Retribution.

In the Japan All-Star Series, the U.S. Women’s Elite Team was swept and outscored 18-6 across three games by Japan.

Now, the spotlight is on the U.S. Women’s National Team.

The Stars and Stripes will have the opportunity to avenge their fellow teammates and live up to their world No. 1 ranking.

Team USA is slated to compete at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s World Cup Finals from July 15-21 in Castions di Strada, Italy. The tournament will feature eight of the best softball teams in the world.

The Eagles were drawn into Group A alongside No. 5 Canada, No. 6 Italy and No. 15 China. Group B features four other teams, including global powerhouses No. 2 Japan and No. 3 Puerto Rico.

The top two teams from each group will compete in the Super Round and the winners of the two semifinal matchups will face off in the Medal Round with the chance to earn world glory.

The U.S. National Team features four players from the 2020 U.S. Olympic Softball Team, eight returners from the 2023 WBSC World Cup Group A Stage 1 and four UCLA alumni including Maya Brady, Ally Carda, Megan Faraimo and Rachel Garcia.

Carda – the most experienced of the group – played in Westwood from 2012-2015 and earned back-to-back Pac-12 Player of the Year honors and was named an NFCA First Team All-American during her tenure.

The self-proclaimed “grandmother” of the group is grateful to play with the newer generations of Bruins.

“They truly walk the walk, and they play with so much passion,” Carda said. “They’re also just awesome human beings and its been really fun to be able to not only just see it from afar, but get to experience them every day.”

Former Bruin pitcher Garcia joins the Elk Grove, California, local as two of four Olympians returning to the 2024 WBSC Women’s World Cup Finals roster.

Garcia – a back-to-back winner of the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Award – played for the Bruins from 2017-2021 and had a career 1.43 ERA. The Palmdale, California, local notched 99 wins and 996 strikeouts during her career.

Carda and Garcia are joined by more recent UCLA graduates Brady and Faraimo.

Faraimo – a two-time Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and three-time NFCA All-American – pitched for the Bruins from 2019-2023 and finished her career with a 1.44 ERA, and 1,000 strikeouts, only losing 16 times.

Brady – a five-year offensive stalwart – finished her Bruin career with a .384 batting average, 279 hits and 246 RBIs. Brady’s 71 career home runs are second all-time in program history, 19 home runs behind Bruin legend Stacey Nuveman. The shortstop was a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year and a three-time NFCA All-American.

While the group enjoyed the familiarity of playing with fellow Bruins, the opportunity to compete with former opponents allowed the team to grow.

“We all have just a mutual respect for each other and appreciation for where we all are individually in our own careers,” Faraimo said. “It’s pretty easy to circulate that knowledge and to again, just grow the sport, even though we do come from very different programs.”

The U.S. Women’s National Team heads into the tournament as the reigning champions. The Eagles took their world-leading 12th title in 2022 after a 3-2 victory over Japan.

While success in the WBSC Women’s World Cup Finals is paramount, Faraimo said inspiring future generations of softball players is more important.

“I’ve always played for the little brown girls that look like me,” Faraimo said. “It’s important that all the little girls feel represented, and they have women to look up to who are doing incredible things, but especially for the people I’ve been playing my entire career, for those little girls, it’s such an honor and incredible feeling.”

Email Dullinger at [email protected] or tweet @CDullyDB.