U-15 Women's Softball World Cup Day 5: Japan stay perfect; Puerto Rico edge Chinese Taipei 2-1 in the Super Round
Day 5 of the WBSC U-15 Women's Softball World Cup sees the start of the Super Round, witch Chinese Taipei and Puerto Rico playing the opening game on Thursday. Japan and USA start with a 2-0 card and will face the Philippines at 14:00 and Mexico at 17:00, respectively, at Ota Stadium.
In the Placement Round, the games at Komazawa Olympic Park Sports Complex Baseball Stadium will feature the game of New Zealand and Brazil at 11:00, followed by the all-European matchup between Czechia and Italy at 14:00.
Day 5 Results
Super Round
Chinese Taipei v Puerto Rico 1-2
Talia Murria took control of the circle allowing five hits and one run to help Puerto Rico earn a 2-1 win over Chinese Taipei in the opening game of the Super Round at Ota Stadium.
Puerto Rico managed to get one hit off Sabrina Boyer's bat, but Chinese Taipei escaped without any damage done. Nia Melendez's strong swing flew to centre and was caught by Chinese Taipei outfielder, leaving a runless opening inning.
Puerto Rico finally got their offence working in the bottom of the third, when Nylah Melendez's single landed runners Yamilette Cordova to second and Liana Quinones to third, then Boyer's sacrifice fly got Quinones on the home plate for the first run. Cordova scored the second run off Nia Melendez's single.
Chinese Taipei only got things going on the seventh inning, as Yi-Hsuan Tien got one run on a ground out. However, the next two batters were retired to end the game in favour of Puerto Rico 2-1.
Philippines v Japan 0-7
Japan kept their winning streak going with a 7-0 win over the Philippines. The hosts had a total of seven runs against the Philippines three.
In the first inning, the Philippines hit a single but did not progress to score a run, while Japan started with a single that rallied into three runs by Risora Kajime, Yuki Imamura and Yumeka Kagen without any outs.
Sari Nagatomo and Yuri Kira gave Japan two more runs as they reached the home plate on a fielding error to stretch the lead to 5-0. Mao Hashimoto completed Japan's final run of the inning to lead 6-0.
The Philippines held Japan runless in the next two innings, but the hosts sneaked in their final run of the game from Uran Mutsutani's double that set up Kagen to increase the lead to 7-0.
Placement Round
New Zealand v Brazil 0-7
Brazil scored runs in the first three innings and maintained their lead until they capped their Opening Round game with another run to win 7-0 against New Zealand in the sixth inning.
Brazil's offence started early with Caroline Tamai getting things started on a single to shortstop and progressing to third on a ground out. Mariana Sonoda singled to left for the first RBI of the game, advancing Tamai.
The next two batters hit a triple and a ground out, respectively, advancing runners Sonoda and Maya Mune to home plate for a 3-0 edge in the bottom of the first inning.
Sofia Cabral reached home plate on a throwing error, putting Brazil again on the board in the second stanza with Tamai in tow. Talita Yamaji's single got Tamai getting the second run completed to extend the lead 5-0. Their sixth run came in the third inning, with Muna advancing to home base on a fielding error.
For their final run in the game, Brazil's offence was initiated by Lais Ishikawa's double, which she later converted into a run off Ito Yoshi's single.
Italy v Czechia
Both Czech and Italian pitchers cleared the first inning, but the Giulia Squalizza surrendered two runs and three hits in the next frame, giving Czech Republic the lead 2-0.
Italy regrouped and responded with a three-run bottom of the third, snatching a 3-2 advantage. Czechia swung the momentum back to their side with two runs with a single and a ground out, scoring Tereza Skoloudikova and Johana Kasova in consecutive plays for a 4-3 margin.
Italy easily clawed back up in the same inning as Giulia Colino and Giulia Calzolari rushed to home base on fielding error and and single hit to get a 5-4 lead. They extended it further to 7-4 Rebecca Soldi's single to right field, pushing Letizia Giunchi and Giorgia Colino to home plate.
Quick Links
- Where to Watch: Maiden edition of WBSC U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup on GameTime
- U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup paves way for LA28 prospects
- WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari: More exciting times ahead for baseball/softball following LA28 inclusion
- WBSC U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup Preview: Tokyo’s bright lights shine for softball’s next wave of stars
- Baseball and softball community celebrate LA28 decision - "What a thrill to be back in the Olympics"
- WBSC U-15 Softball World Cup by the numbers
- Baseball and Softball confirmed as part of Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 sports programme
- Discover Tokyo: Home of the inaugural WBSC U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup
- Dates confirmed for WBSC U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup 2023
- Venue announced for inaugural WBSC U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup in Japan
- Inaugural U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup awarded to Japan Softball Association to be staged in Tokyo