, Ill. – The United States won its third straight game behind clutch pitching and a go-ahead home run from Denae Benites, defeating Australia, 10-5, Friday evening at the 2026 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s Baseball World Cup Group Stage Rockford at Rivets Stadium. With the win, Team USA improved to 3-0 on the week and remains unbeaten alongside Canada.
After trading runs through the first three innings, Team USA scored seven unanswered runs across the middle frames to pull away. Benites broke the 3-3 tie with a three-run home run in the third, giving the U.S. a lead it would never relinquish. Timely hitting from Ashton Lansdell and Naomi Ryan in the fourth helped provide insurance and pushed the United States into double figures for the third consecutive contest.
Team USA was backed behind clutch pitching, as three pitchers combined to limit Australia to five runs, its lowest scored all week. Kelsie Whitmore started on the bump and tossed 4.0 innings, fanning five while repeatedly working around traffic on the base paths. Bailey Brown took over in the fifth and turned in 1.2 innings before Meggie Meidlinger closed things out and punched out three batters in 1.1 innings of work.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The United States drew first blood in the opening frame, as Ryan tallied her first hit of the day with an RBI single to drive in Kate Blunt, who led off the game with a base hit.
- Australia answered in the top second. Leah Cornish led off with a double, while an RBI single from Claire O’Sullivan brought Cornish home to tie the game at one apiece.
- Team USA regained the lead in the home half of the inning when Benites stole home and heads-up baserunning by Lansdell helped the U.S. gain a 2-1 advantage.
- Australia responded again in the third, stringing together three consecutive hits before Cornish came through and hit an RBI double to even the score at 3-3.
- With two on in scoring position, Whitmore escaped trouble and forced a pair of putouts to flip the frame.
- As she has done in days prior, Benites once again came up with a huge swing. With two runners on in the bottom of the third, Benites crushed a 1-0 offering to dead center for a go-ahead three-run homer.
- Team USA added four more runs in the fourth. Four players for the stars and stripes would record RBIs, as Benites, Lansdell, and Ryan tallied base hits while Hugo was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to extend the lead to 10-3.
- Brown took over on the bump for the U.S. in the fifth and worked around a trio of base hits to keep Australia off the board.
- Australia mounted one final rally in the sixth with back-to-back base knocks to trim the deficit to 10-5. Meidlinger would enter in relief with two runners on and fired three straight strikes for a punchout to end the threat.
- Meidlinger came back out in the seventh and recorded a pair of strikeouts to secure a 10-5 win.
NOTABLES
- The Women’s National Team improves to 10-3 all-time against Australia.
- Tonight’s five-run victory is Team USA’s largest over Australia since winning 11-1 in 2008.
- Benites, Blunt, Lansdell, and Ryan each collected multi-hit performances and combined for eight of the team’s 10 hits.
- Meidlinger needed just 15 pitches over 1.1 innings and threw for 80% strikes.
- Benites is slashing .714/.818/1.714 through three games and leads all players in RBIs (11).
- Team USA is averaging more than 18 runs per game, has recorded at least 10 hits in all three games, and is batting .438 as a squad.
- Over three games played, the United States has struck out just three times in 80 at-bats.
ON DECK
Team USA will face Canada (3-0) tomorrow, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. local/8:00 p.m. ET at Rivets Stadium in Rockford, Illinois. For more information on the schedule and how to follow along, visit HERE.
SOCIAL MEDIA
To follow along with all the action with the Women’s National Team, be sure to follow @USABaseballWNT on X and @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X.
