Venezuela women win softball gold medal at 2017 Bolivarian Games

Venezuela women win softball gold medal at 2017 Bolivarian Games
17/11/2017

SANTA MARTA, Colombia — World No. 16 Venezuela won the gold medal at the Santa Marta 2017 Bolivarian Games, after beating No. 33 Colombia 3-0 in the final.

SANTA MARTA, Colombia — World No. 16 Venezuela won the gold medal in women’s softball at the Santa Marta 2017 Bolivarian Games, after beating No. 33 Colombia 3-0 in the final. A masterful performance by Anyibel Ramírez from the circle allowed the Venezuelan team to climb to the top of the podium. Colombia claimed the silver medal and Panama the bronze.

The Venezuelan team confirmed the predictions and won the gold going undefeated in the Bolivarian Games. Yesterday the MVP was Ramírez, from the pitching circle, with a complete game shut-out with a dominant performance.

Venezuela scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning, with an RBI single by Yuruby Aicart to center field. Ingrid Escobar landed on second base with an error from the short stop, and Alicart brought her home with a hit up the middle of the field. Shortly after, the second baseman scored thanks to a single to center field by Ana Coscorrosa to put the score 2-0.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Venezuela extended their lead, scoring the last run of the tournament. Yaicey Sojo came to the plate and connected a solo homer to the left field pole, to make the score 3-0.

In the top of the seventh, there was only room for Ramirez to finish her masterpiece, taking the last out of these Bolivarian Games with a soft grounder to her hands, assisting to first base and unleashing the celebration of the Venezuelan team.

Venezuela regained the gold medal, after losing the final at the 2013 Trujillo Games against the Dominican Republic, by 1-0. The last time Venezuela had won the gold was in Sucre 2009, beating Colombia in the decisive game by 6-1.

Before the final, in the bronze medal game, Colombia beat Panama by 5-0 to receive a ticket to the gold medal game. The score remained scoreless through the bottom of the fourth inning, when the host team scored three times, and in the fifth added two more. The winning pitcher was Vianys García, while the loss went to Yulissa Mendieta.

The final positions of the women’s softball competition at the Bolivarian Games of Santa Marta 2017 were:

Gold – Venezuela
Silver – Colombia
Bronze – Panama
4th place – Peru
5th place – Bolivia