BEIJING, CHINA – The second day of play at the International Softball Federation’s (ISF) XI Women’s World Championship began with a bump in the road, but the teams soon were on their way to softball that entertained crowds all day long at the new venue built here for the 2008 Olympic Softball competition.
This morning it was announced that Colombia had withdrawn from the tournament. They had received their visas late, which affected the travel schedule that they’d had. Efforts were then made to seek flights and a new itinerary for the delegation, but at that (late) stage, all indications were that it would only result in an arrival (date/time) that wouldn’t be beneficial, and they decided to withdraw.
Colombia’s Day 1 game had gone in the books as a forfeit (recorded as a 7-0 Botswana win), so this morning’s contest with Australia had the same result, as will be the case with the rest of Colombia’s scheduled round robin games.
Meanwhile, Botswana was on the losing end of a score similar to the one they’d been handed on Sunday, falling today 8-0 to Greece. Stephanie Skegas pitched five innings of three-hit ball as the game ended early due to the (international) run-ahead rule. Right fielder Christa Dalakis (2-for-3 at the plate with two runs batted in) and center fielder Lindsey Bashor (2-for-4, two runs scored, 2 RBI) led the “Hellas” offensively.
Team USA took on DPR Korea in a matchup rarely seen in international softball. The Koreans held their own, shaking off a 4-0 deficit from the first inning highlighted by a Crystl Bustos bases-loaded triple that scored all three runners. The Americans would be held scoreless in the second and third innings, before notching three more runs in the fourth, leading to a run-rule shortened game a half-inning later after DPR Korea again failed to score. Jennie Finch pitched all five innings for USA, holding DPR Korea to just two hits and striking out seven. Bustos finished 2-for-3 with four RBI.
Canada set up a showdown of unbeatens (2-0) on Tuesday when they face USA after the red-and-white downed Great Britain today, 5-1. Three Canadian pitchers combined for a no-hitter going into the seventh inning, when the British finally got into both the hit and run columns. Lauren Bay, Robin Macken, and Danielle Lawrie combined for eleven strikeouts (seven by Bay) and Melanie Matthews went 4-for-4 for the second day in a row to lead Canada’s victory.
Japan also improved their record to 2-0, defeating Venezuela today, 7-1. Japan broke open a 1-0 game with a three-run third inning, and after Venezuela cut it to 4-1 with a tally in the top of the fourth, Japan went right back to work, scoring in the bottom half of the inning, and then getting two more runs in the sixth. Rei Nishiyama went 2-for-2 at the plate for Japan, helping make a winner out of starting pitcher Mariko Masubuchi. Marianella Castellanos, the first of three Venezuela pitchers, took the loss.
In other Day 2 action, New Zealand edged South Africa, 2-0. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning when Melisa Upu doubled to score Kalala Gabriel. Upu was replaced on the base paths by Katrina Stockford, who advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Sheree Cartwright and then scored on a passed ball during captain Fiona Timu’s at-bat. Ali Arnold pitched a complete game for the victory, striking out nine.
This evening, China held off Italy, 3-1, to up the host team’s record to 2-0. China actually fell behind early, only to rally back to victory in front of their vocal home fans.
On the adjacent field, Chinese Taipei was picking up its first win of the tournament, defeating the Netherlands, 7-0. The loss drops the Dutch to 0-2 and they need to shake it off in a hurry, taking on Botswana tomorrow morning, just 15 hours after the game against Taipei will have ended.
