The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Dayton joins Jefferson as Texas Ex’s at WBSC World Cup Finals
07.12.2024 | Softball
Former Texas Longhorn Bella Dayton set to represent Team Italy at XVII Women’s Softball World Cup Finals
AUSTIN, Texas – With first pitch of the XVII Women's Softball World Cup Finals scheduled for Monday, July 15, former Texas Longhorn softball student-athlete Bella Dayton has been announced as one of the 16 members for Team Italy, the host country for the six-day tournament.
Dayton, who spent the final three seasons of her collegiate softball career on the Forty Acres after signing with the University of Arizona out of Wylie (TX) High School, is one of three representatives from Friul'81, a club softball team based in Italy.
"The roster was defined with a very specific criterion in regard to those with the greatest amount of experience," said Team Italy softball manager Federico Pizzolini. "The exhibition games against the University of Arizona recently helped us a lot to define our preparation in every department. We are improving day by day: the offense is doing well; the pitchers are increasing their strength and performance. Some aspects of the defense are certainly getting better.
"But I am sure that in a week, we will be ready, with a strong team determined to achieve an important objective."
Italy, the sixth-ranked softball team in the country, will help represent the four-team Group A that also features No. 1 USA, No. 5 Canada and No. 15 China. No. 2 Japan, No. 3 Puerto Rico, No. 8 Netherlands and No. 10 Australia make up the four-team Group B.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Round — Thursday, July 18 to Friday, July 19 — for a chance to compete in the Medal Round that will take place on Saturday, July 20. All games will be played at Campo Comunale da Softball in Castions di Strada, Italy.
The WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals will be streamed via GameTime. Fans will have two streaming options: a tournament pass ($12.99) or daily pass ($7.99). A tournament pass will allow subscribers full access to all 22 games of the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup. Fans can also follow along via live stats by following the U.S. Women's National Team on GameChanger.
Team Italy Game Schedule
|
Opponent |
Date |
Time |
|
China |
Monday, July 15 |
1:30 p.m. CT |
|
USA |
Tuesday, July 16 |
1:30 p.m. CT |
|
Canada |
Wednesday, July 17 |
1:30 p.m. CT |
|
Super Round |
Thursday, July 18 to Friday, July 19 |
TBD |
|
Medal Round |
Saturday, July 20 |
TBD |
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