GB Women's Team player Stacie Townsend
has been included by a US-based organisation called The Fastpitch School as a member of the TFS All-World Softball Team, selected following the conclusion of the biennial ISF Women's World Championships in Whitehorse, Canada last month.
The team, selected by a panel of international coaches, consists of four pitchers, one catcher, four infielders, three outfielders, two designated players, and two coaches and will be announced following the completion of each ISF World Championship.
Designated player
Stacie Townsend, who was second in the World Championships in batting with a .600 average and led the competition in innings pitched and strikeouts (38), has been selected as a Designated Player for her contributions in the pitching circle and at the plate.
She is one of only two players selected from Europe (along with Britt Vonk of the Netherlands), and Stacie is the only player selected from a team outside the world's top six.
Team leader
Stacie Townsend first joined the GB Women's Fastpitch Team as a 17-year-old in 2005, but she began to come into her own as a pitcher, batter and team leader in 2007, after she had completed her first year as a player at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP).
Since then, Stacie has led the GB Women to second and third in successive European Championships and to two World Championship qualifications. The GB Team finished 11th in the 2010 World Championships in Venezuela and again in the 2012 competition in Whitehorse, an amazing achievement for a programme with no public funding and a tiny player pool.
During her college career, Stacie set every pitching record in UTEP softball history, and was the team leader for her school as she has been for GB Softball.
Stacie played her last game for GB at the World Championships in Whitehorse – she is retiring from the sport to concentrate on her law degree at the University of Iowa.
All-World Team
The TFS All-World Team consists of the following players:
Pitchers
Wang Lan (China)
Kaira Parnaby (Australia)
Yukiko Ueno (Japan)
Keilani Ricketts (United States)
Catcher
Yukiyo Mine (Japan)
Infielders
Stacey Porter (Australia)
Rei Nishiyama (Japan)
Britt Vonk (Netherlands)
Sheena Lawrick (Canada)
Outfielders
Eri Yamada (Japan)
Michelle Moultrie (United States)
Caitlin Lever (Canada)
Designated Players
Stacie Townsend (Great Britain)
Kaitlin Cochran (United States)
Coaches
Reika Utsugi (Japan)
Ken Eriksen (United States)