Puerto Rico’s Ace Reflects on U-15 WBSC World Cup and Emotional Win Over USA Softball
Isabella Ortiz has grown up in the United States, playing travel ball for Top Gun National and representing Puerto Rico on the international stage.
However, her performance at the U-15 WBSC World Cup etched her name in the history books for decades to come.
Ortiz secured a historic win over Team US, securing Puerto Rico's spot in the championship game against Japan. Puerto Rico eventually fell to Japan, 1-0.
The two-way star led the tournament in the circle and at the plate.
Still trying to process the Softball World Cup… We came for gold and fell just short, losing to Japan in the final. It hurts — but I’m so proud to bring home silver with this team 🥈
— Bella Ortiz (@BellaOrtiz2029) July 5, 2025
Winning both a pitching and hitting award means the world to me, but I couldn’t have done any… pic.twitter.com/SvONZO9JV5
Ortiz had the best win/loss ratio with a 3-0 record across five appearances, pitching 18.2 innings and allowing a 1.88 earned run average. At the plate, she went 9-for-19 with a .474 batting average, with one home run and 14 runs batted in, tied with Khloe Williams (USA) for the most runs batted in the entire tournament.
Despite the second-place finish for the second consecutive tournament, Ortiz wasn't discouraged.
"I just thought about my pride for Puerto Rico," Ortiz told the WBSC. "We recently lost our coach, and I just thought about playing for him the entire time, so I just put my pride on my back, and that led me throughout the whole game. I feel very excited and overwhelmed about the win. Honestly, I feel you don't have to credit only me. It was a team effort."
🇵🇷🥎❤️ https://t.co/UsVNY30Nha
— Bella Ortiz (@BellaOrtiz2029) July 4, 2025
"Second place is an amazing accomplishment," Ortiz added. "I think we built an amazing bond. I do not believe every team here has that. We were able to come back in situations where other teams wouldn't have. It is a big part of the game knowing that the girl behind you is your backup, no matter what.
"[Overall, the tournament] was an amazing competition. Not only did we have to battle against USA, Japan, and Chinese Taipei, we had to battle against any other team. It was an amazing experience for the team and those around us."
-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.