OKLAHOMA CITY — D.J. Sanders has accomplished a lot in her athletic career.
Now the former New Hope High School standout has a gold medal to add to her collection of awards and hardware.
On Saturday, Sanders went 1-for-4 in the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team’s 8-1 victory against Japan in the Gold Medal Game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Women’s World Championship.
The victory helped Team USA cap a 10-0 run through the tournament, which started Aug. 9.
Team USA finished the tournament with a team-leading .425 batting average. It scored 119 runs in 10 games.
Sanders, a rising sophomore at Louisiana-Lafayette, had a hit in every game and was 14-for-24 (.583 batting average). She scored nine runs, had eight RBIs, hit one home run, and had three doubles. She hit her home run in the Team USA’s first game of the event, a 10-0 win against Chinese Taipei.
Sanders had her best game — a 3-for-3 effort — in a 16-0 victory against Brazil on Aug. 11. She had a double, an RBI, and scored two runs in the game. She had two hits in two other games.
“I can’t speak more highly of this team,” USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team coach Tairia Flowers said. “The way that they all came together at the beginning of summer at training camp has been amazing. We were together for a long time this summer, which sometimes can be good or bad. They definitely grew and figured out how to win together. The way that they approached this tournament was amazing. Every pitch I felt we were locked in and everyone contributed. I’m extremely proud of them.”
Alyssa Palomino shattered several records at tournament. She set a new standard for RBIs with 27. The previous record for most RBIs was Team USA’s Stacey Nuveman in 1995 with 18. She also tied Nuveman’s 1995 record of five home runs.
“It feels pretty good to set records,” Palomino said. “I was told after the game that I did, but honestly that wasn’t my goal. Winning the Gold Medal was all that mattered.”
This was the fifth time Team USA has won the JWWC, tying Japan for most first-place finishes. Team USA finished 14-4 in international competition.
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