Alabama continued to fight back and eventually tie the set

One softball drought is over for the United States.And a little over a week before the Olympics begin without softball but with an IOC vote that could change that four years from now in Tokyo, perhaps seeds have taken root for a bigger celebration to come.The United States defeated Japan 7-3 on Sunday in Surrey, British Columbia, in the winner-take-all final game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation World Championship, currently the sports most important international tournament.Team USA beat Japan, its main rival, twice in the event and finished with a 9-0 record.Japan was the two-time defending world champion, beating the United States in 2012 in Canadas Yukon Territory and 2014 in the Netherlands. Counting the Olympic gold it won in 2008, the last Olympics in which softball was contested, Japan arrived in British Columbia having won three of the past four major titles in a sport previously dominated by the United States.It tells the story of the international games past and present that while this was the 10th world championship for the United States, it was the first championship for every player on the American roster.Not only was Team USA winless in the final game of a major tournament since 2010, but it also entered Sunday having played 17 consecutive innings in such games without so much as a lead.It didnt take long to bring that streak to an end.After the first two U.S. batters were retired in the top of the first inning, Jazmyn Jackson doubled to right center and Valerie Arioto drew a full-count two-out walk, the ninth of the tournament for one of the sports most disciplined power hitters. Among the leading home run hitters in college softball this past season at the University of Washington, international rookie Ali Aguilar then kept her swing short enough to go the other way with an outside pitch for a single that scored Jackson.The hit was just the third of the tournament for Aguilar, who was in the lineup primarily because Amanda Chidester, who led Team USA with eight home runs and 17 RBIs, was out with an arm injury sustained a day earlier in a 4-3 semifinal win over Japan (which then beat Canada in the losers bracket Sunday afternoon to earn a rematch in the final).Japan soon paid an even steeper price for its inability to close out Sundays first inning when Michelle Moultrie waited on an off-speed pitch and pulled it for a three-run home run and a 4-0 lead.Unlike 2012, when American hitters couldnt come up with a run in support of Keilani Ricketts, or two years later, when it was Japan that rode a big first inning to victory, momentum belonged to the United States.Japan had a chance to cut the deficit to two runs in the bottom of the second, but Team USA center fielder Haylie McCleneys throw and catcher Aubree Munros positioning got Japans Yuka Ichiguchi at the plate for the final out of the inning.McCleney subsequently put the game away with a three-run home run in the fourth inning.A day after she came within an out of a complete game in the semifinal, Ally Carda started again in the final, but four American pitchers split the workload almost equally.To the degree it is possible from a two-game sample size, the title validates the vision of Team USA coach Ken Eriksen. Now in his sixth year as coach of the national team, much of that time working essentially pro bono in addition to a paying job as head coach at the University of South Florida, Eriksen sought to build a program (largely from scratch) that offered opportunities to college-age talent and still developed a veteran core for an uncertain Olympic future.Consider how the opening runs were scored Sunday. Jackson, who also scored the first run when the United States beat Japan to win a junior world title a year ago, still has two seasons of eligibility at the University of California. Aguilar has another season at Washington. But Arioto and Moultrie have a combined 12 summers of international experience between them.Put another way, when Arioto played her freshman season at Cal, Jackson was in sixth grade.Look ahead to 2020 and the United States could well have a handful of key veterans in their early 30s and the rest of the roster spread throughout their 20s. Exactly what you would expect of an Olympic roster -- but what seemed like anything but a given a few years ago, when a lack of funding and attention made a revolving door seem more likely.There are, of course, dangers in drawing too many conclusions from the wins, just as from the narrow losses in the past two world championships. The U.S. and Japan have split six games this year. Sundays score notwithstanding, their games are almost always close. And Japans roster this time around didnt include pitching ace Yukiko Ueno, who won another domestic pro title last year but, at 35 years old, may finally be ready to stop haunting American dreams.Perhaps it would be wisest to make of the wins in Surrey only that they earned Team USA this title. That should be enough. Jacksons 12 hits, Chidesters power, Aguilars fearlessness and Jessica Moores four wins and 23 strikeouts worth commending solely for what they produced over a week near Vancouver.And yet the celebration after the final out appeared surprisingly muted, handshakes and high fives instead of bear hugs and dog piles. Perhaps it was the product of a game that lacked the drama familiar to the rivalry. Perhaps youth made the accomplishment difficult to grasp in the moment.Perhaps the players let loose later.Or perhaps to them, this was just the first step toward a bigger party in 2020.They did their part to put the United States back on top. Now they will wait and watch the vote from Rio. Patrik Laine Jets Jersey . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. Patrik Laine Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. http://www.jetsauthentic.com/authentic-connor-hellebuyck-jets-jersey/ .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Bryan Little Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Mark Scheifele Jets Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. COLUMBIA, S.C. - Alabama volleyball needed just three sets to dispatch South Carolina Friday night at the Carolina Volleyball Center, sweeping the Gamecocks by set scores of 28-26, 25-19 and 25-22.Alabama (18-11, 7-9 SEC) has now won six-straight matches over South Carolina (18-9, 6-9 SEC), stretching back to the 2013 season. The two teams went to extra points in the first set as Alabama came back to take the lead in the late stages of the frame before winning a comparatively decisive second set, 25-19. A late push by the Gamecocks in set three added some drama in the final points but Alabama ultimately persevered to win 25-22.Krystal Rivers led all players with 19 kills, her second-highest total in a three-set match this season, which puts her just seven shy of tying the Alabama career kills record with two matches remaining in the regular season. Rivers also earned four of the teams seven service aces, tying a season-high. Shannon Mikesky and Alexa Tomlak split setting duties, earning 18 and 12, respectively, while Abolanle Onipede went error-free with a .385 hitting percentage, her second-highest total in SEC play.The Gamecocks scored the first two points of the opening set and maintained a relatively slim lead until scoring three-straight points to slightly extend its lead to 14-10. South Carolina led by five at Alabamas first timeout, 16-11, but a late 3-1 run by the Tide cut the deficit to three points, 21-18, as South Carolina was forced to take a timeout following a block on the right side by Leah Lawrence and Rivers. Alabama continued to fight back and eventually tie the set at 23-23 on a kill up the middle by Hayley McSparin as South Carolina burned its final timeout. A Gamecock block on the next point gave the home team set point, 24-23, and the Tide took its final timeout before a USC attack error tied it back at 24-24.dddddddddddd Alabama staved off two more set points by South Carolina before pulling ahead 27-26 on a Gamecock attack error and finishing off the lengthy set victory with a kill by Brittany Thomas, winning 28-26.Set two was tightly contested with seven tie scores early on until South Carolina gained a slim 11-9 lead. Alabama responded with four-straight points, including a pair of aces by Rivers, to lead 13-11 and force the Gamecocks to take its first timeout. Leading by two later, 17-15, a kill by Lawrence made it a three-point game as South Carolina took its second timeout. Leading 18-16 two points later, Alabama closed out the set on a 7-3 run to win, 25-19, and take a 2-0 match lead.Alabama got off to a hot start in set three, scoring four unanswered points to start the frame and pulling ahead 7-1 before South Carolina was forced to burn an early timeout. The Tide led by five at the halfway mark, 13-8, and a 3-1 run extended the lead to seven points at the Gamecocks second timeout, 16-9. South Carolina started to trim the deficit with a 4-2 run and Alabama looked to slow the momentum with its first timeout of the set, leading 18-13. Alabama reached match point at 24-20 but South Carolina kept the match alive with back-to-back points as the Tide regrouped with a timeout leading 24-22. Rivers finished the match on the next point with her team-leading 19th kill of the night to give Alabama the 25-22 win and the three-set match victory.Next up, Alabama plays its final home match of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 23 against Ole Miss (15-13, 4-11 SEC). The match, which is the Tides senior night, is set for a 7 p.m. CT start. ' ' '