OKLAHOMA CITY — Utah Valley softball alum Linnah Rebolledo and the Mexico national team punched their ticket to the WBSC World Cup Finals this week following a second-place finish in the group stage at Devon Park in Oklahoma City from Sept. 12-16.
Mexico bounced back from an 0-2 start to win four of its final five games in the six-team group that included the United States, China, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Brazil. Rebolledo appeared in six of the team's seven games with four starts, all in left field.
The team started off play with an 11-0 run-rule defeat to the U.S. before falling 2-0 in a pitchers' duel to the Netherlands. Mexico bounced back with a pair of resounding wins over Brazil and New Zealand, 9-2 and 10-3 respectively, before dropping the opening round finale to China, 2-1.
Mexico advanced to the playoffs by virtue of its fourth-place finish in the opening round, where it was able to avenge its prior defeat to the Netherlands with a 7-0 triumph. The finale pitted Mexico against China, which was a thrilling back-and-forth affair that saw four lead changes. Mexico picked up a run in the fifth and the sixth to pull ahead and win, 8-6, securing an automatic spot in the finals.
With the win Mexico advances to the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals, which will be held in Redcliffe, Australia from April 5-11, 2027. Rebolledo and Mexico will face off with the U.S., China, Australia, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico and Chinese Taipei in the finals, while also trying to secure their place in the 2028 Olympics.
Since graduating from Utah Valley in 2022, Rebolledo has continued playing at the professional and international level. Rebolledo joined the Mexico national team in the fall of 2022, then was a founding member of the Liga Mexicana de Softbol, Mexico's first professional softball league, in 2024. Rebolledo was drafted by Charros de Jalisco and helped the team win the league's first-ever championship. Rebolledo now plays for El Águila de Veracruz, and will be entering her fourth professional season in February.
