Canada Edges Italy to Stay Unbeaten at WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship

Softball Canada – Chiba, Japan – The Canadian Women’s National Team remained unbeaten with a 1-0 win over Italy at the WBSC Women’s World Softball Championship.Sara Plourde (Baker Lake, N.B.) and Danielle Lawrie (Langley, B.C.) combined for the complete game shutout by only allowing three hits between them, while Larissa Franklin (Maple Ridge, B.C.) tripled and scored for the only run of the game.
 
Plourde started the game in the pitcher’s circle for Canada and sat Italy down in order in the first with a pair of strikeouts. Victoria Hayward (Toronto, Ont.) led off the bottom of the inning with a single but was caught stealing, while Joey Lye (Toronto, Ont.) and Jenn Salling (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) later added singles but Canada was unable to score. Team Canada pushed the winning run across the plate in the bottom of the second when Franklin hit a one-out triple to left-center field and scored on a ground out by Natalie Wideman(Mississauga, Ont.).
 
In the third, Italy got its first hit of the game with a one-out single through the right side of the infield and got another runner on base with a hit by pitch, but Plourde got out of the inning with a strikeout and a fielder’s choice. The following inning, the Italians got another one-out single off Plourde, but the next two batters flew out. Lawrie relieved Plourde to start the fifth and retired Italy in order, with Hayward notching a two-out single in the bottom of the frame but a ground out ended the inning.
 
Italy managed a leadoff single to start the sixth and the runner moved up to second on a wild pitch, but Lawrie struck out the side, and did it again in the seventh to preserve the 1-0 win.
 
Box Score: Canada 1 vs. Italy 0
 
The Canadian pitching tandem was fantastic, with Plourde allowing only two hits and struck out four in four innings of work to register the win. Lawrie threw the final three innings, allowing only one hit and striking out eight. Franklin’s triple was Canada’s only extra-base hit, with Hayward adding two singles and Lye and Salling each contributing one.
 
Team Canada improved its record to 3-0 and will square off with Australia (2-1) at 2:30pm JST (1:30am EDT) on Sunday. Live scoring is available through the WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship website, with live streaming available at FloSoftball.com (paid subscription required).
 
In other action on Saturday, Australia shaded Italy 3-2, Puerto Rico shut out South Africa 9-0, China edged Great Britain 1-0, Mexico blanked the Philippines 2-0, Venezuela beat Botswana 8-0, the United States defeated Chinese Taipei 7-0, the Netherlands doubled New Zealand 10-5, Puerto Rico won 3-0 over the Philippines and Japan took a 5-0 win over China.