JUNIOR WORLD
THURSDAY
Philippines
2,
Czech
Republic
0
Russia
1,
Thailand
0
New Zealand
8,
Korea
0
Argentina
vs
Netherlands
Canada
vs
Thailand
Australia
vs
Philippines
USA
6, Chinese
Taipei
1
Japan
7, China
0
Today’s Games
This morning there are four unbeaten teams; tonight, there
will be just two and the games between the USA and Chinese Taipei in Bracket B,
and, China vs Japan in Bracket A, could have major influence on the elimination
round which begins Saturday.
In the medal round, the #1 team in Bracket A plays the #2
team in Bracket B, while the #1 team in Bracket B plays the #2 team in Bracket
A.
The top four teams in each bracket advance.
For some, the road is definitely uphill.
Argentina
,
Korea
and the
Czech
Republic
have each lost four games, with two games to play.
Thailand
has lost all three games by a total of 37-0.
The
Netherlands
and
New Zealand
each have three losses, with two games remaining and at best can hope for 3-3
records.
Australia
and the
Philippines
in Bracket A and
Canada
and
Russia
in Bracket B are on the bubble.
But, there is a full schedule of games today and tomorrow
to decide the brackets. End
PHILIPPINES
2,
CZECH REPUBLIC
0
Once again, defensive errors took the
Czech
Republic
out of the game, while their offense continued to struggle – 4 runs in four
games, all losses. Five errors, four
at shortstop, gave the Filipinos too many on-base opportunities.
In the 3rd, Joan Locsin reached on an error at
short, and scored on an infield hit by Yocel Aguilar.
Locsin reached on another error at short in the 6th, scoring
on a single by Sheriylou Valenzuela. The
Filipinos had 7 hits to 4 for the Czechs. End
RUSSIA
1,
THAILAND
0
After giving up 37 runs in three games, the Thai almost
came off the schneid. For three
consecutive innings, the Thai had runners on 2nd and 3rd,
but could not score, and lost their fourth in a row.
The Russians improved to 3-1, and remain in contention.
TOURNAMENT POTPOURRI
The official ISF
estimate for this morning’s attendance at the Junior World ceremonies is 5,000
people in the stands, and another 2,000 on the adjacent hillside, or 7,000
people. A crowd almost at
large—and very enthusiastic—watched
China
defeat
Korea
17-0 on Wednesday evening. Notably,
many stayed to watch the
USA
defeat
Canada
6-0.
While a large segment seemed to be rooting for
Canada
, there were strong cheers for the
USA
team, a tribute to the quality of their
play. The inference is that the
Chinese are “good softball people” who enjoy the game.
ISF head Don Porter
informed that the two-stadium complex was built within 10 months, at local
expense.
NEW ZEALAND
8,
KOREA
0
Michelle Kingi pitched a one-hitter and her team battered
Korea
for 8 runs on 11 hits, sending the Koreans down to their fifth defeat –
without scoring a run. Five walks
also aided the Kiwis, who are now 2-3, and, pending the outcome of a later game
between
Australia
and the
Philippines
, could be tied with the Filipinos.
New Zealand
and the
Philippines
meet Friday. End
CANADA
17,
THAILAND
0
Drawing on a one-hit performance by Jordan Keene, Canada
extended
Thailand
’s loss streak to five games. The
Thai have given up 54 runs in five games. A
triple by Noemie Marin was among the 13 blows by
Canada
. Rebecca Rijavic hit a
bases-clearing triple and came home on the fielding error.
Melanie Matthews, Erin McLean both doubled and Noemie Marin tripled.
AUSTRALIA
4,
PHILIPPINES
1
Australia
averages about 4 runs a game; it’s strength is in its pitching.
The Aussies moved to 4-1 with this win, in which Chermai Clews notched 8
Ks and Sharon Bell 4.
The Filipinos had tied the game at 1-all in the 5th.
Australia
scored three runs in the 6th and
Bell
shut down the
Philippines
for the last two innings. Sophie
McGilvray’s 3-run triple was the decisive blow.
This game involved the first use we’ve seen of the new ISF rule on
deliberate walks: if the manager tells the umpire that they will walk a batter,
before the first swing, no pitches are thrown.
UNITED STATES 6,
CHINESE
TAIPEI
1
The
United States
put its four-game winning streak on the line Thursday night against Chinese
Taipei, also undefeated, the winner likely to be the top seed in Bracket A.
Chinese Taipei served immediate notice they were
game-ready. The first batter, Ming
Teng, singled off Lisa Dodd to start the game.
After a sacrifice, Dodd struck out the next two batters.
The
USA
put two runs on the board in the bottom of the 1st.
Caitlin Lowe, the team’s leading hitter, stroked a single to left, and
eventually scored on a passed ball. With
two out, Emily Zaplatosch doubled, Caitlin Benyi singled (rbi), and Desiree
Williams singled, but Benyi was out stealing.
The
USA
made its first mental error of the tournament in the top of the 3rd.
With one out, Lin Hsiu Min singled up the middle and was sacrificed to 2nd.
With two out, Lee Meng Yao bunted, and Dodd fired to first, but Benyi,
playing second, failed to cover 1st, and the run scored.
In the
USA
3rd, Lowe hit her second single, but Norelle Dickson bounced back to
the pitcher who threw to 2nd for the force on Lowe. Jodie Legaspie
ground out to 2nd, and the
USA
tried to score on the play but Dickson was caught in a
3-5-2
rundown.
With one out in the 4th, Benyi singled, the 6th
US hit, to no avail.
Chinese Taipei mounted a two-out rally in the 5th
which roused their many partisans in the jam-packed stadium (with a thousand
more on the hillside). Hsui Min
singled past Legsapi at short, and Lai Meng Ting followed the error, beating out
an infield hit.
Things looked bleak for the home team but Dodd notched her 10th
K to stop the threat.
Lowe collected her third hit in the bottom of the 5th.
Dickson followed with a dying liner to left, two on and two out. Legaspi
doubled past short, and Lowe, who has burning speed, scored.
Zaplatosch greeted CT reliever Chou Pei Hsuan with a two-run double to
left, the
USA
up 5-1, with 10 hits. Benyi jumped
on the next pitch, driving it hard into left center, scoring pinch runner Kristi
Fox, for a 6-1 lead.
CT tried to ignite a rally in the 5th.
Meng Ting got her second hit, an infield single, but a a Dodd K stopped
the effort. With one strikeout to
start the 6th, DH Lin
Mien Fang singled to center. But the
next batter popped to short and Dodd again ended the inning on a K.
With two out in the 6th, Jackie Rinehart beat
out a bunt for a hit, but the CT finally got Lowe out, 4-3.
In the 7th, Dodd notched her 12th and
13th Ks to end the game. Dodd
had 14 Ks. Lowe was 3-4.
Zaplatosch had two doubles. Benyi
was 3-3 with a double. The
USA
has 62 hits in five games.
The final
USA
game is against
Russia
. Regardless of the outcome, the
USA
is assured the Number One seed in Bracket B, and, will almost certainly play
the loser of the contest between
China
and
Japan
.
JAPAN
7,
CHINA
0
The largest crowd of these games – estimated at 7,000 to
8,000 people, many packed onto the hillside overlooking the stadium – came to
watch the battle of the Asian titans. Both
were 4-0, each had given up one run. The
noise was deafening, the heavily-Chinese crowd cheering mightily on every pitch
– and beating drums.
Jiang Jing, the Number Nine batter, got
China
’s first hit, after six Chinese in a row struck out.
Moe Yamazaki, the Japanese ace, was controlling.
Japan
broke the game open with a two-out assault in the bottom of the 3rd.
Naoka Sakamoto singled but was forced at 2nd by Yuir Kashima.
Sayuri Honda walked with two out; Yuri Masuyama beat out an infield hit
to load the bases. The crowd was
then treated to a display of speed. Haruka
Fujino singled to center – and all three runners beat the throw home.
Yamazaki singled in the 4th run.
The huge crowd quieted but just for a few seconds, cheering
on the home team in the top of the 4th – but nothing happened.
These are true softball fanatics.
With one out in the bottom of the 4th,
Japan
brought in Lin Yue’e, who was so effective against
Australia
. Sakamoto, another burner, greeted
her with a triple to right, but did not score.
However,
Japan
added two more runs in the 5th on a single by Honda and two errors,
the latter a dropped line drive in left field.
China
brought in a third pitcher, but Hitomi Sajida hit a deep sacrifice fly,
bringing home the 7th run – for the 7-0 run rule. End
STANDINGS
All teams except
Czech
Republic
and
Russia
have completed 5 games, and have a game remaining. However, Friday’s games
will not change the top seeds from either bracket, but will determine the second
seeds.
Japan
will be the top seed from Bracket A; the
United States
the top seed from Bracket B. Either Canada or Chinese Taipei will be the second
seed from B and the winner of their Friday game will probably play
Japan
in the elimination round. Either
China
or
Australia
could be the second seed from A and the winner of their game on Friday will
play the
USA
on Saturday.
The game Friday between
New Zealand
and
Philippines
will determine the fourth seed from Bracket A.
The game between
Russia
and the
Netherlands
will likely determine the fourth seed from Bracket B.
Theoretically, if
Russia
wins that game, and
Canada
defeats Chinese Taipei, three teams could have the same 4-2 record in Bracket
B.
Russia
has lost to Chinese Taipei but it holds a tie-breaker advantage over
Canada
. Russia could even go 5-1, but, a
Russian upset of the USA is not likely.
Bracket A
Japan WWWWW
China
WWWWL
Australia
WWLWW
New Zealand
WLLLW
Philippines
LWLWL
Korea
LLLLL
Czech Republic LLLL
Bracket B
United States WWWWW
Chinese
Taipei
WWWWL
Canada
LWWLW
Russia
WLWW
Netherlands
LWLLW
Argentina
LLLLL
Thailand
LLLLL
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