Day 9 at the Women’s Softball World Championship

Day 9 of the XIV Women’s Softball World Championship in Haarlem (Netherlands) again started with a brief and heavy rain shower. That led to the delay of the scheduled games in the Championship Round. But when the first game got underway around 2:30pm, it stayed dry. There was sun and there was a great atmosphere in the stadium at the Nol Houtkamp Sportpark in Haarlem.

And so, all games in the play-offs could be played and that not only led to several eliminations, but also the first team to reach the Grand Final. Reigning champion Japan outscored the United States 6-1 in the first semi-final to repeat as finalist.

And so, the 14th edition of the Women’s Softball World Championship is now down to the final three, which are the same three medalist of two years ago.

Game C3: Australia vs. Japan, 0-4 [Box Score]

Japan became the first team to reach the semi-finals with a 4-0 shut out win over Australia. Japan outscored the Aussies 9-2, while Australia committed four defensive errors. With the loss, Australia would have to wait for the outcome of the game between the Netherlands and China to find out who their next opponent would be. Japan had to wait for the conclusion of USA vs. Canada to learn it would face the Americans in the semi-final later today.

The game remained scoreless in the first three innings. Japan got an opportunity in the second inning, but then left runners on second and third base.

In the fourth inning, Japan opened the score with two runs. Eri Yamada led off with a single, moved on a sacrifice bunt and, after a pitching change, scored on a single by Haruna Sakamoto. With two outs, the latter advanced to third base on a single by Rie Nagayoshi, then scored on a throwing error.

The Asian squad doubled its lead in the fifth at-bat, thanks to an one-out single by Misato Kawano and a 2-out single by Yukiyo Mine.

For Japan, Yukiko Ueno again dominated as pitcher. The veteran hurler struck out seven and gave up only two hits in the six innings she pitched. Sayuri Yamane then threw the seventh inning. Ueno retired the first ten batters she faced, then gave up an one-out single to Melinda Weaver in the fourth. With Australia trailing 2-0, Weaver went on to advance to third base, but was left there.

In the sixth, Stacey Porter was the second Australian batter to single off of Ueno, but was stranded on first base. Yamane then retired the side in the seventh, striking out the final two batters.

W-Yukiko Ueno (3-0), L-Vanessa Stokes (2-2).

Game C4: Canada vs. United States, 1-6 [Box Score]

Sixteen minutes after completion of the game between Japan and Australia, the confrontation between Canada and the USA ended. Team USA won 6-1 and with that became the second team to secure a spot in the semi-finals, which were to be played later in the evening. Canada had to wait for the result of the New Zealand vs. Chinese Taipei confrontation to learn whom they would meet in their next game. The USA was to meet Japan in the semi-final later in the evening.

Like the previous game, this match-up also remained scoreless in the first three innings, then both team scored in the fourth. From the fifth inning on, the USA turned the game its way.

The USA, which had left four runners in the first three at-bats, took an 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Samantha Fischer (who went 3-for-4) led off with a single, moved on a sac-bunt and was replaced by pinch-runner Destinee Martinez. The bases then got loaded when Amanda Chidester walked and Kellie Fox was hit by a pitch A single by Haylie McCleney brought in the first run. That led to a pitching change, two fly outs followed and so, the USA left the bases loaded. In the bottom of the fourth, Canada came along side when Carey-Leigh Thomas led off with a single, stole second base, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Erika Polidori.

In the fifth, the USA started to take charge of the game when it re-took the lead thanks to a 2-run homer by Michelle Moultrie. Three runs were then added in the sixth inning. With two outs, Raven Chavanne reached on a bunt single and Kelsey Stewart singled, then Lauren Gibson hit a line drive home run to right centerfield to make it 6-1.

Sara Nevins, who had taken over the American pitching in the fourth, retired the side in the fifth and sixth inning. After having retired nine batters in a row, she gave up a bunt single to Joey Lye, then was relieved by Jackie Traina, who struck out the next batter to end the game.

W-Sara Nevins (2-0), L-Sara Groenewegen (2-1).
HR-Michelle Moultrie (USA) (1), Lauren Gibson (USA) (2).

Game C2: New Zealand vs. Chinese Taipei, 0-3 [Box Score]

Chinese Taipei advanced to the next round by winning 3-0 vs. New Zealand, which was eliminated because of this loss. With the win, Taipei knew it would meet Canada in its next game. Pei Chun Lin batted in all three runs for Taipei. With the loss, New Zealand ended in a tie for seventh place with China.

Both teams had five base hits in this game, but the one hit by Taipei came at the right moment.

Chinese Taipei took an 1-0 lead in the third inning. With one out, Miao Yi Chen singled, moved on a grounder and scored on a 2-out single by Pei Chun Lin, who later stranded at second base herself.

The second run was added in the fifth and again Miao Yi Chen and Pei Chun Lin were involved. This time, Chen led off with a walk, advanced on a failed pick-off and a sacrifice bunt, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Lin.

In the seventh, Chinese Taipei added an insurance run. Yu Han Liu led off with a single, moved on a wild pitch and scored on a 2-out double by Pei Chun Lin, who was credited with third run batted in this game.

Hui Lin Chung made her sixth start for Taipei, went the distance and struck out seven batters. She never allowed a New Zealand runner to reach second base. Three runners were caught stealing by catcher Szu Shih Li and in the seventh inning, the Taipei defense ended the game with a double play. Chung earned her fifth victory of the tournament, one shy of the World Championship record, which is held by Lorraine Woolley (Australia), Nancy Welborn (USA) and Yukiko Ueno (Japan).

W-Hui Lin Chung (5-1), L-Jennifer Feret (2-2).

Game C1: China vs. Netherlands, 5-7 (10 inn.) [Box Score]

The Netherlands and China played a 10-inning thriller, which lasted three hours and two minutes. The Netherlands upset China with a 7-5 win to beat the Asian squad, which finished in the top-5 two years ago in Whitehorse (Canada), in the top-4 in the four Championships before that (1998-2010) and was a top-3 team in 1986 (silver), 1990 (bronze) and 1994 (silver). With this, the Dutch softball-team accomplished a major feat and qualified for the next round in which it will meet Australia. At the same time, it eliminated China, which ended in a tie for seventh place with New Zealand.

The Dutch Team took a quick 2-0 lead in the second inning, but China came along side by scoring runs in the fifth and sixth inning. Jingjing Yuan contributed to both Chinese runs. In the fifth, she scored and in the sixth, she batted in the tying run. And so, China force extra innings.

The Dutch Team re-took the lead in the top of the ninth inning. Tie-break pinch-runner Anne Blaauwgeers moved on a sacrifice bunt, then scored when Nathalie Timmermans belted a 2-out, 2-run home run.

The lead was short lived as China tied the score again in the bottom of the ninth. Tie-break pinch-runner Na Li then first scored on a sacrifice fly by Huan Li. Moments later, a 2-out double by Ying Lu brought in the tying run and so, the game continued with the suspense building.

The Dutch then struck with three runs in the 10th inning off of Lan Wang, who started her sixth game for China. A single by Britt Vonk, triple by Chantal Versluis and double by Jessie van Aalst made it a 7-4 score, leading to a pitching change. This time, the Dutch held onto the lead. In the home half of the 10th, China was able to add only one more run. A great catch in foul territory by Dutch 2B Chantal Versluis ended the game and secured the win.

W-Femke van Dusschoten (2-2), L-Lan Wang (2-3).
HR-Nathalie Timmermans (NED) (1).

Game C5: Australia vs. Netherlands, 8-0 (4 ½ inn.) [Box Score]

Moments after celebrating an upset victory against China, the Netherlands had to face Australia in its next game. This time, the Orange squad was unable to strike again and was shut out 8-0 by the bronze medalist of two years ago in Whitehorse (Canada). With the loss, the Netherlands was eliminated and ended in a tie for fifth place with Chinese Taipei. With the win, Australia reached one of the semi-finals in which it would meet Canada later in the evening.

Australia, which collected eight base hits off of three pitchers, set the tone in the first inning when lead-off hitter Stacey Porter was hit by a pitch and scored on a 2-out single by Chelsea Forkin.

Australia then struck with three more runs in the second at-bat and that more or less decided the game. Erin Thras led off with a single and Leigh Godfrey was hit by a pitch with two outs, then both scored on a double by veteran player Stacey Porter – the team’s leading hitter before today with a .636 batting average. But these were her first runs batted in of the tournament. After a pitching change, Porter scored herself on a single by Melinda Weaver.

Australia again scored three runs in the third inning. With Brenda De Blaes (single) and Belinda White (hit batter) on base, Clare Warwich tripled and went on to score herself on a bases loaded walk. Australia added another run in the fourth inning on a pinch-hit double by Rachel Lack to make it 8-0.

The Dutch Team collected five base hits, including another one by Virginie Anneveld, who also had hit two in the previous game against China to increase her tournament leading total to 14. The Dutch threatened to open the score in the first inning when Britt Vonk led off with a bunt single and Jessie van Aalst singled with one out, but the two were left behind. In the third, Merel Oosterveld led off with a triple, but was also stranded. Then, in the fourth, the Dutch got the bases loaded with two outs. This time, reliever Jocelyn McCallum avoided runs by ending the inning with a strike out.

W-Kaia Parnaby (2-0), L-Femke van Dusschoten (2-3).

Game C6: Chinese Taipei vs. Canada, 1-2 [Box Score]

Canada won 2-1 vs. Chinese Taipei to become the fourth team to secure a spot in the semi-final in which it would meet Australia in the final game of today’s schedule. Chinese Taipei was eliminated and ended in a tie for fifth place with the Netherlands.

In the low scoring game, all runs were scored in the third inning. Canada opened the score with two runs. Sara Hopwood led off with a single, then Larissa Franklin singled with one out. An error on a grounder by Joey Lye loaded the bases and then the first two runners scored when Megan Timpf followed with a single. A pitching followed, an intentional pass with two outs set up a force play, then a fly out ended the inning.

Chinese Taipei got one run back in its third at-bat. Miao Yi Chen led off with a walk, moved on a sacrifice bunt and went on to score on a throwing error. But that was to be it for the Asians, who failed to add more runs, leaving the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth inning.

Jenna Caira went the distance for Canada and struck out eight batters. Hui Lin Chung made her seventh start in an attempt to tie the World Championship win-record. But this time, she threw only 2 1/3 inning and was the losing pitcher.

W-Jenna Caira (2-0), L-Hui Lin Chung (5-2).

Game C7: United States vs. Japan, 1-6 [Box Score]

Japan became the first team to qualify for the Grand Final on Sunday by winning 6-1 vs. the United States. With the loss, the USA now will play in the Bronze Medal game on Sunday against Australia. The winner of that game becomes the second finalist.

Japan collected ten base hits and opened the score in the first at-bat. With two outs, Misato Kawano singled, advanced to third on a double by Eri Yamada and scored when a fielding error followed.

Three runs were added in the next at-bat, again with two outs. Rie Nagayoshi then singled and scored on a single by Yu Yamamoto, which was followed by a 2-run double by Rei Nishiyama.

In the fourth and fifth inning, single runs were scored by Japan on a bases loaded single by Misato Kawano and single by Minami Sato respectively to lift the lead to 6-0.

The lone American run was scored in the sixth inning when Taylor Hoagland walked with two outs, moved on a double by Kellie Fox and scored on an outfield error. The USA failed to score earlier in the game off of Yukiko Ueno, leaving two runners in the first inning, three in the third and two in the fifth at-bat.

Yukiko Ueno started her second game of the day and again threw six strong innings, striking out seven batters and giving up five hits. Just as in the game against Australia earlier today, Sayuri Yamane threw the final inning.

W-Yukiko Ueno (4-0), L-Jolene Henderson (2-1).

Game C8: Canada vs. Australia, 3-7 [Box Score]

Day 9 of the World Championship ended with the game between Canada and Australia. The game started at 11:15pm and had a 3-3 score well after midnight. Australia then rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh to win 7-3 in a game that lasted two hours and 18 minutes and concluded at 1:33am. With the loss, Canada was eliminated and finished in fourth place. With the win, Australia moved on to the Bronze Medal Game on Sunday to face the USA. The winner of that game meets Japan in the all-deciding Grand Final.

After four scoreless inning, Australia scored two runs in the fifth. Clare Warwick led off with a single and moved on a sacrifice bunt. An intentional pass and a walk then loaded the bases and led to a pitching change. After a force out at home, Chelsea Forkin singled in two runs.

A third run was added in the sixth, thanks to a double down the left field line by Leigh Godfrey.

However, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Canada staged a come back and scored three runs to tie the score. Jennifer Yee began with a double and advanced on a wild pitch. Kaleigh Rafter then walked and Caitlin Lever followed with an RBI-single. Two runners then got into scoring position after a sac-bunt and Carey-Leigh Thomas’ single then brought in the next run to narrow the deficit to 3-2. A pitching followed and a grounder by Joey Lye then tied the score, but Canada stranded a runner on third base.

Australia got back on top immediately in its next at-bat, scoring four runs. With runners on first and third base, Belinda White singled in the go-ahead run, then Clare Warwick followed with a 2-run double and Stacey Porter added an RBI-single to make it 7-3.

W-Kaia Parnaby (3-0), L-Jenna Caira (2-1).