It's a story they might recall in side-by-side rocking chairs 60 years from now. No matter the twists and turns ahead of them, there won't be many nights like Wednesday night for Amanda Chidester and Anissa Urtez, who were engaged to be married last fall.
With chants of "Chiddy Chiddy Bang Bang" drowning out the cicadas in Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium and with U.S. softball players pressing to get their bats going at the Tokyo Olympics, Chidester knocked a two-out single to right on a 1-2 pitch to score Haylie McCleney in the fifth inning of Team USA's 1-0 win over Canada.
.@chiddy3 sends @hayliemac8 across the plate. #TokyoOlympics
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 22, 2021
Fly it, @USASoftballWNT. 🦅 pic.twitter.com/svfHHim1xo
It was all starter Monica Abbott would need. She pitched a complete-game one-hitter and struck out nine.
"Monica gave our offense confidence throughout the game by keeping Canada off the board," Chidester said. "She gave us a little bit more time to get our bats going."
Hours later, Urtez one-upped her fiancée. The former standout at the University of Utah hit the first home run in Mexico softball history -- off none other than Japanese legend Yukiko Ueno.
History for Mexico!
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 22, 2021
This is the first home run in Olympic history for Mexico softball. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/1gSxZlK5Ky
And if that weren't enough, Urtez chased Ueno with an RBI single in the seventh that tied the game 2-2 and sent it into extra innings. Japan, however, would go on to score in the eighth to improve to 2-0.
"I can't wait for this beautiful journey together," Urtez wrote on Instagram in November when announcing her engagement to Chidester.
The journey continues Saturday (1:30 a.m. ET), when their paths will cross at Yokohama Baseball Stadium. Chidester and Urtez will be on opposite sides when Team USA (2-0) takes on Mexico (0-2) as round-robin play continues.
Out and proud softball players @nniiiss_ and @chiddy3 might be partners off the field, but will go head-to-head as competitors next week at the Olympics. https://t.co/nDrcTTRu1W
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) July 16, 2021
