Miu Goto pitched a three-hit, 11 strikeout shutout to lead the Japanese Women’s National Softball Team to a narrow 1-0 win over world No. 1 USA, in the final game of the Japan All-Star series played on Monday at Yokohama Stadium, stage of the Tokyo 2020 gold medal game. A total of 12,655 fans paid to attend the rubber game of the Japan All Star Series between the two softball powerhouses.
USA outhit No. 2 Japan 3-2 in the game, but the host team managed to score the only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth. Nodoka Harada tripled to leadoff the inning, and then scored the game-winning run on a throwing error.
The WBSC-sanctioned series delivered three one-run ballgames, all of them with exciting finishes, showcasing the parity between the two superpowers that has made it the biggest rivalry in international softball.
After the game, both teams posed together behind an LA 2028 message made of softballs, backing softball’s return to the Olympic programme in Los Angeles.
Less than a month ago, both teams faced off in The World Games final in Birmingham, Alabama, with more than 10,000 at Hoover Met Stadium, the largest attendance of any event in the multi-sport competition.
