Delegation to compete in La Vega, Dominican Republic from March 8 to 12

DURHAM, N.C. — USA Baseball confirmed on Friday its participation in the first-ever COPABE Women’s Baseball Pan American Games Qualifier, March 8 to 12, 2015, in La Vega, Dominican Republic. The 18-player delegation will compete to be one of four teams that will qualify for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, July 10 to 26. The Toronto Pan American Games will be the first-ever multi-sport Games to host women’s baseball.

“2015 has the potential to afford USA Baseball, for the first time, the opportunity to compete in not one, but two international women’s baseball events in the same calendar year,” Women’s National Team Director, Ashley Bratcher, said. “As a staff, we feel confident that this Pan American Qualifying Team is the right group of players to qualify the U.S. for this summer’s Pan American Games.”

Guiding the team in qualifying will be manager, Mike Morgan. A Woburn, Mass., native, Morgan was an assistant coach on the 2014 USA Baseball Women’s National Team staff that captured the silver medal at the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup in Miyazaki, Japan.

Assisting Morgan will be two veteran Team USA coaches in Matt Weagle and Jim Comis. As pitching coach, Weagle guided the 2014 Women’s National Team pitching staff to a 2.07 team ERA in 65 and one-third innings pitched last summer. Comis was the pitching coach on the gold-medal winning 2011 14U National Team. In addition, Comis has worked with the Women’s National Team Trials in 2010 and 2012, as well as the inaugural Women’s National Open in January 2015.

Featuring athletes from nine different U.S. states, including 10 athletes that were members of the 2014 USA Baseball Women’s National Team, the Women’s Pan American Qualifying Team will be competing for four available spots in the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games. The host, Canada, received an automatic bid to the five-team tournament.

Also traveling with the delegation is Ashley Bratcher, the Women’s National Team director since 2009, as well as veteran athletic trainer, Kim Moncel, and press officer, Ben Brown, who will be working with USA Baseball for a third consecutive year.

If Team USA qualifies for the Pan American Games, the Women’s National Team schedule will continue with National Team Trials, May 22 to 24, 2015. Thirty-six players have already been invited to participate in Trials following a multi-event selection process approved by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The final 18 players selected to represent the United States at the Pan American Games, should the U.S. qualify, will be selected out of those 36 individuals attending the National Team Trials.

For more information on the Women’s National Team, please visit USABaseball.com.

The 18-player USA Baseball Women’s Pan American Qualifying Team roster is as follows:

Name, Position, Hometown
Veronica Alvarez, C, Miami, Fla.*
Ryleigh Buck, IF/RHP, Wellington, Kan.
Samantha Cobb, OF/RHP, Garland, Texas*
Caitlin Everett, OF, Sunnyvale, Texas*
Alex Fulmer, RHP, Little Mountain, S.C.
Jade Gortarez, IF/RHP, Riverside, Calif.*
Tara Harbert, OF, Boulder, Colo.*
Tamara Holmes, OF, Albany, Calif.*
Lindsay Horwitz, RHP, Gurnee, Ill.*
Anna Kimbrell, C/RHP, Fort Mill, S.C.*
Jenna Marston, RHP/IF, St. Louis, Mo.*
Nicole Rivera, IF/RHP, Lakeside, Calif.
Michelle Snyder, IF/RHP, Wenatchee, Wash.*
Malaika Underwood, IF, San Diego, Calif.*
Meagan May Whitley, C, Spring, Texas
Kelsie Whitmore, OF/RHP, Temecula, Calif.*
Donna Williams, RHP/IF, Fremont, Calif.*
Codee Yeske, IF/RHP, Lexington, S.C.

USA Baseball Women’s National Team alumni are denoted with an asterisk*

Original post: http://web.usabaseball.com/article.jsp?ymd=20150123&content_id=109070952.