Japan Wins a Seventh Straight Asian Games Gold
Plus: Kylie Holden picks Florida, the AUSL makes its first offseason trade, and fall ball is back.
Japan Wins a Seventh Straight Asian Games Gold
A gold medal in Japan, a trade in the AUSL, and the first fall games of the year.
Lead Off
Japan beat China 7–0 on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Anjō, Aichi, to win its seventh straight Asian Games softball gold and finish the home tournament unbeaten. Japan scored twice in the second and three times in the fourth, when captain Kyoko Ishikawa hit a two-run triple and Kanna Kudo added an RBI single. Starter Miu Goto threw five scoreless innings before the mercy rule ended it. Chinese Taipei beat the Philippines 12–2 for bronze. The quiet star was Yukiko Ueno, 44, who has been part of all seven title teams and said she doesn't expect to be pitching four years from now.
Why it matters: Japan, ranked No. 1 in the world, beat the U.S. for Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 and is the team to beat again with softball back at LA28. Team USA gets an early look in a three-game series against Japan in Nagoya and Naha, Nov. 19–22. Source →
By the Numbers
48 — Straight wins at the World Championship level for the USA U-18 Women's National Team, which hasn't lost a game since 2021. Head coach Kyla Holas will try to extend it at the Pan American Championship in El Salvador, Nov. 21–28. Source · USA Softball / Line Drive Media
Scoreboard
Past two weeks — medals and fall openers
| Final | Note |
|---|---|
| Japan 7–0 China (Asian Games final) | Seventh straight gold, ended early by the mercy rule on Oct. 3 |
| Chinese Taipei 12–2 Philippines (Asian Games bronze) | Ended in four innings |
| Tennessee 15–1 Walters State (fall ball) | Lady Vols' fall opener in Knoxville |
| Tennessee 10–1 Lipscomb (fall ball) | A 2–0 start before hosting Carson-Newman Oct. 2 |
This week — 5 to watch
| When | What | Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Wed Oct 7 | Oklahoma Battle Series 2, 6:30 PM | Love's Field |
| Wed Oct 7 | Washington vs. Edmonds, 5 PM, free | Husky Stadium |
| Fri Oct 9 | Tennessee vs. Northeast Alabama, 6 PM ET, free | Knoxville |
| Sat Oct 10 | Tennessee vs. Northwest Florida State, 1 PM ET | Knoxville |
| Sun Oct 11 | Texas Tech at West Texas A&M, 2 PM | Canyon, Texas |
Hot Corner
1. Kylie Holden, the last uncommitted 2028 five-star, picks Florida
Holden, a shortstop/catcher from Orlando ranked No. 2 in the class, chose Florida over LSU, Ole Miss and Texas on Oct. 2. She was the only five-star left uncommitted in Softball America's 2028 rankings, and she joins a Gators class that already includes catchers Ryann Harris and Brooklyn Evans. Source →
2. Texas Volts make the AUSL offseason's first trade
On Sept. 22, the Volts sent two-way player Aliyah Binford to the Chicago Bandits for a player to be named later. She hit .268 with five home runs in 17 games and had Texas' best ERA, 2.89, as a middle reliever. The AUSL's new offseason tracker will log the moves from here. Source →
3. Fall ball is back: Oklahoma's Battle Series, Tennessee's 2–0 start
Oklahoma plays eight fall dates at Love's Field, four of them Battle Series games. The roster has 21 players: 11 returning letterwinners and nine newcomers. Tennessee opened with wins over Walters State (15–1) and Lipscomb (10–1). Source →
4. Rachel Garcia and Jordan Woolery take the derby to Mumbai
Two AUSL stars are in the field for MLBx Mumbai on Oct. 24, a 3-on-3 home run competition. Rachel Garcia joins the Yankees side with Nick Swisher and cricketer Suryakumar Yadav, and Jordan Woolery joins the Dodgers with Adrián González and cricketer Jitesh Sharma. It's only the second international MLBx event, after London in 2022. Source →
5. Holas, Goler and Walton will coach Team USA's U-18s
USA Softball named Kyla Holas head coach for the U-18 Women's Pan American Championship in San Salvador, El Salvador, Nov. 21–28, with Texas State's Alisa Goler and Florida's Tim Walton as assistants. Holas also led the U-18s to the 2025 World Cup Finals gold. Source →
From the Dugout
Podcast pick: Everything Fastpitch — "Player Focus on Playing in College, In-Depth Interview About Catching, and Live Hitting Practice" (Sept. 30). Bridgewater College catching coach Bobby Humphrey argues catching is undervalued and warns about misleading social-media instruction. Takeaway: Build a young catcher in order: receiving first, then transfer and throwing, then blocking. Listen →
Clip of the week: @ssbperformance — Mental-performance coach Julie Jones on why overthinking a movement you've already trained makes it worse under pressure. It's a short one to save for the next tight game.
Play of the Week
Throwback to that time Morgan Zerkle answered an interview question and made a sliding catch
Last summer, Chicago Bandits outfielder was wearing a mic for an in-game interview when a fly ball headed toward the gap. She answered the question, called for the ball and slid in to make the catch. Multitasking, done properly.
Source: @theauslofficial · Watch the full clip →
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