Malibu Softball Player Heading to Israel With U.S. Team

Jamie Samuel of Malibu has been selected along with 14 other women to play with the United States softball team in Israel as part of the 19th World Maccabiah Games.

“It’s quite an honor to represent the U.S. and to be able to showcase a sport that was taken out of the Olympics,” Samuel said. “We have a chance to put softball back in an international light and hopefully create future opportunities for the sport.”

The Maccabiah Games will be held in Israel beginning July 17.

The women on the team were selected from a field of 50 athletes. 

“These young women are top level athletes and they have an outstanding coaching staff that will guide them through the competition and cultural experience of the Maccabiah Games,” said Fred Cohen, Maccabi USA sports director. “The camaraderie and bonding they will experience will provide memories that will last a lifetime.”

Maccabi USA strives to provide Jewish athletes the opportunity to share their heritage and customs in competitive athletic settings. 

Samuel, a 2009 graduate of Malibu High, is a senior at Kenyon College in Ohio.

Through her three seasons on Kenyon's softball team, Samuel has a .411 batting average, with just five strikeouts in 331 at-bats. As a junior she set the school's single-season records for batting average (.471), doubles (19), and RBI's (41).

She has played several positions, including shortstop, third base, catcher and pitcher.

Samuel has collected many accolades in her career. She has been a two-time Jewish Review All-American, a two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region honoree, a two-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference first team selection and the 2010 NCAC’s Newcomer of the Year.