by International Baseball Federation, www.ibaf.org
The Medal Contention Round continued at Jose Perez C. Stadium in Maracay Venezuela today with 3 important games. Australia and Cuba, both in must win situations had the morning game, Japan, recovering from their first loss of the tournament the previous day had Canada in the afternoon game while Venezuela faced fellow COPABE member Team USA in the night cap.
In the placement series, South Korea took on Chinese Taipei, and the Netherlands played Puerto Rico at Aviacion field.
Medal Contention Round:
Cuba – Australia 2–6
Australia kept their medal game hopes alive with a tough 6–2 victory over Cuba moving to a record of 2-2 for the MCR. Scoring 4 in the first, Australia would not relinquish the lead for the entire game, restricting Cuba to only 2 hits and 2 runs, with solid performances from starter Sinead Flanigan and reliever Katherine Welsh. Offensively Kreppold, Mcann and Hamilton were the force, delivering 6 hits and 5 RBI’S on the day. Australia will face Team USA tomorrow in a game that will decide if they compete for a medal in the weekend’s games, while Cuba, now 0-4 will face Canada in the morning game.
Canada – Japan 2–6
Japan recovered from their defeat last night to Australia with a 6-2 win against Team Canada moving to 3-1 record, and with the victory assuring a place in the weekend’s medal games. Offensively Japan could only manage 2 hits, (1 from the starting 9) due to strong pitching from the Canadian staff led by starter Vanessa Riopel, proving the Japanese bats can be kept silent. Key errors however opened the door for Japan, and their disciplined approach to the game produced the 6 runs. Canada was able to deliver 7 hits, 3 from 1st baseman Kate Posta, however were not able to convert into runs. Canada, now 1-3, will face Cuba in a must win game in order to qualify for the medal games over the weekend.
USA – Venezuela 6-7
Venezuela put up 7 in the 5th to start an amazing comeback against Team USA in the final game of the day, remaining undefeated at 4-0 with the 7-6 victory. Team USA looked to be cruising, tempered by starter Martina Sementelli’s 4 scoreless innings while the offense put up 3 in the 2nd and 2 in the 4th. The damage came however in the 5th, with Venezuela capitalizing on erratic Team USA pitching and defense to take the lead. Venezuela’s Bullpen was able to restrict Team USA to only 1 run over the 5th, 6th and 7th for the save and win. Venezuela will play Japan tomorrow for the top seed, while Team USA, now 2-2 will face the tough Australian team in a must win situation.
The 4th and final spot for the medal games will be contested between Canada and Australia, with both teams statistically able to move on, while Venezuela, Japan and Team USA are qualified for the medal round.
Placement round
In placement round action, South Korea was defeated by Chinese Taipei 2–12 while the Netherlands fell to Puerto Rico 2–12. Both games ended after 6 innings.