AGUASCALIENTES, Mexico - The USA Baseball Women's National Team defeated Nicaragua 21-1 with the help of a Brittany Schutte grand-slam on Tuesday at the 2019 COPABE Women's Pan-American Championships at Estadio de Beisbol Alberto Romo Chavez in Aguascalientes, Mexico. 

The U.S. jumped ahead early in the top of the first inning courtesy five singles, two doubles and a triple, giving the team a 9-0 lead. Team USA extended its lead in the top of the second with six runs scored on five hits and followed with runs in the fourth inning to give the U.S. its biggest win of the tournament. 

Six U.S. batters finished the day with multi-hit performances, including Denae Benites (Las Vegas, Nev), Kylee Lahners (Laguna Hills, Calif.), Malaika Underwood (San Diego, Calif.), Brittany Womack (Escondido, Calif.), Michelle Cobb (Wenatchee, Wash.) and Ashton Lansdell (Marietta, Ga.). 

Sara Tobias (New York, N.Y.) started on the bump for the red, white, and blue, allowing one run and striking out four batters in the winning performance. Alexia Jorge (Lyndhurst, N.J.) and Kate Blunt (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) each spent an inning on the mound, scattering one hit and striking out two batters. Mabel Sanchez suffered the loss for Nicaragua.

Key Moments

• A pair of singles by Alex Hugo (Olathe, Kan.) and Lahners put runners on base for Underwood, who put the U.S. up 2-0 in the top of the first inning with a double to center field.
• With a runner in scoring position, Kelsie Whitmore (Temecula, Calif.) singled up the middle to make the score 3-0 in the top of the first inning.
• Underwood scored from third on a Nicaragua error, making it 4-0 in the top of the first inning.
• Womack knocked a double into right field to push Whitmore across the plate and put the score at 5-0 in the top of the first inning.
• A Cobb single put two more runs on the board for Team USA in the top of the first inning, making the score 7-0.
• Lansdell sent a run home with an RBI triple to deep right center to put the score at 8-0 in the top of the first inning.
• A Hugo sac-fly capped a nine run inning for Team USA.
• Nicaragua used a sac-fly to put one run on the board in the bottom of the first inning to make the score 9-1.
• Cobb's two-run double to left center put the U.S. ahead 11-1 in the top of the second inning.
• Lahners hit a three RBI double to center field in the top of the second inning to extend the U.S. lead to 14-1.
• Underwood knocked an RBI single up the middle for a 15-1 Team USA lead in the top of the second inning.
• Lansdell and Benites led off the top of the fourth inning with a single and double, respectively, and both scored when Jorge collected her first hit of the tournament to make the score 16-1.
• In Schutte's first at-bat of the tournament, she knocked a 1-0 pitch over the right field wall for her first career grand slam in the top of the fourth inning, giving the U.S. a 20-1 lead.
• A Womack sac-fly allowed Jamie Mackay (Newport Beach, Calif.) to score her first run of the tournament and give Team USA a final score of 21-1 in the fourth inning.

Notable Information

• Six U.S. batters finished the day with multi-hit performances, including Denae Benites (2-for-3), Kylee Lahners (3-for-3), Malaika Underwood (2-for-3), Brittany Womack (2-for-4), Michelle Cobb (2-for-3) and Ashton Lansdell (3-for-4).
• Sara Tobias earned the win for the U.S., allowing one run and striking out four batters in her first start of the tournament.
• In her first at-bat of the tournament, Schutte cleared the bases with a grand-slam over the right field wall in the top of the fourth inning.
• Kylee Lahners leads the U.S. offensively through three games, hitting .889 (8-for-9) with three singles, four doubles, a home run and 12 RBIs in the tournament.

Up Next

• The USA Baseball Women's National Team will continue action at the 2019 COPABE Women's Pan-American Championships on Wednesday, August 21 against Canada at 9 a.m. CT at Parque Deportivo Ferrocarrilero in Aguascalientes, Mexico. 

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