USA ADVANCES TO WUSC GOLD MEDAL GAME; WILL FACE WINNER OF TAIPEI VS. JAPAN

(Right: Third baseman Daisy DePeinder and the Netherlands beat China in extra innings in Saturday’s first game.)

The U.S. team avenged their 3-2 loss to Chinese Taipei on Day 1 of the 1st World University Softball Championship in grand fashion tonight, winning 2-0 to advance to Sunday’s gold medal game (1:30 p.m.). The game earlier in the week gave Chinese Taipei the tiebreaker for first place at the end of round robin play yesterday when both teams finished 5-1. But Saturday night the U.S. got a perfect game performance from pitcher Alicia Hollowell to send them on to tomorrow’s Grand Final.

Hollowell, a 20-year old right-hander from the University of Arizona, retired all 21 batters she faced, striking out 13. Left fielder Jodie Legaspi provided all the offense needed with a two out, two-run double in the top of the fourth inning after Sara Dean had walked and Vicky Galindo singled.

Japan advanced to Sunday’s early game (11:00 a.m.) against Chinese Taipei by virtue of a 3-1 win this evening over Canada. Japan, which had to win its final round robin game on Friday just to get to tonight’s playoffs, has now eliminated the number three seed, as Canada’s play at the tournament ends with this evening’s loss, which was a reversal of the teams’ round robin meeting when it was Canada that won by two runs (5-3 on Tuesday night).

Two walks and a single were part of Japan’s fourth inning that helped them to a 2-0 lead before making it a three-run lead in the top of the next inning. Canada came right back in their bottom half of the fifth on a solo home run to left field by centerfielder Janiva Willis, but pitcher Mariko Goto retired the next nine batters in a row for the 3-1 victory.

The day had begun with two consolation games. China (2-6) took on the Netherlands (2-6) on a field filled with the Florida sun. The game was scoreless through the first four innings before China broke through to take what would be a short-lived one-run lead. The Netherlands came right back in the bottom of the fifth to tie it up, and two innings later, regulation ended with the game still knotted at one run apiece. China went three-and-out in the top of the eighth, but the Netherlands loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, with catcher Noemi Boekel ripping a single between the shortstop and third baseman to drive in the deciding run for a 2-1 win and a chance to play one more game. China finished 2-7 overall.

The Netherlands moved on to play Australia, against whom they’d opened the tournament with a 2-0 loss on Tuesday afternoon. The runs were a little more in abundance in this game, with Kate Quigley scoring in the bottom of the first to give the Aussies a 1-0 lead, only to see the Netherlands come right back to tie it at one in the top of the second. In the bottom of the third, Danielle Curtois crossed the plate to put the Australians back up by one, but an inning- and-a-half later the Netherlands took their first lead of the game, scoring twice to make it 3-2. However, after having driven in Sarah Croxford, left fielder Lauren Daykin scored to give the Aussies a 4-3 lead after five. Reliever Jocelyn McCallum retired the final six batters of the game to preserve the win. Australia finished with an overall record of 6-3.

The 1st World University Softball Championship is being played in Plant City Stadium, on the grounds of the International Softball Federation’s (ISF) world headquarters. The fast pitch event includes female athletes ages 17-28 that have not been out of university or its equivalent for more than a year. Guatemala also participated in the eight-team event. It is the hope of the ISF – the world governing body for the sport, including at the Olympics – that staging this event will lead to getting softball added to the program of the World University Games. The WUSC is sanctioned by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), which supervises the World University Games.

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