June 17, 2011
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Kentucky assistant coach and former All-American Molly Johnson has been selected to the 2011 United States National team it was announced Friday. This marks the third consecutive summer season Johnson will don the Red, White and Blue.
The 18-person roster, plus one alternate, will hit the road in less than a week for their first competition, a two-game exhibition series in Plant City, Fla., on Saturday, June 25.After the matchup in Florida, the team will travel to Salem, Va., for another exhibition series on June 29. The final tune-up before International play will be in Bowie, Md., on July 1. All exhibition games will be a doubleheader format against the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team.
From July 9-17, 12 of the 18 players will play in their first International tournament at the Canadian Open Fast Pitch International Championship in Surrey, B.C., before returning home for the World Cup of Softball VI, July 21-25 in Oklahoma City.
The USA Softball Women’s National Team will seek its 9th Pan American Games title, Oct. 17-23, in Guadalajara, Mexico for the final competition of 2011. With six consecutive titles, USA Softball will again be a top contender during the XVI Pan American Games.
Johnson became the Wildcats’ first All-America selection in 2009 after a sensational junior season where she had career-highs in nine offensive categories while breaking three single-season Kentucky records. She set UK seasonal records in runs scored (53), hits (81) and on-base percentage (.498) en route to her garnering All-America status.
After emerging as one of the best collegiate players, Johnson continued her career with the United States National team in the summers of 2009 and 2010. Johnson suited up with the USA Futures squad in the 2010 summer and compiled an impressive 3-3 record against the world’s top softball talent.
Kentucky’s former great made her presence felt for the Futures team as she started all six contests at the shortstop position in 2010. Johnson’s defensive prowess was on notice for the world as she racked up 14 putouts and nine assists at the tournament. 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.
Visit UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information on the UK softball team and all of Kentucky’s 22 teams.
Below is the roster for the 2011 USA Softball Women’s National Team:
Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif./California)
Whitney Canion (Aledo, Texas/Baylor)
Kaitlin Cochran (Yorba Linda, Calif./Arizona State)
Lauren Gibson (Pasadena, Md./Tennessee)
Kelly Grieve (Asheville, N.C./Tennessee)
Taylor Hoagland (Flower Mound, Texas/Texas)
Ashley Holcombe (Fayetteville, Ga./Alabama)
Molly Johnson (Tucson, Ariz./Kentucky)
Stacy Johnson (Reno, Nev./Iowa)
Megan Langenfeld (Bakersfield, Calif./UCLA)
Jenae Leles (Sacramento, Calif./Arizona)
Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla./Florida)
Christine Orgeron (New Orleans, La./ULL)
Keilani Ricketts (San Jose, Calif./Oklahoma)
Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif./Florida)
Jordan Taylor (Valencia, Calif./Michigan)
Rhea Taylor (Buford, Ga./Missouri)
Chelsea Thomas (Pleasantville, Iowa/Missouri)
Alternate – Jessica Shults (Valencia, Calif./Oklahoma)
