Kelsey Stewart hit a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh to complete a late-inning come from behind victory for USA against arch rivals Japan, in their last game of the Olympic Games Opening Round. Ally Carda pitched 5.1 innings with no earned runs allowed. Both teams will face each other again tomorrow with the gold medal at stake.
In the top of the first inning, a pair of poor defensive plays cost USA the first run of the game. Saki Yamazaki grounded hard to third base and Kelsey Stewart couldn’t field the ball cleanly, allowing the Japanese center fielder reach first base. She advanced on a bunt, and Hitomi Kawabata singled over the shortstop’s head to leave runners in the corners. One out later, a passed ball by Aubree Munro allowed Yamazaki score the 1-0 run from third base.
Both offenses struggled to make any headway during the first five innings, with no earned runs allowed in that span. Carda and Yamato Fujita silenced the opposite lineups and kept the ball game within a one-run difference.
Fujita pitched 5.1 hitless innings before Haylie McCleney and Janie Reed hit back to back singles in the sixth. With two outs and runners in the corners, clean up hitter Valerie Arioto sent a 2-2 pitch into the left field to deadlock the game at 1-1. Moments later, Fujita walked Ali Aguilar to load the bases before Delanye Spaulding went close to a home run, making the third out on a fly ball in front the right field wall.
In the bottom of the seventh, Stewart hit a walkoff bomb to right field to end the game and give USA their fifth win in the Opening Round. Almost three years ago, she hit a walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning of the WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship 2018 final in Chiba against Japan, to give her team the world title. Today, she used a homer to end the game against the second-ranked team in the world and secure the first place in the standings.
The victory was for Monica Abbott, who pitched a perfect seventh inning. Carda tossed 5.1 frames allowing 4 hits and 1 unearned run, with 9 strikeouts. Cat Osterman entered in the sixth inning to face left-handed hitters Yuka Ichiguchi and Hitomi Kawabata, striking out both of them.
Fujita was charged with the loss in 6+ innings of work, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs while striking out 4.
USA finishes the Opening Round with a perfect 5-0 record, while Japan closes in second place with 4-1. Tomorrow, these two teams will play for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medal in Yokohama, at 8:00 p.m. local time.
The last time softball was in the Olympics at Beijing 2008, USA beat Japan 4-1 in the semifinals before Japan gained revenge in the final winning 3-1 with the same pitchers likely to feature again - Yukiko Ueno for Japan and Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman for USA:
