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Olympic Softball Recaps - 24 July (Day 5)

Preliminary Round

AUS vs. NED

Australia Edges Out Netherlands in Pitching Duel in Softball:

Jennifer HOLLIDAY, Australia, and Anouk MELS, Netherlands, locked up in a pitcher's duel that was decided by a Joyce LESTER RBI single in the top of the eighth inning that allowed Australia to slip by the Netherlands, 1-0 in Olympic softball action.

HOLLIDAY and MELS threw brilliantly, with both pitchers blanking the opposition through the first seven innings. The Australians finally broke through against MELS in the eighth inning. Kim COOPER opened the inning with a double. LESTER singled to centerfield and COOPER raced home to beat the throw by centerfielder Anita KOSSEN. The hit marked the third hit of the contest for the 38-year old catcher from Australia.

HOLLIDAY picked up the win, surrendering two hits in her eight innings while MELS was the hard-luck loser, allowing only one run on six hits.

The win evens Australia's mark at 2-2, leaving them in the thick of the round robin tournament. The Australians meet Japan at 11:30 Thursday. The Netherlands drops to 0-4, and will play at 9:00, against the Chinese in the first game of Thursday's Olympic softball competition. Final Score: AUS 1 - NED 0

"Nobody said today was going to be easy," said LESTER. "The Dutch played us well, but HOLLIDAY pitched awesome today. We just need to go out and do it again tomorrow."


Preliminary Round

CAN vs. JPN

Japan Knocks Off Canada in Softball 4-0:

Japanese pitcher Juri TAKAYAMA shutout Canada to lead Japan to an important 4-0 victory in Olympic softball competition at Golden Park, in Columbus.

The game marked a key match-up in the round robin tournament with both clubs entering tied for second with a 2-1 mark. The winner keeps pace with China, who beat Puerto Rico, 10-0 in action Wednesday. The loser would drop into a tie with Australia in the battle for the final spot in the medal round with three games remaining.

Japan struck first, scoring in the first inning off Canadian starter Debbie SONNENBERG. Haruka SAITO opened the inning with a single to rightfield. Following a sacrifice bunt and a ground out, SAITO scored on a double to deep centerfield by Yoshiko FUJIMOTO.

Emi TSUKADA added to the Japanese lead with a one-out home run against SONNENBERG in the fourth inning. The blast to rightfield scored FUJIMOTO, who reached on a walk. Chika KODAMA tripled down the leftfield line to keep the Japanese rally alive. Naomi MATSUMOTO then greeted Canadian reliever Karen SNELLGROVE with a single to score KODAMA to up the lead to 4-0.

TAKAYAMA held Canada scoreless to record the win, scattering five hits. SONNENBERG took the loss for Canada, allowing all four runs in 3.1 innings. SNELLGROVE held the Japanese scoreless in the final two frames.

The win ups Japan's record to 3-1. They match up with Australia (2-2), in a 11:30 game Thursday. Canada falls to 2-2, and drops into a tie with Australia. The Canadians, picked to win the gold medal by Sports Illustrated, meet the United States (4-0), in a must-win game Thursday night at 21:00. Final Score: JPN 4 - CAN 0


Preliminary Round, Pool Play

CHN vs. PUR

China Pounds Puerto Rico in Softball:

The People's Republic of China defeated Puerto Rico, 10-0 in five innings behind power hitting and strong pitching in Olympic softball competition.

The Chinese bats came alive in the second inning, scoring five runs against Puerto Rico's starting pitcher Lisa MIZE. TAO Hua opened the inning with a home run to centerfield, and China then loaded the bases on two walks and an error. CHEN Hong scored the second run on a throwing error. ZHANG Chunfang then doubled to plate WEI Qiang. LIU Xuqing made the score 5-0, driving in two more runs with a triple.

In the third inning, TAO hit her second solo homer of the day to tally another run for China. The Chinese picked up four runs in the fourth inning to up the score to 10-0. TAO drove in her third run of the day with a RBI single to centerfield. WANG Ling and YAN Fang added RBI singles.

While TAO and the rest of the Chinese hitters collected 11 hits, MA Ying was stifling Puerto Rico's hitters. MA worked five innings, surrendering only one hit and striking out 10. Jaqueline ORTIZ singled with one out in the fifth inning to be the only hitter to reach base against MA in the contest.

The win improves China to 3-1, to hold its spot in second place in the round robin tournament. Japan (2-1), and Canada (2-1), meet Wednesday night at 21:00. The winner of that game remains tied with China for the second position. China's next competition is a 9:00 game against Netherlands (0-3) on 25 July. Puerto Rico (1-3), next faces Chinese Taipei (1-3) in the 18:30 game tomorrow at Golden Park in Columbus. Final Score: CHN 10 - PUR 0 (Five innings)

"Our pitching wasn't great today, but you can't win if you can't hit. said Puerto Rico's second baseman Lourdes BAEZ. "The pitching staff and the hitters have to come alive in order for us to win."

Softball Preliminary Round Pool Play

TPE vs. USA

CORNELL's Blast Continues United States' Roll in Softball:

Sheila CORNELL's two-run home run off TU Hui-Ping in the third inning was the decisive blow in the United States' 4-0 victory over Chinese Taipei in the fourth day of Olympic softball competition.

The United States opened the scoring in the first inning when Dorothy RICHARDSON walked to start the game. She moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Danielle TYLER. RICHARDSON scored following a Lisa FERNANDEZ single. The USA added another run in the second inning off starter TU Hui-Mei when Michele SMITH opened the inning with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Shelly STOKES.

The big blow came when CORNELL came to bat with Kim MAHER on and one out in the third inning. The USA first baseman promptly drove reliever TU H. M.'s offering into the bleachers to make the score, 4-0.

Lori HARRIGAN gave the United States another stellar pitching performance. The hurler notched the third USA shutout in four contests. HARRIGAN allowed two hits in her seven innings of work, striking out five. The USA pitching staff has allowed one earned run in the four days of competition and has compiled an ERA of 0.26.

TU H. M. shouldered the loss for Chinese Taipei, working two innings and surrendering two runs on three hits. TU H. P. worked four innings of relief and surrendered two runs on two hits.

The United States remains atop the standings with a 4-0 mark. Three teams are tied for second entering today's competition. Next up for the USA is an important game with Canada, Sports Illustrated's gold medal pick, tomorrow at 21:00. The loss drops Chinese Taipei to 1-3. Tomorrow Chinese Taipei meets Puerto Rico (1-3) at 18:30 at Golden Park in Columbus. Final Score: USA 4, TPE 0.


This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department.


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