For 14 years, Amanda Asay has been a prominent player for Canada's national women's baseball team.
She's got the medals to prove it. At the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto she helped Canada claim silver. The 30-year-old from Prince George also won hardware at four Women's Baseball World Cups - silver in 2008 and 2016, and bronze in 2006 and 2012.
Ranked last year by Baseball America as the world's seventh-best female player, it comes as no surprise that Asay has been named to the Canadian team roster for the 2018 World Cup in Viera, Fla., Aug. 22-31.
Asay, a graduate of College Heights secondary school who played NCAA hockey and softball at Brown University in Providence, R.I., has been a member of the national baseball team since 2005.
Now based in Vancouver, where she completed doctoral studies in forest ecology at UBC, Asay was named Canada's top female player in 2006 and was nominated that year for the Tip O'Neill Award as the country's most outstanding baseball player.
She's played in international tournaments as a pitcher, catcher, first baseball and designated hitter.
Canada is ranked second in the 12-team tournament, just behind top-ranked Japan and ahead of the third-ranked Americans. Canada opens Aug. 22 against No. 10 Hong Kong.
The Group B schedule also pits Canada against Cuba (Aug. 23), Japan (Aug. 24), Australia (Aug. 25) and Dominican Republic (Aug. 26). Group A consists of Venezuela, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Netherlands and Puerto Rico.
The medal games are scheduled for Aug. 31.
