ROUND ROBIN PLAY ENDS, SETTING EIGHT-TEAM FIELD FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS

SASAKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN – It was a busy day Thursday at the International Softball Federation’s X Women’s World Championship, but, unlike Wednesday, Mother Nature didn’t have a ticket this time, so eleven games were played, wrapping up the round robin portion of the tournament.

Two teams emerged with perfect 7-0 records thanks to victories in the middle of the day. The defending champion United States team finished first in Pool A with an unblemished mark after blanking the Netherlands Antilles, 7-0. The Americans outscored their opponents 53-0. Winning pitcher Lori Harrigan threw a complete game no-hitter, recording eleven strikeouts in five innings. The game was then called (official) due to the “mercy rule.” (In international play, the game ends if a team is leading by 20 runs after three innings, 15 after four, or seven after five.) Centerfielder Jessica Mendoza and designated player Teri Goldberg each hit a home run.

Japan was the other team to go through round robin play without losing. They too had a shortened final game, thumping Puerto Rico, 15-0. They scored seven times in the top of the fourth and collected 14 hits for the game, which saw Puerto Rico commit four errors. Japan’s Naomi Arai hit a second inning three- run home run.

Canada opened the day with a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands Antilles in a game rescheduled from yesterday afternoon (rain). The winners scored once in the bottom of the third and fourth innings. The two teams combined for only eight hits.

Like the Canadians, Italy then took to the field for their first of two games on the day, beating Russia, 7-1. Italy had scored just three runs in its first five games. The Russians had just four hits, all singles. Designated player Daniela Castellani hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth for the victors.

Chinese Taipei then shutdown the Czech Republic 5-1 in a game in which all of the runs came in the first inning.

In another “mercy rule” shortened game, Venezuela scored runs in each of the first five innings to beat South Africa, 10-0. The winners had 17 hits, including six in a first inning which saw them bat around the order. Second baseman Zuleima Rodriguez was 4-for-4 with two runs scored.

Another goose egg went up on the board when Australia downed the Netherlands, 8- 0. This one too ended after five innings. It featured two-hit pitching by Australia’s Tanya Harding. Teammate Tracey Mosley went 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored.

The run on shutouts continued when, in an extra inning, China edged Canada 1-0, eliminating the hosts from playoff contention. The victory came despite just three hits and ten strikeouts at the hands of Canada pitcher Lauren Bay.

The sixth straight shutout of the day saw Italy win its second game of the day to secure a playoff spot, nipping the Czech Republic, 1-0. First baseman Jennifer Spediacci hit a fourth inning home run for the game’s only score. Winning pitcher Leslie Malerich threw a complete game one-hitter, striking out eight. The game had originally been scheduled for yesterday afternoon, but was postponed due to rain.

New Zealand advanced to the playoffs after a 7-0 rout of the Dominican Republic. Although the game went just five full innings (mercy rule), the Dominican Republic managed just one hit. They finished the tournament with just one win. Michelle Kingi pitched a complete game one-hitter.

The evening – and the round robin portion of the World Championship – closed with another game originally schedule for Wednesday. Chinese Taipei defeated Russia, 4-0. Like the above game, the winners head for the playoffs while the losers go home having won just once.

A whopping 35 of the 56 round robin games ended in shutouts. Twenty-one games were ended early due to the mercy rule. Just three games went into one or more extra innings. Five games had to be re-scheduled due to rain. There were three no-hitters (Lori Harrigan of USA, Michele Smith of USA, and a combined effort from Li Qi and Zhang Yanging of China on what was a perfect game).

The final standings in round robin play were as follows:

Tomorrow’s playoff schedule sees Chinese Taipei take on Puerto Rico at 2:00 p.m. (Mountain time), New Zealand face Italy at 4:00, the U.S. square off against Australia at 6:30 p.m., and China battle Japan at 8:30 p.m.

For more details on the games as well as tournament statistics and leaders, use the link below to the event's official website and click on Results. A text recap of each game can also be found on that site by clicking on Media Services from the homepage. That website also has the full tournament schedule. Media members and fans are also encouraged to visit this ISF website throughout the World Championship.

The top four teams from this event will qualify to play in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The medal games here are scheduled for Sunday, August 4.

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