Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) got the first start of the tournament, keeping runners off base even battling Mariana Abe eight pitches into the count before striking her out swinging for the sixth strikeout in as many at bats. Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) sent two balls foul before roping a ball to right field for a triple, scoring Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) who drew a walk. Mendoza scored on a passed ball giving the U.S. an early 2-0 lead over the host country Brazil in the first inning.

With two outs in the second, Laura Berg (Santa Fe, Springs, Calif.) who laid down a bunt to land on base scored off a wild pitch to edge the lead to 3-0. With Mendoza and Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) at first and second both off walks, Duran singled to left field to score Mendoza putting one more run on the board for the red, white and blue.

A new pitcher came in to face the U.S. in the fourth but it was no match up for the top of the U.S. batting order. Berg, who was 2-2 against Brazil, singled to lead off the inning and scored off a single to centerfield by Watley. Watley scored on a standup double by Crystl Bustos (Canyon County, Calif.).

“We played very well considering the conditions we played under. Our pitchers threw phenomenal and it was really good to get out there and play since we haven’t been able to,” said Berg who scored two runs with one RBI against Brazil. “We are excited to play Cuba tomorrow who is a great team.”

After throwing four complete innings, Finch left the game with Alicia Hollowell (Suisun, Calif.) coming in for relief. Finch allowed no hits, striking out 11 of the 12 batters she faced. In 56 pitches thrown, Finch threw forty strikes. Hollowell kept it going with three strikeouts of her own in the fifth.

Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) drew a walk to lead off the fifth inning, followed by Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) who was hit by a pitch. Jenny Topping (Whittier, Calif.) drew the team’s sixth walk of the game to load up the bases. A sac fly by Berg plated the seventh run of the game, securing a 7-0 win in five innings.

Next up for the team was Colombia with Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) getting the nod in the circle and like her counterpart of the first game, struck out the first eight of nine batters, with the other out coming off a groundout to second base.

“It’s good to finally get out there after two days of canceled games and then the delay this morning. It’s nice to get some games under our belt and I think the team played well today,” said Abbott of the team’s outing. “We look forward to get out there tomorrow too.”

With a 0-0 score going into the third, the team loaded up the bases with Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) who bunted, Bustos who was intentionally walked and Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) who walked. Duran cleared the bases with a grand slam to left field, her first career grand slam as a member of the National Team and the second for the team this year.

“I was focusing on sitting back on the slow pitches and that seemed to pay off today. Our pitchers threw a great game and it was great to be able to contribute some runs,” said Duran. “It felt really good to get out there and play and I look forward to the rest of the tournament.”

After throwing five complete innings, Abbott left the game with 12 strikeouts, 43 strikes in 52 pitches. Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich.) came into pitch the final innings of the day, issuing a walk to her first batter faced but the runner would not get off first as Ritter issued strikeouts to the next three batters.

Colombia allowed no U.S. hits through the fourth and fifth innings with Kretschman leading off the sixth with a single to right field. A sac bunt advanced Kretschman to second and a single by Galindo to right field would send Kretschman home. However the wet field caused her to slip up rounding third. She got caught up between third and home and was thrown out at home.

Ritter closed out the seventh inning with two more strikeouts, with the team taking away a 4-0 victory over Colombia.

“Under the circumstances I think we played well. The kids were very resilient and they did want they had to do,” said Candrea of his team’s 2-0 start. “There were very sloppy field conditions and I don’t think I have ever played on a field that bad. However we had good pitching and got the runs we needed.”

The U.S. will wrap up pool play tomorrow with Cuba at 10:00 a.m./8:00 a.m. CT. Medal rounds will begin Friday morning with the Championship game held at 2:00 p.m./12:00 CT on Saturday.