Women’s National Softball Team Defeats
Puerto Rico Twice in Mississauga

(Mississauga, ON) The Canadian Senior Women’s National Team took both games of a doubleheader against Puerto Rico at Meadowvale North Sports Park in Mississauga on Thursday, defeating them 13-0 in the first game before walking off with a 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh in the second game. Canada exploded for 10 runs in the bottom of the fifth to break the first game open, while Puerto Rico tied the game late in the second game before a run on a passed ball gave Canada the 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh.
 
In the first game, Puerto Rico was able to put some runners on base with a hit by pitch, a single and a walk in the inning, but was unable to push anyone in to score. In the bottom of the inning, Jen Yee (North Delta, BC) hit a two-out single but the next batter struck out. Puerto Rico got a two-out double in the second but a ground out to the pitcher left her in scoring position, and Canada went down in order. The red and white looked to get things going in the bottom of the third as Joey Lye (Toronto, ON) dropped a drag bunt single to lead off the inning and stole second, but the next three batters struck out.
 
Team Canada was able to open the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Kaleigh Rafter (Guelph, ON) singled to right field with one out and Erika Polidori (Brantford, ON) came in to run for her. A walk to by Megan Gurski (Dalmeny, SK) put runners on first and second before Carey-Leigh Thomas (Ohsweken, ON) singled to right to score Polidori and Gurski moved up to third, while Thomas advanced to second on the throw to the plate. Caitlin Lever (Buffalo, NY) hit a ground ball to second base to push Gurski to the plate, and Lye singled off the pitcher to score Thomas from third to give Canada a 3-0 lead.
 
The following inning, Canada put the game out of reach by sending 14 batters to the plate and pushing across 10 runs. Larissa Franklin (Maple Ridge, BC) got things started with an infield single to the shortstop, stole second and advanced to third on a bunt single by Victoria Hayward (Toronto, ON). Megan Timpf (Port Dover, ON) then singled to left to score Franklin, followed by a single to right by Yee to bring Hayward home. Another single to right by Rafter scored Timpf, and Gurski drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. A walk by Thomas pushed another runner to the plate, and Lever hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield to score yet another run. Franklin produced a run with an infield single before Timpf cleared the bases with a three-run triple, and scored on a single by Yee to complete the scoring.
 
Jenna Caira (Toronto, ON) got the start in the pitcher’s circle for Canada, limiting Puerto Rico to two hits and striking out four in three innings. Sara Groenewegen (Surrey, BC) allowed one hit and struck out four in two innings of relief, while Brooke Seneshen (Winnipeg, MB) retired the side in the sixth inning on three groundouts. Yee had three singles and drove in two runs for Canada, while Timpf had a triple and single and four runs batted in. Rafter, Lye and Franklin each had a pair of hits, with Hayward and Thomas each notching one.
 
In the second game, both teams went down in order in the first two innings before Canada was able to open the scoring in the bottom of the third. Lye led off with a walk but was retired on a fielder’s choice, and the next batter reached on an error to put runners on the corners. After a fly out for the second out, Natalie Wideman (Mississauga, ON) scored on a wild pitch, and Timpf single to left field to score Franklin from second, but was caught in a rundown on the play, as Canada took a 2-0 lead after three innings of play. In the top of the fourth, Puerto Rico got their first two batters on base on an error and a single, but was unable to score.
 
In the fifth, Puerto Rico got on the scoreboard as Nicole Osterman doubled, advanced to third on a passed ball and score on a single Angelique Nieves to trim Canada’s lead to 2-1, and later went on to tie the game with a run in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the frame, Wideman led off with a walk and advanced to second on a slap to the pitcher by Franklin, but was retired at second base on a ground ball to shortstop by the next batter. Timpf followed with a double down the right-field line that went out of play for a ground-rule double to put runners on second and third, and Thomas scored on a passed ball to end the game.
 
Karissa Hovinga (Edmonton, AB) threw three hitless inning for Canada with only one batter reaching base on an error, and she struck out two hitters. Seneshen allowed a run on three hits in an inning and two thirds of relief before exiting the game after getting hit by a line drive, and Gurski threw the last two and a third innings by allowing one run on one hit with one strikeout, notching the win.  
 
Team Canada will wrap up its Exhibition Series schedule when they take on Puerto Rico in another doubleheader at the Fairgrounds in Brampton tonight beginning at 6:30pm EDT. Tickets for the games are available at the gate at the cost of $5.00 per person. Athletes under the age of 18 wearing their softball jersey will be admitted for free.