Lauren Gibson leads U.S. softball team to title game

Tennessee second baseman Lauren Gibson had two hits and her fourth homer of the tournament for Team USA in a 3-1 victory over Japan in eight innings at the ISF World Championships in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.

The victory put the Americans in Sunday's gold medal game against the winner of Japan and Australia.

"Our pitchers can relax and our players can sit back and wait for someone to come to us,'' Gibson told Sports Canada TV after the U.S. victory.

Gibson hit her home run in the first inning to put the U.S. up 1-0, but Japan tied the game in the third, where it stayed through seven.

In the eighth, she drove in Christie Orgeron with a deep drive to center field.

Keilani Ricketts shutdown Japan in the bottom of the eighth to secure the win.

For the championships, Gibson is hitting .579 (11 for 19) with 12 runs and 11 RBIs. She has reached base in 15 of 23 plate appearances.

"(Today) is just another game," Gibson said. "You just have to go out and play another game. It doesn't matter what name is across the chest, we just have to go out and play our game."