July 27, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Former University of Kentucky softball player Molly Johnson wrapped up a successful stint with the United States Futures team at the World Cup of Softball Monday night in Oklahoma City.
Johnson and the Futures squad compiled an impressive 3-3 record against the world’s top softball talent this week. The Futures team earned two wins over Team Canada and a victory over Team Japan. Team USA was the only team to hand the Futures’ squad two losses. Prior to the World Cup tournament, the Futures had only taken the field together on three occasions. Two of those games came in exhibition contests against Team USA.
Kentucky’s former All-American made her presence felt for the Futures team as she started all six contests at the shortstop position. Johnson’s defensive prowess was on notice for the world as she racked up 14 putouts and nine assists on the weekend in stylish fashion.
At the plate, Johnson batted .200 for the weekend and accumulated four hits. She delivered on all of those hits, however, as she totaled four RBI.
In the Futures’ 5-4 victory over Canada in the opening game of the tournament Johnson plated a score in the fourth inning to give the Americans a 2-1 lead. It marked the first-ever victory for the Futures squad.
“I think it’s a terrific win for the Futures and for USA Softball,” said Futures Head Coach Kate Drohan. “We made some key plays down the stretch. We started playing like we know how. We really understood how to grab the momentum and come away with a win.”
Canada would come back to defeat the Futures in the second meeting by a 5-4 margin. Johnson was 2-for-3 in that contest with an RBI single in the fourth inning to help the Futures take a 2-1 lead.
The Futures needed a six-run seventh inning to down Canada in the final game of the tournament. The Americans earned a 9-3 victory in that game. Johnson was instrumental in the final stanza to help break a 3-3 tie and propel her team to a victory. She led off the top of the seventh and reached base on a fielding error by the Canadians. The speedy Johnson would make the Canadians pay for the mistake as she would round home for what would become the winning tally. After batting all the way around the order, Johnson came back to the plate and brought in the final two runs of the six-run frame with a single into left field to give the Americans a comfortable six-run advantage.
For complete information, including game recaps and box scores of all of the games held at the World Cup of Softball, visit USAsoftball.org.
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