Aug. 1, 2017
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Rising sophomore Alyssa Rivera and incoming freshman Taylon Snow secured the gold medal for the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Women's World Championship.
Rivera, Snow and Team USA clinched the top prize with a 13-4 win against Japan in the championship game.
"It's been a long summer after a long freshman season, but it felt great to put the three letters across my chest and represent my country," said Rivera. "It was a wonderful experience and it felt good waking up in the morning being a world champion."
"It was a really cool experience seeing all of the different countries and people from those countries," stated Snow. "It was a really eye-opening and awesome experience. My team and I made a lot of memories that will last forever.
"Being part of the team in the first place was one of the best experiences and all the friendships I made with the girls on the team, I'm very thankful for. Most importantly, bringing home the gold medal made me speechless."
The two Auburn players were key in Team USA's perfect 9-0 record in the tournament.
Rivera laced four hits, scored four runs and added two RBI in five games of action. The Eagle Lake, Fla. native touted a .444 batting average with a .546 on-base percentage while seeing time in the outfield.
Snow drilled six hits, crossed the plate seven times and added one stolen base. The Chino Hills, Calif. native boasted a .700 on-base clip and a .667 batting average to go along with a spotless 1.000 fielding percentage as an infielder.
The Tigers were also represented on another country as fellow newcomer Kara Bilodeau guided Team Canada to a fourth-place finish. The right-handed hurler tossed 19 and 2/3 innings and tallied 21 strikeouts to highlight a 1.78 ERA.
She registered a 2-0 record and allowed only three extra-base hits throughout the entirety of the competition.