Steady pitching, clutch hitting power China past Puerto Rico on Day 1
A two-out, two-run single off the bat of Xiaoyan He was all the run support the pitching staff needed.
Behind a solid effort by the pitching staff, No. 11 China defeated No. 4 Puerto Rico, 2-0, in their first game of the Group B. China’s head coach Changdong Tang sent three pitchers into the circle to complete the game with Yinan Chei, Yuchen Wei and Lan Wang limiting Puerto Rico to four hits.
Xiaoyan He produced the only two runs of the game for China. She stepped in the box with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fourth inning, in a close 0-0 game, and the centre fielder responded with a clutch a single up the middle to bring in Min Ren and Jiaxin Xie.
Taran Alvelo started the game for Puerto Rico and was charged with the loss. She pitched 3+ innings, allowing three hits and three walks. She was relieved in the fourth after putting on base the first two batters of the inning, and was responsible for the two runs. Keira Bucher replaced her, pitching four innings with two strikeouts and five hits.
The winning pitcher for China was Yuchen Wei (pictured in the photo) in a two-inning relief appearance, retiring the six batters she faced. Lan Wang saved the game, retiring the last six outs, while allowing one hit.
