TOKYO – The USA Women's National Team fell to the Japan National Team two games to one in a thrilling three-game series starting on June 22. The Red, White, and Blue captured game two of the series to avoid the sweep. Japan took game one by a final tally of 6-4 and game three by a score of 1-0 in eight innings.

"It is an honor to wear Red, White, and Blue again," Texas State associate head coach Cat Osterman said. "With each day and each game, I am getting more comfortable and finding my rhythm. It has been a great experience getting to know and compete with this team."

Osterman made her first of two appearances in game two of the three-game set. She picked up the victory for Team USA in 4.0 innings of relief. The two-time Olympian took the circle to begin the fourth inning with Team USA up 7-1. She hurled 82 pitches, 49 for strikes, over the final four innings of play. Osterman yielded just two hits, three walks, one hit-by-pitch, and an earned run. She struck out four opposing batters to bring home the 7-2 victory.

Unfortunately, Osterman and Team USA fell just short in the third and final game of the series. Osterman once again entered the game in a relief role as she entered in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on base in a scoreless game. She fanned the first batter she saw in three pitches. Osterman worked around a pair of walks in the sixth inning to keep the game tied before heading into the seventh. She worked an easy 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts to get the game to the eighth still knotted a 0-0.

With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Team Japan placed a runner on second to begin the bottom of the eighth inning. The runner scored two batters later after a sacrifice bunt moved her to third and a suicide squeeze was executed perfectly to plate the game-winning run. Osterman totaled four strikeouts, two walks, and one hit in 2.2 innings of work.

The USA Women's National Team will be back stateside for the biggest of July as hosts of the 2018 USA Softball International Cup. The Red, White, and Blue will compete in 10 games from July 1-7 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga. Team USA will host a loaded field of competition which includes: No. 2 Japan, No. 4 Puerto Rico, No. 5 Mexico, No. 6 Chinese Taipei, No. 8 China, No. 13 Philippines, and No. 20 Peru.

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