IX WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Day 5: USA, Mexico, Canada advance to Finals 2024

With all Friday games postponed due to rain in Thunder Bay, the IX WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Group A returned to Port Arthur Stadium for Day 5 of competition. With their victories on Saturday, USA, Mexico and Canada are all set to take the top three positions in the final standings, securing their tickets to the Finals 2024 early with one more day of round-robin play remaining.

USA punched their ticket for next year's Finals with a 29-0 win over Hong Kong, China. A 20-run first inning decided the game. With a 4-0 record, USA secured a place in the top-three and on Sunday will aim to finish on top of the Group A standings with an undefeated record.

USA punched their ticket for next year's Finals with a 29-0 win over Hong Kong, China. A 20-run first inning decided the game. With a 4-0 record, USA secured a place in the top-three and on Sunday will aim to finish on top of the Group A standings with an undefeated record when they play Mexico.

In the second and third games, Mexico secured their third consecutive victory with a 10-0 six-inning victory over Korea, while Canada triumphed over Australia 11-7, confirming Mexico and the host team's qualification to the Finals, as they will finish in the top three positions in the tournament.

The Technical Commission also announced the schedule for Sunday on the games that were postponed last Friday. USA will take on Mexico at 11:30, Australia and Hong Kong, China will face off at 15:30 and the closing game between Korea and Canada will be at 19:30.

Canada vs Australia

Canada took the lead in the top of the third inning. Australia starter Genevieve Beacom walked three hitters to load the bases, and then Alexane Fournier hit a two-out single to centre field to give her team a 2-0 lead. Zoe Hicks then also crossed the plate on a wild pitch.

In the bottom half of the inning, Australia got on the board with a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases before Leah Cornish and Lili Pearl drew a walk to produce Australia's first two runs. A nice diving catch by Eli Day-Bédard ended the inning with Canada leading 4-2.

A five-run fifth inning turned around the score for Australia. With the bases loaded and no outs, Raine Padgham replaced Allison Schroder on the hill, but could not prevent Leah Cornish's single to the right field to make it a one-run ballgame. The reliever retired the next two batter she faced, but Australia's third baseman Caitlin Eynon hit a go-ahead RBI single to give her team the first lead of the game. Abbey Kelly capped the inning with a two-run single to make it 7-4.

In the top of the sixth, Canada mounted a three-run rally to tie the game again 7-7. Sena Catteral ignited the offence with a lead-off triple and scored on a sacrifice fly. After that, Alizée Gélinas and Zoe Hicks singled, and moved to scoring position on a wild pitch. They both scored on an infield hit by Alexane Fournier.

Canada secured the win with another three-run rally. Madison Willan grounded to third with the bases loaded to score the go-ahead run, and two pitches later Alizée Gélinas produced a pair of insurance runs with a single. Alexane Fournier drove in the last run of the game with another single. She collected five RBIs.

Korea vs Mexico

Mexico took the lead with a three-run first inning. Two runs scored on a pair of wild pitches, while Diana Ibarra knocked in Edith de Leija with a single. One inning later, they added one on a defensive error by the catcher.

Mexico added four more in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of an error, a fielder's choice and a pair of RBI hits by De Leija (she went 3-for-4 from the plate) and Denise Perez.

Mexico won it in the sixth inning, where their ninth run was an RBI single by Liliana Segovia, while the 10th and final run was drove in by a Liliana Segovia sacrifice fly.

USA vs Hong Kong, China

USA jumped ahead early in the game. With no outs in the first, Team USA scored seven times, including a two-run homer by Alex Hugo, and a two-run single by Jade Gortarez. They sent 25 batters and scored 20 runs in the first.

After two quick outs, USA added two more runs in the second, with three consecutive hits and a pair of hits by pitch.

In the fourth, USA scored four runs, highlighted by a three-run homer off the bat of Jamie Baum over the right field fence. USA went on to score seven to make it 29-0.

USA became the first national team to clinch the spot in the Finals 2024 from Saturday's fixtures, with a 29-0 win over Hong Kong, China. Team USA's record is now 4-0, which secured them one of the first two spots in the final standings.

Pregame

The weather forecast shows a cloudy day with highs of 21, a bit lower than the previous days in Thunder Bay. 

In the first game of the day, USA will square off with Hong Kong, China at 11:30. A win for USA will guarantee their presence in next year’s Finals; while for the Asian team is the last opportunity to remain in contention. Kelsie Whitmore will be the starter for USA, while Hong Kong, China will send Wai Yin Michelle Lam, since Choi Shee In, who was announced on Friday as the starter of the game, was scratched from the lineup due to illness.

The second game of the day will see Korea and Mexico playing a critical game for their ticket-punching aspirations. Korea need to win the two remaining games, and wait for other results, to still get a chance to be in the Finals 2024. On the other hand, a victory will put Mexico one step away from the Finals. Rosa Maria del Castillo will be Mexico’s starter, while Korea will send Minsung Park. First pitch at 15:30 local time.

The last game of the day between Canada and Australia will be a battle. The host team aims to bounce back from Thursday’s loss against USA, while Australia need a win to keep themselves alive in the race for a ticket. The hosts will start with Allison Schroder, while Genevieve Beacom will be Australia’s starting pitcher.

More info

• Where to watch.
• Day 1 recap
• Day 2 recap
• Day 3 recap
• Six teams participating in two groups. Top two teams from each group “punch a ticket” to the Finals next year. Learn more about the tournament format here.
• Check out the Group A preview.
• Group B in Miyoshi City, Japan, sees hosts and world No. 1 Japan; No. 2 Chinese Taipei; No. 5 Venezuela; No. 7 Cuba; No. 9 Puerto Rico and No. 16 France in action from 13-19 September. 
• IX WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals to be played in 2024 in Thunder Bay, Canada.
• Meet Thunder Bay, host of the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Group A