UCF Softball Head Coach Cindy Ball-Malone Helps Team USA win Gold at U-19 World Championships

It was a successful week for UCF Knights Softball Head Coach Cindy Ball-Malone and assistant coach Tiffany Jordan, as both were part of the U-19 Women’s Softball World Cup tournament held in Irvine, California.

Ball-Malone was an assistant coach on Team USA, who defeated Japan 4-3 in 8 innings in dramatic, walk-off fashion to win the 2019 World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-19 Women’s Softball World Cup. With the win, Team USA became the first team in history to win three consecutive U-19 World Cup titles, and has seven titles overall.

Ball-Malone handled the pitching staff for a Junior U.S. team that threw an incredible four no-hitters during the week-long tournament.

Ball-Malone was part of the coaching staff that also included Florida Gators Head Coach Tim Walton and Georgia Associate Head Coach Tony Baldwin, who all were working for Washington’s Head Coach Heather Tarr. Ball-Malone worked with Tarr before at Washington, and played for her at Pacific.

Jordan was part of the Canadian U-19 National Team that took home the bronze medal with a 5-4 win over Australia. It is the first time that Team Canada has ever won a medal in a U-19 Softball World Cup.

This is the second time Jordan has been with Team Canada in U-19 World Championships, as she was part of the Canadian staff in the 2017 World Cup in Clearwater.

It has been a busy summer for both as Ball-Malone and the U-19 USA team also took the bronze medal at the International Cup in July. It was the first time that U-19 USA Team won a medal at the International Cup.

Meanwhile Jordan and the Canadian Junior National team participated in the Canada Cup in July, where UCF’s Director of Operations Victoria Hayward and the senior National Canadian team won gold. UCF pitcher Alea White also participated in the Canada Cup as part of the TC-Colorado, a college all-star travel ball team.

Hayward’s international season is far from over. She recently was part of the Canadian National team that took home silver in the Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru, and now gets ready for Olympic qualifiers in Surrey, Canada, starting on August 25th.