Vawter to Compete with USA Softball This Weekend

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina softball transfer Alana Vawter will open play with USA Softball in the Japan All-Star Series on Fri., Aug. 4, in Iwakuni, Japan. The three-game event against Japan includes games on Sunday and Monday as well.

Vawter, who signed with the Gamecocks earlier this week after an All-America career at Stanford, is part of the 16-player squad and one of nine making her USA Softball debut. South Carolina is one of 13 teams with at least one player on that roster.

A 6-foot, right-handed pitcher, Vawter capped her four seasons at Stanford with NFCA All-America honors, capturing a spot on the second team after leading the Cardinal to the Women’s College World Series and posting a 21-8 record with four saves in 40 appearances. Her 1.11 walks allowed per seven innings ranked 24th in the nation, and four shutouts helped deliver a 1.81 ERA. Vawter was dominant in the circle throughout her career, taking up residence in the Stanford all-time top five in career wins (4th, 77), shutouts (5th, 26) and strikeouts (5th, 527), to go along with her career 1.75 ERA. She is a three-time NFCA All-West Region selection and a three-time All-Pac-12 first team honoree.

The Japan All-Star Series features the world’s top two teams in No. 1 Team USA and No. 2 Team Japan. The three games will be played at three major venues that contributed to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Game 1 will take place at Kizuma Stadium (Iwakuni, Japan) – host of the Women’s National Team pre-Olympic training – followed by Game 2 at Azuma Stadium (Fukushima, Japan) and Game 3 at Yokohama Stadium (Yokahama, Japan) – both of which were host venues for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Friday’s game will start at 6 a.m. ET (7 p.m. JST) with Sunday’s game set to start at 1 a.m. ET (2 p.m. JST) and Monday’s at 5 a.m. ET (7 p.m. JST).

The Japan All-Star series began in 2016 and has grown in popularity across Japan throughout its history, including 17.000 fans following the three-day event at Azuma and Yokohama Stadiums in 2022. The U.S. looks to improve on its 1-2 showing in the 2022 event.

Information on the event, including recaps, box scores, live stats links, etc., can be found at: https://www.usasoftball.com/team-usa/competitions/competitions-wnt/2023-japan-all-star-series/. Fans can follow USA Softball on Twitter at @USASoftballWNT and on Instagram at @USASoftball.

For the latest on South Carolina Softball, visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team’s social media accounts on Twitter @GamecockSoftbll, Facebook /GamecockSoftball, and Instagram @GamecockSoftball.