(Surrey, BC) The Canadian Women’s National Team won the Bronze medal at the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship following a 4-1 setback against Cuba on Monday. The game was tied at one heading into the seventh inning before Cuba was able to put some hits together to pull out the win.
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In the first inning, Cuba got a two-out single but Canadian starting pitcher
Jenna Caira (Toronto, ON) notched two strikeouts and got a fly out.
Logan White (Brantford, ON) had a one-out single in the bottom of the inning, but the next batter ground into a double play. Cuba went down in order in the second, with Canada only managing a two-out single by
Sara Riske (Richmond, BC). In the third, Cuba got a couple of singles and a walk to load the bases, but Caira came up with a big strikeout to end the inning and leave three runners on base.
Jen Yee (North Delta, BC) got another a two-out single in the third but was also left stranded.
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Canada was able to open the scoring with a run in the bottom of the fourth.
Jenn Salling (Port Coquitlam, BC) worked a two-out walk and moved up to second on a single by Riske before scoring on another single by
Megan Gurski (Dalmeny, SK), giving Canada a 1-0 lead. However, Cuba was able to tie the game right away in the top of the fifth when they managed a leadoff single with the runner being sacrificed to second before later scoring on a single to tie the game at 1-1.
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Each team got a single in the sixth but was unable to produce the go-ahead run, and Cuba was able to break the tie with three runs in the top half of the seventh. The first batter walked but was retired on a fielder’s choice, followed by a single and another fielder’s choice to put runners on first and second. A passed ball moved the runners up before both scored on a single, followed by two more singles to add another run.
Larissa Franklin (Maple Ridge, BC) managed a two-out single, but the next batter grounded out to second to end the game.
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Box Score: Cuba 4 vs. Canada 1 Â
Caira was solid in the pitcher’s circle for Canada, allowing one run on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts in six innings.
Karissa Hovinga (Edmonton, AB) took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in one inning pitched. Riske had a pair of singles at the plate, with Yee, White, Salling Gurski and Franklin each adding one.
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Cuba advanced to the Championship game and was beaten 10-0 by Japan, who earned the Gold medal. Team Canada will now shift its focus to the Pan American Games in Ajax, ON where it will open the event with a game against Brazil at 4:30pm EDT on Sunday, July 19.