Jan. 11, 2012

BERKELEY - California senior Valerie Arioto earned herself a spot on the 2012 USA Softball Women's National Team, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced Wednesday. Arioto joined 11 athletes in the today's selection. An additional five athletes will be named to the squad, which will compete at the International Softball Federation (ISF) Women's World Championship, following a 2012 USA Softball Women's National Team and USA Softball Women's Elite National Team Selection Camp in June.

In her rookie season with the USA Softball Women's National Team, Arioto started in 24 of 26 games played. At the plate, she was 21-for-57 (.368), hitting a team-high eight doubles, two triples and four home runs. She had 19 runs scored and 21 RBI.

Arioto and her teammates who were named to the 2012 USA Softball Women's National Team helped Team USA to the gold medal at the 2011 World Cup of Softball in July in Oklahoma City and the 2011 Pan American Games in October in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Throughout the spring, additional athletes will be invited to the June Selection Camp, at which the five remaining members of the 2012 USA Softball Women's National Team and the 17-athlete roster for the 2012 USA Softball Women's Elite National Team will be decided. Following the Selection Camp, members of both teams will play each other in exhibition games before beginning competition.

The Women's National Team will compete at the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City, the Canadian Open Fast Pitch International Championship in Surrey, B.C., Canada, and the World Championship in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The Women's Elite National Team will compete at the World University Games in Colorado Springs, Colo. Additional events may be added to the team schedules at a later date.

2012 USA Softball Women's National Team
Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif./Cal senior)
Kaitlin Cochran (Yorba Linda, Calif./Arizona State 2009)
Lauren Gibson (Pasadena, Md./Tennessee junior)
Ashley Holcombe (Fayetteville, Ga./Alabama 2009)
Molly Johnson (Tucson, Ariz./Kentucky 2010)
Stacy May-Johnson (Reno, Nev./Iowa 2006)
Jenae Leles (Sacramento, Calif./Arizona 2009)
Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla./Florida senior)
Keilani Ricketts (San Jose, Calif./Oklahoma junior)
Jordan Taylor (Valencia, Calif./Michigan 2011)
Rhea Taylor (Buford, Ga./Missouri 2011)
Chelsea Thomas (Pleasantville, Iowa/Missouri junior)