Notre Dame’s Bergeron, USA claim gold medal in 2021 Junior Pan American Games

Notre Dame’s Maci Bergeron and the USA Softball U-18 Women’s National team defeated No. 4 Mexico 10-0 in four innings to win the gold medal Thursday at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games.
“I am so proud of these athletes for their grit throughout our quest to the podium,” said U-18 Women’s National Team Head Coach, Kyla Holas. “They have met every challenge faced before them and really came together as a team.
“We are very appreciative of the opportunity to compete in the Junior Pan American Games and I can’t thank Barranquilla enough for their support during our stay. We’re looking forward to heading to Lima for another great week of softball.”
Bergeron, who hit .385 for the tournament, had three RBI and had a sacrifice bunt in the third inning which led to a run when Haidyn Sokoloski singled to left field one batter later.
The Red, White and Blue dominated the 2021 Junior Pan American Games, shutting out all six of their opponents while scoring a combined total of 71 runs. The U.S. offense proved superior with a team batting average of .460 and a total of 63 hits – including 13 home runs.The U.S. pitching staff put on an outstanding performance in the circle, allowing only five hits in the tournament while combining for a remarkable 0.00 ERA and striking out 62 batters in 30 innings pitched.
In addition to claiming the gold medal at America’s first-ever youth continental multi-sport event, the victory earned Team USA a berth to the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games.
The USA Softball U-18 Women’s National Team will continue their travels today as they head to Lima, Peru for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Women’s World Cup. Scheduled for Dec. 6-12, the U.S. will look to claim a fourth-consecutive WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship title, having won the previous three World Championships in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Team USA opens the World Cup with a pair of games Monday against Colombia and the Czech Republic before playing Mexico again on Tuesday. They take on Puerto Rico on Wednesday, the Netherlands on Thursday and Peru on Friday. Saturday pits USA against Chinese Taipei before Sunday’s medal round.