Preliminary Round over at Women’s Baseball World Cup

by International Baseball Federation, www.ibaf.org

Venezuela and Japan remained undefeated; 10,000 fans celebrated Venezuela’s victory over Australia. Japan took on Puerto Rico in the final game of Pool B and the postponed Canada – Venezuela contest was recovered.

With the conclusion of opening round, the teams will be regrouped according to their current individual rankings. The top 6 will move into the The Medal Contention Round (MCR) phase of Pool 2, while the remaining 4 teams will be placed into the Placement Series (PS) to determine the 6^th – 10^th place final standings.  Venezuela, Canada and Australia from pool A and Japan, USA and Cuba from Pool B will form the MCR and will feature great match-ups and some vibrant and loud crowds to support their home club and the other competing teams.

Canada Vs Venezuela 2–3 (8)

After last night’s postponement of Game 18, play resumed in the bottom of the 3^rd with Venezuela having taken the lead just prior to the delay. Canada could only manage 1 hit off the mix of Venezuelan pitching that took the hill in Maracay. Starter Jessica Primera and long relief specialist Dailys Gimenez each gave up 1 and struck out 2 over 6 initial innings of combined work. The game was also the first of the tournament to utilize the extra-inning rule. Shortstop Solomarys Brito scored the winning run for the home club.

Puerto Rico Vs Japan 0–10

Pool B leading Japan (4-0) only needed 6 innings to finishing their first round games with a 2-hit shutout of Puerto Rico. Japanese starter Ayami Sato struck out 6 over 4 innings to collect the win, complemented by 1^st basemen Yukiko Kon’s 2 hits. Puerto Rico will move into the PS starting tomorrow along with South Korea, Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands, while Japan will move into the medal placement round.

Australia Vs Venezuela 1-8

Ten thousand fans cheered the locals to an easy 8-1 victory over powerhouse Australia in the final game of round 1. Australia outhit Venezuela 9 to 8, however could not convert these opportunities into much needed runs. Venezuela mixed in 3 pitchers over the 7 innings, striking out 6. Both teams will advance to the MCR.