This weekend the Japanese Women’s Softball League will close the 2020 regular season with the last 12 games of the campaign to decide the five teams that will advance to the postseason. The shortened season opened on 5 September, after the cancellation of the first half of the season.
The top three teams in the standings feature the aces of the Japanese, Mexican and US national teams that have qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
On top of the standings, Toyota Red Terriers (8-1) completed its roster with the addition of US ace Monica Abbott, who had to delay her trip to Japan due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Youngster Nozomi Goto, who pitched Japan to win the silver medal at last year’s WBSC U-19 Women’s Softball World Cup, led the team during Abbott’s absence posting a 4-0 record and 1.77 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched.
Second place is shared by defending champions Toyota Shining Vega and Bic Camera Bee Queen, with seven wins and two losses. Mexico star Dallas Escobedo is having a solid season for Shinning Vega with a 7-2 record while posting 0.98 ERA. Bee Queen and Japan national team legend, Yukiko Ueno, has been touched up, with a 3-2 record and 2.41 ERA. Shining Vega holds the tiebreaker between the two teams, since they defeated Bee Queen, 3-2, in eight innings, on 27 September.
Taiyo Yuden (6-3), Honda Reverta (5-4), Denso (4-5) and Ivo Vertz Bank (4-5) are also in the hunt for a spot in the postseason.
The playoffs will open on 7-8 November. The top two teams in a round robin will battle for a spot in the final, with the loser dropping to the semifinal. In the lower part of the bracket, the fourth and fifth qualified teams will play each other to remain alive in the postseason, with the winning squad facing the third-place finisher in the regular season. The winner of this match will advance to the semifinal to play the loser of the 1-vs-2 game. The final is slated for 8 November, 1 p.m. Japan time.
Photo: Bic Camera Bee Queen
