Arriola Reflects on Time With USA at the JWWC
CORVALLIS, Ore. – This summer, rising sophomore infielder McKenna Arriola competed in the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Women’s World Championship (JWWC) with the USA Women’s Junior National Team, helping the team to a gold medal finish.
The Stars and Stripes won all 10 contests against various countries, completing a dominant tournament performance with a perfect 10-0 record and an 8-1 win over Japan in the championship.
“Going home with a World Championship was definitely the highlight of an amazing summer,” Arriola said. “This past summer was the most amazing summer of my life. Having the privilege to be a member of the Women’s Junior National Team was the most surreal experience I have ever had. It was awesome to represent my country, play the sport I love and meet a ton of great people.”
Arriola appeared in four games while playing for the Women’s Junior National Team, finishing tournament play with a .500 on-base percentage with four runs scored and an RBI.
“We were all faced with new challenges and very high expectations,” Arriola said. “We got through them together which made us all better players and teammates. After just a week of playing together, it had already felt like we’ve played together for years.”
A native of West Hills, Calif., Arriola completed her freshman season at OSU with a team-high seven bases stolen on as many attempts and placed second on the team with 39 runs scored.
The infielder hit .262 with two home runs and 19 RBI in her freshman campaign. Between her 2015 season and her successful run to the gold medal with the USA Women’s Junior National Team, Arriola looks to build towards a big 2016 season.
“I played against most of these girls in travel ball so having the opportunity to play with them on this USA team was so rewarding,” Arriola said. “I made so many lifelong friends and I learned so many new things – the whole experience is still so mind blowing to me. I couldn’t be more blessed and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my summer any other way then representing the United States of America and my Beaver Nation family.”
