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Softball is a sport similar to baseball, and it is played with a larger ball on a smaller field and with only underhand pitches permitted. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock.
College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is normally played by men.
Lisa Maria Fernandez is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA. She played college softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman, and is a three-time medal winning Olympian with Team USA.
The Brazilian Olympic Committee or BOC is the highest authority in Brazilian sport and the governing body of Brazilian Olympic sport. It was officially founded on 8 June 1914, but World War I caused its official activities to begin only in 1935. It was founded at the headquarters of the Brazilian Federation of Rowing Societies as an initiative from the Metropolitan League of Athletic Sports.
The NCAA Division I softball tournament is held annually in May/June and features 64 college softball teams in the United States, culminating in the Women's College World Series (WCWS), which is played in Oklahoma City.
The Japan women's national softball team is the national team of Japan in international softball competitions. It is governed by the Japan Softball Association. They are currently ranked #2 in the world by the International Softball Federation. In four Olympic Games, since 1996 until 2008, Japan has won one gold medal, a silver medal and a bronze medal. In the top four nations at the Olympics, Japan is the second most successful national team, following the United States, and beating out Australia and China with one silver medal. After winning the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Japanese national team was defeated by the United States team at the XII Women's Softball World Championship in Caracas, Venezuela.
Fastpitch softball, or simply fastpitch, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist. Considered the most competitive form of softball, fastpitch is the format played at the Olympic Games. Softball was on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) program in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2020. It will not be a part of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
The Argentina national baseball team is the national baseball team of Argentina. The team represents Argentina in international competitions. They are nicknamed "The Gauchos."
Danielle Elaine Lawrie is a Canadian, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, professional All-Star softball pitcher and current sports commentator. Lawrie played college softball at Washington, in which she was part of the 2009 Women's College World Series championship team and was named Most Outstanding Player. Lawrie currently plays for the Canada women's national softball team, including during the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she won a bronze medal.
The seventh World Cup of Softball was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA between June 27 and July 2, 2012. The competing national teams were the United States, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Canada, Netherlands and Australia. Some games were televised on the ESPN family of channels, and they were all broadcast online on ESPN3.
Amanda Marie Chidester is an American former professional softball player and current assistant coach for Michigan. She was named National Pro Fastpitch Player of the Year for the Chicago Bandits in 2019. She has been a member of the USA Softball Women's National Team on-and-off since 2012. She played college softball at Michigan from 2009 to 2012 and was named First Team All-Big Ten three of her seasons. She was twice selected as the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American. Chidester represented Team USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal. In 2021, Chidester played her second season in the Athletes Unlimited Softball league and placed second in individual points earned.
Brazil women's junior national softball team is the junior national under-17 team for Brazil. The team competed at the 1999 ISF Junior Women's World Championship in Taipei, Taiwan where they finished tenth. The team competed at the 2011 ISF Junior Women's World Championship in Cape Town, South Africa where they finished seventh. The team competed at the 2013 ISF Junior Women's World Championship in Brampton, Ontario where they finished seventh.
Softball competitions at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto was held from July 12 to 26 at the Pan Am Ball Park, in Ajax, Ontario. Men's softball returned to the Pan American Games sports program after last being competed in 2003. A total of six men and women's teams competed in each tournament respectively.
The Women's Softball South American Championship is the main championship tournament between national women's softball teams in South America, governed by the Pan American Softball Confederation (CONPASA).
The South American Junior Women's Softball Championship is the main championship tournament between national women softball teams in South America, governed by the Pan American Softball Federation.
The Men's Softball South American Championship is the main championship tournament between national men softball teams in South America, governed by the Pan American Softball Confederation (CONPASA).
The Pan American Junior Women's Softball Championship is the main championship tournament between national women softball teams in Pan America, governed by the Pan American Softball Federation.
The South American U-15 Women's Softball Championship is the main championship tournament between national women softball teams in South America, governed by the Pan American Softball Federation.
Kelly Katlyn Barnhill is an American, former collegiate All-American, professional softball pitcher. She played college softball for the Florida Gators from 2016 to 2019 and was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Honda Sports Award and espnW Player of the Year in 2017. She is the career no hitters (7), strikeouts, strikeout ratio (10.5) and WHIP leader for the Gators. She also ranks in career strikeout ratio for both the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA Division I.
The Brazil national under-18 baseball team is the national under-18 team representing Brazil in international baseball competitions. The organization is currently ranked 25th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. They compete in the bi-annual U-18 Baseball World Cup.
