Aleshia Ocasio helped Puerto Rico advance to the WBSC World Cup Finals that will take place next summer.
Gators Help Lead USA and Puerto Rico to XVII Women’s Softball World Cup Finals
Friday, July 28, 2023 | Softball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A pair of University of Florida softball representatives in Head Coach Tim Walton and former NFCA All-American standout Aleshia Ocasio helped lead their respective countries out of the XVII Women's Softball World Cup group stages and onto the finals that will be held during the summer of 2024 in Italy.
Walton served as an assistant coach for the United States during its run to capturing the top spot in Group A, while Ocasio helped lead Puerto Rico to a Group B first place finish.
Walton and Team USA went undefeated during the group stage and earned wins over world-ranked No. 3 Chinese Taipei (W, 5-0), No. 43 Botswana (W, 15-0) and No. 9 Australia (W, 1-0) in the opening rounds that was held in Dublin, Ireland. The Red, White and Blue advanced to the Group A playoff championship and defeated No. 16 Great Britain (W, 7-0) to punch their ticket to the finals next summer.
Ocasio and Puerto Rico secured a 5-1 record in Group B, which was held in Valencia, Italy, with wins over No. 38 South Africa (W, 8-1), No. 28 Cuba (W, 3-1), No.10 Netherlands (W, 6-1), No. 12 Spain (W, 12-2) and No. 11 China (W, 2-1) to advance to the finals next summer. The only loss incurred was a 2-0 defeat in the opening game of competition to China.
The two-way standout turned in two complete-games in the circle as she went 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in wins over Cuba and China, while she also boasted a .333 batting average that include five hits, five runs scored, two RBI and two doubles.
Puerto Rico redeemed its opening round loss to China in the group stage playoff championship as Ocasio led the team to 2-1 victory behind a complete-game performance from the circle. Ocasio also went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored the game-winning run in the top of the 5th inning on former graduate student manager Karla Claudio's RBI single.
Joining the United States and Puerto Rico in the finals next summer is Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, China and Italy, who is the host country. The finals are set to take place from July 15-21, 2014, and will conclude just five days before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The finals will be an eight-team single round robin from 15 to 20 July 2024, with the first and second place teams playing on 21 July for the World Championship. Third and fourth place finishers will compete for the bronze medal.
The XVII WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals will take place at Campo Comunale da Softball in Castions di Strada, and Campo da Baseball-Softball G. Michelutti in Buttrio, in the Friuli Venezia Giuli Region in north Italy.
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Walton served as an assistant coach for the United States during its run to capturing the top spot in Group A, while Ocasio helped lead Puerto Rico to a Group B first place finish.
Walton and Team USA went undefeated during the group stage and earned wins over world-ranked No. 3 Chinese Taipei (W, 5-0), No. 43 Botswana (W, 15-0) and No. 9 Australia (W, 1-0) in the opening rounds that was held in Dublin, Ireland. The Red, White and Blue advanced to the Group A playoff championship and defeated No. 16 Great Britain (W, 7-0) to punch their ticket to the finals next summer.
Ocasio and Puerto Rico secured a 5-1 record in Group B, which was held in Valencia, Italy, with wins over No. 38 South Africa (W, 8-1), No. 28 Cuba (W, 3-1), No.10 Netherlands (W, 6-1), No. 12 Spain (W, 12-2) and No. 11 China (W, 2-1) to advance to the finals next summer. The only loss incurred was a 2-0 defeat in the opening game of competition to China.
The two-way standout turned in two complete-games in the circle as she went 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in wins over Cuba and China, while she also boasted a .333 batting average that include five hits, five runs scored, two RBI and two doubles.
Puerto Rico redeemed its opening round loss to China in the group stage playoff championship as Ocasio led the team to 2-1 victory behind a complete-game performance from the circle. Ocasio also went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored the game-winning run in the top of the 5th inning on former graduate student manager Karla Claudio's RBI single.
Joining the United States and Puerto Rico in the finals next summer is Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, China and Italy, who is the host country. The finals are set to take place from July 15-21, 2014, and will conclude just five days before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The finals will be an eight-team single round robin from 15 to 20 July 2024, with the first and second place teams playing on 21 July for the World Championship. Third and fourth place finishers will compete for the bronze medal.
The XVII WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals will take place at Campo Comunale da Softball in Castions di Strada, and Campo da Baseball-Softball G. Michelutti in Buttrio, in the Friuli Venezia Giuli Region in north Italy.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
FloridaGators.com
Florida Softball on Twitter
Head Coach Tim Walton on Twitter
Florida Softball on Facebook
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