Team Canada Defeats Cuba,
Loses to Japan at Canadian Open

(Surrey, BC) The Canadian Women’s National Team split a pair of playoff games at the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship, defeating Cuba 6-1 on Saturday night before dropping a 6-1 decision to Japan in the 1 vs. 2 playoff game on Sunday night. Team Canada will play Cuba in the Bronze medal game at 5:00pm PDT on Monday, with the winner of that game advancing to face Japan in the Gold medal game at 7:30pm PDT.
 
On Saturday night against Cuba, Canada got on the board early. Jen Yee (North Delta, BC) led off the game with a single and Joey Lye (Toronto, ON) reached on a catcher’s obstruction call before both advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Kaleigh Rafter (Guelph, ON). After a strikeout, Jenn Salling (Port Coquitlam, BC) hit a two-run single as Canada took a quick 2-0 lead. The red and white added a third run in the top of the second when Sara Riske (Richmond, BC) led off with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Megan Gurski (Dalmeny, SK), with the runners being sacrificed over to second and third on a bunt by Larissa Franklin (Maple Ridge, BC) before Riske scored on a ground out to the pitcher by Yee.
 
Franklin and Yee each hit two-out singles in the fourth but the next batter struck out, and Rafter led off the fifth with a homerun as Canada took a 4-0 lead. Cuba managed to get a run in the bottom of the fifth, but Team Canada went on to tack on two more runs to its lead in the sixth. Yee and pinch-hitter Logan White (Brantford, ON) started the inning with singles and were sacrificed ahead by Rafter before both scoring on an error by the catcher. Canadian pitcher Sara Groenewegen (Surrey, BC) sat Cuba down in order in each of the sixth and seventh inning to seal the complete game win.
 
Box Score: Canada 6 vs. Cuba 1
 
Groenewegen was fantastic in the pitcher’s circle, allowing only one run on four hits and one walk as she struck out six. Salling singled three times and drove in two runs, with Yee also collecting three singles and driving in one while Rafter hit a solo homerun. White, Riske, Gurski, Franklin and Carey-Leigh Thomas (Ohsweken, ON) each added a hit.
 
In the game against Japan on Sunday, the Japanese opened the scoring on an error in the top of the first but Canada was able to get that run back in the bottom of the second when Salling started the inning with a double, was sacrificed to third by Riske and scored on a single by Gurski. However, Japan responded by scoring four runs in the top of the third on a run-scoring double by Mikiko Eguchi, a two-run single by Yamato Fujita and a sacrifice fly. Canada was able to load the bases in the bottom of the inning on singles by Yee and Rafter and a walk to Salling, but all three were left stranded. Japan added a run in the fifth to increase its lead to 6-1, and Canada managed one-out singles by Salling and Franklin in the sixth and seventh innings but was unable to get anything else going as Japan earned the win.
 
Box Score: Japan 6 vs. Canada 1
 
Jenna Caira (Toronto, ON) took the loss for Canada, allowing five runs – two of them earned – on four hits and a walk to go along with two strikeouts in three innings pitched. Karissa Hovinga (Edmonton, AB) pitched four inning of relief, allowing only one run on three hits with two strikeouts. Salling had a double and a single for Canada and Yee contributed two singles, with other hits going to Rafter, Gurski and Franklin.
 
Late on Sunday night, Cuba defeated Puerto Rico 12-5 to set up the Bronze medal game between Canada and Cuba at 5:00pm PDT on Monday. The winner of that game will face Japan in the Gold medal game at 7:30pm PDT.