University of Tennessee Athletics
UT Alums, USA Take Silver At Pan Am Games
July 27, 2015 | Softball
TORONTO, Canada -- Tennessee alums Raven Chavanne and Lauren Gibson and the USA Softball Women's National Team earned silver at the Pan American Games on Sunday, falling to host country Canada, 4-2, in an extra-inning final.
"It's tough to coach against good fortune," USA Softball head coach Ken Eriksen said. "We hit the ball really well today, just couldn't catch any breaks. When you hit the ball right at them, it's hard to make things happen. Unfortunate things happened for us while fortunate things happened for them."
After reeling off six straight wins (two over Canada) to reach the title game, the Americans could not muster enough offense in the bottom of the eighth inning to answer Canada's late surge. The teams were locked in a scoreless game through the first seven innings before Canada brought in four runs on two singles and a sac fly in the top of the eighth.
Both UT alums drove in runs in the eighth inning. Chavanne, who went 2-for-4 with one RBI, plated Kellie Fox with a single to left field. Two batters later, Gibson, who hit a single in the fourth and drew a walk in the sixth, drove in Haylie McCleney with a RBI groundout to second to bring Team USA to within 4-2.
Chavanne played in all seven of Team USA's Pan Am Games contests, hitting .455 (10-for-22) with five RBIs, one homer and five runs. Her 10 hits led the team. Gibson played in six games and hit .267 (4-for-15) with one RBI, two runs and two walks.
Chavanne is enjoying an outstanding summer with USA Softball, hitting .526 (20-for-38) with six RBIs, one homer, one double and eight runs in international competition (World Cup of Softball X, Pan Am Games). Gibson is hitting .308 (8-for-26) with four RBIs and seven runs.
Team USA will take a break before returning to action at the Japan Cup in Ogaki City, Japan, from Aug. 7-9. Fans at home can follow along with Team USA all summer long at ASAUSASoftball.com.
