by International Baseball Federation, www.ibaf.org
The Medal Contention Round got under way with the 6 teams squaring off over the course of the day. Entering into the round, each team will bring with it the wins and losses from round 1, however only against the teams that qualified. As a result, Venezuela and Japan will enter with records of 2–0, USA and Canada 1–1, and Cuba and Australia 0–2.
The standings can be found at the following link
USA Vs. Canada 10–1
The all North American contest between Team USA and Team Canada started proceedings at Jose P. Colmenares stadium with both teams bringing 1–1 records from the first round. In the end, Team USA proved too strong for the Canadians, cruising to a 10–1 victory. Team USA received 4 strong innings from Jenna Marston, followed by Sailors, Mcann and Navarro, each throwing a scoreless inning. Offensively Marston also led the way, collecting 5 hits and scoring on 3 occasions. Team USA second baseman Tamara Holmes launched the biggest home run of the tournament to date, a grand slam in the 6th. For Team Canada, Jennifer Gilroy and Ashley Stephenson both collected 2 hits.
Team USA will face Venezuela in front of a possible 18000 strong crowd, while Team Canada will take on Japan.
Australia Vs. Japan 10–9
Japan’s undefeated run at the 2010 IBAF Women’s World Cup came to an end in a tough loss to Australia 10–9. Australia entered the game 0-2 considering the losses to Venezuela and Canada in the first round, making this a must win game for the squad from down under. For Japan, Natsumi Nakano, Ayako Rokkaku and Yukiko Kon all had multi hit games, while for Australia Natalie Rawlings, Katie Gaynor, Christina Kreppold and Tahnee Lovering had multi hit games. The final inning of the game saw Japan come to within 1 run, scoring 3, before reliever Christina Kreppold could shut the door for Australia.
Australia will be in another must win situation against Cuba in the morning game, while Japan will face Canada.
Cuba Vs. Venezuela 3–4
Venezuela came from behind in the bottom of the 7th to beat Cuba in front of 14000 exuberant fans. Venezuela struck first with 2 runs in the bottom of the opening frame, and would not score again until the last frame, scoring 2 again. Cuba took the lead in the top of the 7th with 2, however ultimately could not shut down the Venezuelan offense. Venezuela remains the only undefeated team in the tournament and move to 3-0 in the Medal Placement Round.
Cuba will face Australia tomorrow morning while Venezuela will take on Team USA in what will be a crucial match to determine rankings.