Chattanooga Lady Mocs softball players
Vivian Morimoto (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and
Ninjja Suetsugu (Sao Paulo, Brazil) will represent Brazil, while
Nicole Osterman (Kissimmee, Fla.) will participate with Puerto Rico at the Word Cup of Softball. The event is June 28-July 2 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Each game of the round-robin and placement rounds will be broadcasted by either ASA Video or the ESPN family of networks.
Along with Brazil and Puerto Rico, the six-team field includes Australia, Canada, The Netherlands and United States.
"This is a great honor for these student-athletes to play for their countries," said head coach Frank Reed. "They have shown that they can come in to the university and not only work hard to be great softball players, but also learn to conquer the language and make great grades on their way to graduating. Now they can go out there and play softball on the national stage, not only representing their country, but also Chattanooga."
Chattanooga has two representatives on the Brazilian national team that have worked extremely hard to make it to the Division I level. Morimoto and Suetsugu began their collegiate careers at Miami-Dade Junior College, where they teamed together to help the Lady Sharks to the 2010 NJCCAA DI National Championship. They have also played with Brazil during the 2007 and 2009 Pan American Games.
Morimoto showed that all that work in the classroom paid off, graduating with a degree in Sociology in May. She was a two-time All-SoCon First Team and NFCA South Region Second Team performer in her two-year career the Lady Mocs. Making an immediate impact as a junior in 2011, Morimoto paced Chattanooga with a .402 average as the team finished runner-up at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional.
Suetsugu came to the Scenic City a year after Morimoto as she finished up an additional year of English at Miami-Dade, where she was a student assistant coach, before transferring to Chattanooga. A junior last season, she played at third base, shortstop and second base for the Lady Mocs, totaling 17 hits and nine RBI as a reserve infielder.
The Puerto Rico national team includes Osterman. In her first year with the Lady Mocs, she showed power in her 21 hits with five doubles and four home runs.
The tournament kicks off on Thursday with all three Lady Mocs in action as Puerto Rico takes on Brazil at 10 a.m. (CDT). Both teams play a nationally televised contest on ESPN2 with Puerto Rico taking on USA at 7 p.m. Thursday, and Brazil battling American squad on Sunday at 1 p.m. The placement round is set for Monday, July 2 with the Championship game at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
World Cup of Softball Schedule
Thursday, June 28 - Preliminary Day 1
10 a.m. - Puerto Rico vs. Brazil - ASA Video
12:30 p.m. - Canada vs. Netherlands - ASA Video
3 p.m. - Australia vs. Brazil - ASA Video
7 p.m. - USA vs. Puerto Rico - ESPN2/ESPN3
Friday, June 29 - Preliminary Day 2
10 a.m. - Brazil vs. Netherlands - ASA Video
12:30 p.m. - Canada vs. Australia - ASA Video
3 p.m. - Netherlands vs. Puerto Rico - ASA Video
7 p.m. - USA vs. Australia - ESPN/ESPN3
Saturday, June 30 - Preliminary Day 3
1 p.m. - USA vs. Netherlands - ESPN2/ESPN3
7 p.m. - USA vs. Canada - ESPN /ESPN3
9 p.m. - Puerto Rico vs. Australia - ASA Video
Sunday, July 1 - Preliminary Day 4
1 p.m. - USA vs. Brazil - ESPN2/ESPN3
3:30 p.m. - Netherlands vs. Australia - ASA Video
6 p.m. - Puerto Rico vs. Canada - ASA Video
8: 30 p.m. - Canada vs. Brazil - ASA Video
Monday, July 2 - Placement Round
2 p.m. - Consolation Match No. 1 - ASA Video
5 p.m. - Consolation Match No. 2 - ASA Video
9 p.m. - Championship Match - ESPN/ESPN3