July 27, 2005

LAS VEGAS - In the championship game of the 2005 Intercontinental Cup held in Madrid, Spain, UNLV's Marissa Nichols showed why she was a First Team All-America and a selection to the USA's Elite Team. Nichols went 2-for-2 at the plate in a 6-0 victory over Italy in the final game for the Elite Team this season.

With the game knotted at zero in the bottom of the second, Heather Scaglione singled to center field to start the Red, White and Blue's six-run offensive. Following a ground out, which moved Scaglione to second, Nichols brought the first run of the game home with an RBI-single to center.

The United States picked up three more runs in the third inning with help from three singles, a couple of wild pitches and a two-run double by Mackenzie Vandergeest.

With a four-run lead, Nichols got one last at-bat for the summer and promptly deposited her first career international home run to right-center to give the U.S. a five-run advantage. A double by Jessica Merchant scored the sixth and final run in the fourth en route to the Elite Team's championship.

In Cup play, Nichols led the Elite squad with a .600 batting average, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .625 on-base percentage. In seven games played she was 9-for-15 at the plate with three doubles and one home run. She knocked in five RBI, while crossing home plate four times, as well.

The Elite Team went 16-2 during its 2005 Season with the Intercontinental Cup Championship and a runner-up placing in the Canada Cup.