JUNIOR WORLD
SATURDAY
ELIMINATION ROUND
China
5,
Russia
0 (A3-B4)
Russia
eliminated
Chinese Taipei 3,
New Zealand
1, (B3 vs A4) New
Zealand
eliminated
Japan
5,
Canada
2 (A1 vs B2)
United States 4,
Australia
0 (B1 vs A2)
SUNDAY GAMES
Canada
vs
China
Chinese Taipei vs
Australia
United States
vs
Japan
CHINA
5,
RUSSIA
0
China
pitchers Yu Huili and Lin Yue’e limited
Russia
to one hit – Olessia Gavrilova in the bottom of the 2nd – while
their teammates ground out 9 hits – including a whallop of a home run by Lee
Donghui in the 6th.
China
also scored single runs in the 3rd and 4th, two in the 5th.
China
got an rbi triple from Lu Yi and an rbi single from Wei Dong Mei.
CHINESE
TAIPEI
3,
NEW ZEALAND
1
For five-plus innings, the Kiwis seemed poised to upset the
higher-ranked
Taipei
team, holding on to a 1-0 lead. But,
an error and a walk in the bottom of the 6th allowed
Taipei
to mount a two-out rally. Lin Hsui
Min reached on an error, the first baseman dropping the ball.
Fu Wei Ping walked. Lin Mien
Fang tripled to right, driving in both runs.
Chin Pei Chun followed with an rbi single, the 5th
Taipei
hit.
New Zealand
, which scored when Kasey Gilmour reached on a pitcher’s throwing error and
came homeon Georgeanna O’Rourke’s single – their only hit, went down in
order in the 7th.
JAPAN
5,
CANADA
2
Defending champion
Japan
, the top seed in Bracket A, took immediate advantage of a Canadian error to put
speedy lead-off batter Sayuri Hnda on base.
Yuri Masuyama followed with a single.
Canada
got a moment’s reprieve when Haruka Fujino ground into a
4-4-3
double play, but Honda scored. Pitcher
Moe Yamazaki tripled and scoed on Hitoma Sajida’s infield hit,
Japan
2-0.
Japan
boosted its lead to 3-0 in the second, and scored again in the 3rd.
Yukie Iwai doubled with one out and scored; next inning, Masuyama
got an infield hit, and Fujino singled for a 4-0 lead.
Danielle Lawrie had come on in relief of Megan MacKenzie and struck out
the last three batters.
Canada
’s bats came alive in the bottom of the 4th, and brought loud
cheers from yet another large crowd. With
one out, Andrea Ground singled; Erin McLean singled; and both scored on Alisia
Norodowski’s single up the middle.
Two outstanding fielding plays aided
Canada
in the top of the 4th. Ayumi
Karino hit a dying liner to right which Melaine Matthews caught at her shoetops.
Up next, Iwai hit a high drive to deep center which Ground caught on the
run.
In the top of the 5th, fast-as-lightning Honda
hit a drive into right field; Matthews slipped slightly, enough that she
couldn’t reach the liner which rolled to the fence, and Honda sped around for
an iinside-the-park homer.
Japan
5-2.
Noemie Marin, whose sparking play at shortstop was a
critical factor in the previous night’s 1-0 (8) win over Chinese Taipei, kept
Canadian hopes alive in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out single to center.
But, Jesse Sigurdson ground back to the mound.
Japan
stretched its lead in the top of the 7th.
Masuyama bunted for a hit; Fujino was safe when her bunt was misplayed;
and Yamazaki reached on a dropped 3rd strike.
Canada
cut off the throw to 1st but the relay back to the catcher missed
the speeding Masuyama who scored
Japan
’s sixth run.
Canadian catcher Jessica Morris then accomplished something
no other catcher has yet done to
Japan
in this tournament: she picked Fujino at 3rd – and the crowed
roared its appreciation. The next
batter singled, but
Moore
held her ground, took the throw, and tagged out the runner from 3rd
at home plate.
Down 6-2, Morris capped these heroics with a single to
right field. The effort went for naught, but
Canada
had put a good fight, with much to savor, as it prepares for the next round on
Sunday when it plays
China
. End
USA
4,
AUSTRALIA
0
They brought their best:
America
’s Monica Abbott and
Australia
’s Jocelyn McCallum.
Leading off the game, Caitlin Lowe walked, but Jackie
Rinehart and Norelle Dickson struck out. Emily
Zaplatosch walked – the
USA
batters noticeably laying off McCallum’s high rise, and Caitlin Benyi flew
out to right. In return, Abbott
struck out the side to end the inning.
Both sides retired in order in the 2nd; each
pitcher adding a strikeout.
The teams each put a runner on in the 3rd.
Jodie Legaspi reached on an error, her drive caroming off the
shortstop’s glove. Lowe ground
into a fielder’s choice. Rinehart
also hit into a fielder’s choice, and was then cut down stealing.
Australia
’s Rachel Love reached on a bunt, when Benyi, playing 2nd, dropped
the ball at 1st. Two
sacrifice bunts put Love on 3rd but Abbott struck out Michelle Andrew
for the second time. 0-0
Dickson nailed the first hit of the game, a single to lead
the 4th. The second
hit was a doozy, Zaplatosch driving a pitch over the fence in straight-away
center for a 2-0
USA
lead. Benyi smacked the first pitch
over the wall in left center and the
USA
lead 3-0. Benyi drove a low rise
out, and drove McCallum off the mound.
Australia
brought in curve-ball artist Tarryn Lambert.
Desiree Williams launched another rocket but right fielder Andrew was
able to run under it. Lisa Dodd
ground back to the pitcher, but the umpire signaled illegal pitch; Dodd struck
out. Duran popped to the catcher.
(The USA was primed to attack the
low rise; McCallum used a curve and drop effectively in the first two innings,
but needs a change-up The USA team
showed discipline, not only in laying off the high rise but also laying off the
outside curve – both of which
McCallum used to strike out 14 of Japan’s hard-hitting team.
McCallum had to bring the curve in, and said after the game the pitch she
threw Zaplatosch was a curve which didn’t break enough.)
Australia
got its first hit in the bottom of the 4th – Kylie Cronk bunted
for a hit. Lisa Lindsay ground back
to Abbott who threw to Dodd at short for the force.
Heather Southwood became Abbott’s 6th K and Nicole Smith
popped to Zaplatosch.
The
USA
went down in order in the 5th. Abbott
shut down the Aussies as well, the last two batters on Ks (8).
Dickson opened the
US
6th with a single but Zaplatosch ground into a
1-6-3
double play. Benyi lined out to
left. Abbott shut down the
Australians again, with two more Ks. 10
Williams jacked the fourth pitch over the wall in right
center to start the 7th. The
USA
now had four runs on five hits, three of them home runs.
Lambert retired the next three batters, with Lowe and her six game
hitting streak on deck. Lowe was
0-2.
Abbott struck out the first batter in the
Australia
7th. Benyi raced behind 2nd
to catch a fly for the second out, her second running catch deep in the grass.
Abbott struck out the final batter to end the game – with 12 Ks – and
a one-hitter. The
USA
ended with 4 runs on 5 hits, and gave up 5 Ks.
The
USA
has hit nine homers in seven games; Williams
and Benyi have three each; Zaplatosch has two; Legaspi one.
The
United States
will now play
Japan
on Sunday, with the winner automatically going to the Gold medal game on
Monday. The loser goes to the Bronze
medal game, with a chance to advance to Gold.
Australia
plays
Taipei
on Sunday. The winner of that game
plays the winner of Sunday’s Canada-China
game in the final game Sunday night, with that winner going to the Bronze medal
game to meet the loser of the USA-Japan game.
Footnote: Monica
Abbott, who was Most Valuable Player in the Junior World games in
Mexico
, has achieved the kind of dominance on the mound enjoyed by only a few
college-level pitchers. Abbott has
faced 54 batters, and struck out 35, while giving up just three hits and no
runs.
(Footnote: with some
coaching by the American parents, the Chinese students who throng the stadium
are getting the hang of the wave.)
Photos
Desiree Williams
Homers for
USA
Monica Abbott
Interview
Rinehart
Mother and Daughter
End
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