The 12th Women’s Softball World Championships in Caracas, Venezuela continued on Friday with another full day on the schedule. While favorite Team USA, Olympic Champion Japan and Canada remained undefeated as well, the Czech Republic also won their second game in two days. They beat New Zealand on Friday. The Netherlands and Great Britain on the other hand lost against Asian opponents.
Japan – Netherlands 4-0
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Japan shut out the Netherlands 4-0 to improve to 3-0 in the tournament. Haruna Sakamoto put the Olympic champion ahead with a three-run homerun in the third. They added another run one frame later on a RBI single by Rei Nishiyama. Makiki Fiujiwara issued just four hits in the game. Rebecca Soumeru took the loss.
Taiwan – Great Britain 3-0
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Liu Hui Fang scored twice as Taiwan beat Great Britain 3-0. Lin Su Hua allowed just five hits in seven scoreless innings for the win. Stacie Townsend and Lara Thompson had two hits apiece for the British squad. Townsend also had to take the loss on the mound, going the distance.
New Zealand – Czech Republic 5-6 (8)
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The Czech Republic scored two runs in the top of the eighth to hold on to a 6-5 victory over New Zealand. It was a back-and-forth battle in the last couple of frames with each team holding a lead at least once. Lenka Jaklova drove in two. Eva Rendovla scored twice after a double and a triple. Brooke Luckhart went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI on the losing side.
Other Results June 25:
USA – New Zealand 12-2
Taiwan – Canada 2-5
Botswana – Dominican Republic 0-6
Cuba – South Africa 10-1
China – Australia 0-2
Venezuela – USA 0-7
Canada – Argentina ppd (rain)
Standings:
Group A:
- Japan 3-0
- Canada 2-0
- Cuba 1-1
- Netherlands 1-1
- Argentina 1-1
- Great Britain 1-2
- Taiwan 1-2
- South Africa 0-3
Group B:
- USA 3-0
- Czech Republic 2-0
- Venezuela 2-1
- Australia 1-1
- China 1-2
- Dominican Republic 1-2
- New Zealand 1-2
- Botswana 0-3