Moultrie, Schutte & Team USA Kick Off World Cup of Softball VI Thursday
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 | Softball
Gator softball stars Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.) will continue their summer softball stint representing the Red, White and Blue as members of the USA Women's National Team in USA Softball's final event of the summer, the World Cup of Softball VI in Oklahoma City, Okla., July 21-25. Gator fans can catch six World Cup games live on the ESPN family of networks, denoted below.
Moultrie and Schutte will return to Oklahoma City's ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, which will play host to the six-country World Cup event, just two months after competing in Florida's fourth-straight Women's College World Series. Last time the Gator duo stepped foot in Hall of Fame Stadium, both Moultrie and Schutte put on a show, helping lead Florida to its second WCWS Championship Series in the last two years.
Moultrie, the Women's College World Series co-Most Outstanding Player, and Schutte, Florida's single-season home runs record-holder with 22 in 2011, led the Gators to one of their most successful seasons in school history this spring. The two All-Americans helped propel Florida to a fourth consecutive WCWS appearance – the first SEC team to accomplish the feat. Florida (56-13) played for a national championship for the second time in the last three years in the Championship Series. Moultrie turned in a WCWS tournament-high 13 hits and four home runs in UF's efforts, and Schutte knocked in a tournament-high eight RBI to earn WCWS All-Tournament Team honors as well.
This time around in Hall of Fame Stadium, Moultrie and Schutte are representing their country, donning USA jerseys. After a United States exhibition tour that included stops in Plant City, Fla., Salem, Va., and Bowie, Md., Team USA battled to the very end at the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship last week in Surrey, B.C., eventually falling to Japan, 7-0, in the championship game of the Canadian Open July 17.
After battling through Australia thanks to Schutte's 2-for-4, two run, two RBI-line, the team from Japan got the best of Team USA as Yukiko Ueno, Japan's hurler in the team's 2008 Gold Medal performance, stifled the USA bats. The US Women's National Team will have a re-match with Japan July 23 at 9 p.m. (ET) in Oklahoma City.
In addition to the USA Women's National Team, the field for this year's World Cup of Softball VI is one of the most diverse in recent years with Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Great Britain and Japan also represented.
Single session general admission tickets for the World Cup can be purchased now by calling 1-800-654-8337 or by visiting SoftballOutlet.com. Single session reserved seating tickets are only sold the day of the event at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium box office. All-session tickets, which are $275 for the Ultimate Fan Zone seating in the first three rows of the stadium, $75 for other reserved seating and $40 for general admission seating, are also on sale now. The Ultimate Fan Zone package also includes a private autograph session and breakfast with the 2011 USA Softball Women's National Team, only open to Ultimate Fan Zone ticket holders, as well free parking and a replica USA Softball jersey.
Gator fans can catch Moultrie and Schutte in action in the five-day World cup as seven World Cup of Softball VI games, including six women's fast pitch games, will air across the United States on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. The complete domestic ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com live air schedule is below.
July 21 at 7 p.m.
USA vs. Czech Republic
ESPN/ESPN3.com
July 22 at 7 p.m.
USA vs. Australia
ESPN/ESPN3.com
July 23 at 1 p.m.
(Tape delayed broadcast of Noon game)
USA vs. Canada
ESPN/ESPN3.com
July 23 at 3 p.m.
USA vs. Canada
Men's slow pitch Border Battle III
ESPN/ESPN3.com
July 23 at 8 p.m.
USA vs. Japan
ESPN2/ESPN3.com
July 24 at 4 p.m.
USA vs. Great Britain
ESPN2/ESPN3.com
July 25 at 8 p.m.
Championship Game
ESPN2/ESPN3.com
All times are local to Oklahoma City (CT) and subject to change.
