Mendoza Finalist for the WSF Sportswoman of the Year
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Amateur Softball Association is pleased to announce that USA Softball’s very own Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) is a finalist for the Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year. Vote TODAY for Mendoza, as she helped lead the USA Softball team to a silver medal finish at the 2008 Olympic Games and has been a major staple through the 2008 season.
Mendoza started in all nine games of the 2008 Olympic Games at left field, hitting .333 (8-for-24). She scored 10 runs with four homeruns. She contributed nine RBI while remaining perfect in the outfield. Her four homeruns help set a new Olympic Record for most homeruns in Olympic games by a team with 15. Mendoza is not only a leader inside the lines buts also outside. Just moments after the Gold Medal Game, where the team was dealt a devastating loss Mendoza reached out to the Gold Medalists Japan team and Bronze Medal Australian team. Together they formed the statement ‘2016’ with softballs and joined together chanting “Back Softball, Back Softball”, hoping to make a statement for the future of the sport.
Throughout the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour, where the team barnstormed the Nation playing exhibition games, Mendoza hit .495 with a team high 89 runs scored with 107 RBI. She was also perfect in left field in 59 games played.
An activist at heart, Mendoza started out the year going on a U.S. Army Goodwill Tour of Afghanistan where she visited troops there. She is also about to embark on a European Tour where she will help assist development in European areas where the sport needs growth as an effort to get softball back in the Olympic Games.
Athletes were considered for the 2008 award based on their athletic achievements between August 1, 2007, and August 24, 2008. Criteria include championships won, records set and awards won. Voting has begun and will conclude September 2, 2008. Please vote today at www.womensportsfoundation.com.
The awards will be presented, at the Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner on October 14, 2008 at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City.
