WORLD GAMES TUESDAY
USA 2, Japan 0
Australia 2, Nethyerlands 0
China 9, Guatemala 2
Chinese Taipei 5, Canada 1
USA 2, JAPAN 0
The USA broke through in the top of the 5th to score both runs. Andrea Duran singled to lead off the inning. Kristie Fox flied out to left. Emily Zaplatosch and Caitlin Benyi drew consecutive walks off Japanese pitcher Ayumi Matsumura, loading the bases. Jodie Legaspi singled to left, rbi. Norelle Dickson singled to left, driving in pinch runner Catalina Morris. With the bases still loaded, Japan retired Caitlin Lowe and Vicky Galindo (who starred at 3rd).
The USA, which did not get a hit until Duran’s single in the 5th, loaded the bases again in the 6th. Sara Dean led off with a single to center. Duran (2-4) singled to left. Fox walked, full boat, no outs. But, Matsumura retired Zaplatosch, Benyi and Legaspi to end the threat.
Dickson (2-4) beat out a slow roller in the 7th which hugged the line and stopped, but was stranded. The USA had 6 hits, and four struck out.
Japan had runners on in 6 of 7 innings, and tagged USA pitcher Alicia Hollowell for four hits and three walks. Hollowell struck out 10.
The most serious threat came in the bottom of the 3rd, when the first two batters reached on infield hits. And, with two out, Saori Shirai drew a walk to load the bases but Hollowell struck out Mayu Obata to end the inning.
Hollowell struck out the first two batters in the game but was not getting calls on her drop. She adjusted and struck out at least one batter in 6 of the 7 innings.
Kumi Suzuki, who drove in the winning run against the USA in the Junior World Cup in China, is on the roster but did not play in this game.
Matsumura had USA batters looking at a number of called strikes, as she painted the corners with a good curve and drop. Hollowell notched some Ks with her changeup, but Matsumura’s change wasn’t working. RFH
CHINA 9, GUATEMALA 2
China scored 3 in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, to take charge early. Leadoff hitter Wang Xue was 4-5, and cleanup hitter Cai Xieging was 3-4 with a double. The starting pitcher was Zhang Lixia.
Guatemala scored both runs in the 3rd. Isabel Molina singled. Stephanie Dacaret singled with one out; Sopia Romero lined into a fielder’s choice, two out. Carolina Pena, Leslie Morales singled, two runs scoring. Gabriele Flores pitched.
CHINESE TAIPEI 5, CANADA 1
Canada leadoff batter Melanie Matthews singled and came around to score, but Canada collected only four more hits to support Cathy Andrijaszyn.
Chinese Taipei responded with three runs in the bottom of the 1st. Three consecutive doubles paved the way. Chen Miao-Yi led with a double; Lai Meng-Ting and Li Chui-Ching followed suit, and Huang Hu-Wen capped the rally with a single.
Chinese Taipei scored two more in the 6th. Chui-Ching and Hu-Wen walked and scored on a double by Chiung Hui-Chuan. The winning pitcher was Lau, Su Hua.
AUSTRALIA 2, NETHERLANDS 0
The Aussies scored single runs in the 3rd and 6th. Amanda Smith, the 9th batter, doubled with one out and scored on an error at short. Kate Quigley reached on an error and scored on Stacey Ritter’s single in the 6th. Jocelyn McCallum pitched the first five innings, giving up the Netherlands’ only hit; Aimee Murch closed.
Yudith Kampen and Sandra Baart pitched for Holland.
End first group
Potpourri
Gary Cunningham, who followed Gene Bartow into John Wooden’s chair at UCLA, and is now an FISU official, is here. Gary is AD at Santa Barbara. Enjoyed reminiscing about the 1954 College All Star Game when Bill Russell and KC Jones propelled the San Francisco Dons onto the national scene. The Furman point guard, OZ White, and I have been good friends lo these many years. His role was to feed Bob Selvy; Gary recalled Selvy pumping in 61 points one game. Former Olympian Michelle Smith, taking leave from playing in Japan, is also here, and spoke to the USA team between games. Karen and Ralph Weekly, the Tennessee coaches, and Saluki coach Kerri Blaylock are also on hand. To watch their pitchers, Monica Abbott and Amy Harre.
To be updated with four more games
Tuesday Update
Chinese Taipei vs USA
Netherlands vs China
Australia vs Guatemala
Canada vs Japan
CHINESE TAIPEI 3, USA 2
Chinese Taipei scored three quick runs in the bottom of the 1st. Miao Yi Chen and Hsiaso-Li Kung singled; Chen scoring; Chiu-Ching Li bunted, and the second run scored on the squeeze at home. Hui-Chuan Chiang singled in the 3rd run.
Monica Abbott allowed only two more hits while striking out 10. Kung, after getting her second hit, was thrown out by USA catcher Heather Scaglione. Another batter reached on an error and one was hit by a pitch. Interesting: potential steals were thwarted by quick throw from Scaglione to Lisa Dodd, sneaking behind runners at 2nd.
Meanwhile, the USA was stymied by Ming Hui Chueh. Andrea Duran singled in the 1st, but the USA did not get another hit until the 6th inning when Vicky Galindo led off with a ground-rule double. Norelle Dickson beat out a bunt. Andrea Duran grounded to 3rd, but Sara Dean crushed a double to drive in Galindo and Dickson. Dean was out trying to stretch her hit into a triple.
In the top of the 7th, Kristie Fox, Jodie Legaspi and pinch hitter Caitlin Benyi went down in order. The USA had 5 hits, 11 for the two games. There were two errors (Fox and Dodd). The USA ends the day 1-1, Chinese Taipei 2-0.
In the night games, Australia won a 10-0
run-rule game over Guatemala to get
off to a 2-0 start.
Also, Canada evened its record by defeating Japan, 5-3. In the bottom of
the
sixth, Japan scored the game’s first two runs, but Canada came back in the top
of the seventh with five runs, before holding off their opponent in the bottom
half of the inning, when they only scored one more time. The winners sent
ten
batters to the plate in the top of the seventh.
And, China and the Netherlands (see photo below) played to the same score, with
China coming out on top after both teams scored all their runs in the seventh
inning. Zhang went the distance for the winners while the Dutch countered
with
Rebecca Soumery and Sandra Baart. With two out in the bottom of the
seventh,
Wang, the offensive star of the team’s afternoon game, drove in China’s second
and third runs to complete the come-from-behind win.