June 29, 1999
TEMPE, Ariz. - Leading Team USA with the most players on its roster, Arizona State sophomore's Missy Hixon (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Kirsten Voak (Fremont, Calif.), along with in-coming freshman Kara Brun (Glendale, Ariz.) collected silver medals at the 1999 International Softball Federation Junior Women's World Championships in Taipei, Taiwan.
Team USA could not avenge an earlier loss to Japan (1-0) as they fell 3-1 in the gold medal game to finish the tournament with a 9-2 record.
Hixon, who played and started in seven games, finished with a .400 batting average (10-25) and was second on team with nine RBIs and three doubles. Hixon also finished third in runs scored (9) and fourth in hits (10) and batting average.
During the tournament, Hixon had several offensive explosions, including a 3 for 4, four RBI and three runs scored performance against Italy. She went 2 for 2 with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored against Argentina, and posted another 3 for 4 three RBI game against China.
Brun played in six games, starting five and also batted .400 (6-15). She finished tied for second on the team with three doubles and third in RBIs with eight. In Team USA's 6-0 win over China, Brun put the game out of reach in the sixth inning by smashing a two RBI single to left field.
Voak, a powerful right-handed pitcher, tied for the team-high in wins with three and recorded a team-second best 33 strikeouts and 0.35 earned-run average. In 20 innings pitched, opponents batted a miniscule 0.76, both team-highs.
Voak combined with teammate Keira Goerl to no-hit Chinese Taipei, 4-0. Voak fired the first four innings, striking out seven while giving up only one walk for her first win.
Against Venezuela, Voak struckout 12 batters in six innings for her second win. She then propelled Team USA into the gold medal game by throwing her second complete game, allowing only three hits and striking out 11 against Taipei.
Additionally, Voak posted a save against New Zealand, pitching three innings of no-hit ball.
- SUN DEVIL SOFTBALL -