A week before the opening day of the 2024 Summer Olympics, former Longhorns Janae Jefferson and Bella Dayton will have the chance to make their mark at the Women’s Softball World Cup, a six-day international tournament taking place July 15-20 in the Udine region of Italy.
While the World Cup does not attract the same amount of attention as the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee’s decision to exclude softball and baseball from the 2024 Paris Olympics made that goal unattainable this year.
Softball has been an Olympic sport five times since 1996, with a consecutive appearance from 1996 to 2008 that provided an opportunity for players such as former Texas pitcher Cat Osterman to rise to stardom. The sport was dropped in 2012 and 2016, but was brought back in 2020 at the request of host country Japan.
“WBSC is confident that baseball and softball will help attract millions of fans to the Olympic Games, especially in the United States, home to some of the best athletes and biggest stars in sports from around the world,” said World Baseball Softball Confederation President Riccardo Fraccari. 2023 Press Release.
The WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup will be the sport’s biggest event on the international stage until softball rejoins the Olympic Games at Los Angeles in 2028.
Although Jefferson and Dayton attended the same university in the United States, they played for different teams.
Jefferson played for the No. 1 ranked USA Softball team, which reached the WBSC World Cup Finals but lost the title to No. 3 ranked Japan.
“Our team is counting on dominant pitching, great defense and timely hitting,” coach Heather Tarle said before the tournament.
The USA showed their overwhelming dominance by shutting out four of six games. The USA was aiming for a fourth consecutive WBSC Women’s World Cup title, but their winning streak was ended by a 6-1 loss to Japan.
At second base, Jefferson held his team to a .900 fielding percentage. Jefferson appeared at bat 11 times and scored three runs.
One of those goals came in a match between Dayton team the United States and Italy, ranked sixth in the world.
After college, Dayton became one of three representatives for Friul ’81, an Italy-based club softball team, and when the time came, she tried out for the Italian team to honor her family’s tradition.
“The roster was chosen based on very specific criteria: the most experienced players,” said Federico Pizzolini, Italy’s softball coach.
Italy was the host country for the six-day tournament that began on July 15, and Dayton was able to take the lead in the batting order and fully enjoy the enthusiasm of the Italian fans.
Dayton played well, hitting 9 out of 18 at bats, scoring 6 runs and hitting .778 for a slugging percentage. She played in left field as she usually does and committed no errors.
Unfortunately, the team as a whole did not perform well, finishing last in the tournament with one win and four losses.
If Dayton and Jefferson can maintain successful careers in the sport, they may have a chance to lead their teams to victory in future World Cups and the 2028 Olympics.
