With the Athletes Unlimited Softball League All-Star Cup on pause until Aug. 19, several league stars are spending the break chasing gold with Team USA at the World Games in Chengdu, China. The defending champions wasted no time showing why they’re favorites again, blanking Chinese Taipei 4-0 in Wednesday’s opener at Xindu Better City Softball Arena.
Rachel Garcia set the tone in the circle, firing four hitless, scoreless innings with four strikeouts before handing the ball to Ally Carda, who locked down the final three frames. Carda allowed just two hits and a walk to finish the combined shutout.
At the plate, Tiare Jennings powered the offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs scored. Her solo shot to deep left in the fifth padded an early lead built in the second inning, when Janae Jefferson ripped a two-run single up the middle to score Maya Brady and Jayda Coleman. Bubba Nickles-Camarena added an RBI fielder’s choice in the third to make it 3-0.
Chinese Taipei managed just two hits, both coming after Garcia exited. Li Szu-Shih and Chiang Ting-En recorded the only knocks for the hosts.
Team USA leads Group A after the first day of play. They will continue preliminary-round action later this week as the squad looks to keep its gold medal streak alive — while AUSL fans watch their All-Star Cup favorites shine on the international stage.
All-Star Cup play will resume August 19 in Rosemont, Ill., and continue through Aug. 30.
Note: In Series 2, there will be only three teams in the AUSL All-Star Cup as the United States Women’s National Team continues to compete at the World Games in China.
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
