FW: Softball Canada Media Release / Communiqué de presse

[Al's Fastball News]

Canada splits pair of games at Pan American Championship 

(Bogota, Colombia) The Canadian Junior Women's National Team
completed the round-robin portion of the Pan American Championship
in Bogota with a record of 4-2 after splitting their two games
today. Canada opened with a 6-2 win over Mexico and then lost
to the undefeated United States by a 3-0 score. Canada finished
third in its pool and will now play Venezuela at 10:00am EDT
on Friday and must win two games to qualify for the 2011 ISF
Junior Women's World Championships in South Africa. 

In a must-win game with Mexico, Canada got on the scoreboard
first with three runs in the second inning on route to their
6-2 win. Natalie Becker (Waterloo, ON) picked up the win with
relief help from Karissa Hovinga (La Vista, Nebraska), as the
duo combined to allow five hits and strike out four. 

In the second, Natasha Szlapetis (Brampton, ON) led off with
a single to center field and was moved to second on a sacrifice
bunt by Natalie Wideman (Mississauga, ON). Corinne Brookhuis
(East York, ON) grounded out to short and Szlapetis scored when
Kristy Noble's (Uxbridge, ON) grounder to second was bobbled
and Noble was called safe at first. Brigitte Aizprua (Terrebonne,
QC) singled to center field to score Noble from second, and Aizprua
scored when Jennifer Gilbert (Mckinney, Texas) hit a slap that
got past the first baseman for Canada's third run. 

Mexico answered back with a run in the third. Hovinga replaced
Becker with one out and two runners on base in the fourth and
retired the next two batters. Canada added two in the fifth on
a Victoria Hayward (Mountain View, California) walk, who then
scored on Jacqueline Omichinski's (Abbotsford, BC) double to
left center. Omichinski scored on a single by Wideman to center
field. Canada left two runners on in the inning. 

Hovinga got in trouble in the top of the sixth as Mexico loaded
the bases with no one out. Hovinga got a strike out, walked in
a run then force two groundouts to end the threat. 

Canada got some insurance with a run in their half of the sixth
as Aizprua got her third hit of the game and moved to second
on an error on a Gilbert grounder. Hayward was safe on a drag
to load the bases. Aizprua then scored on a sacrifice fly from
Szlapetis. 

Canada ended up with nine hits but left ten runners stranded
on base. 

In their contest with the United States, a win could have created
a three-way tie for first in the pool with the USA and Brazil.
USA scored twice in the first inning and added a single run in
the sixth. Shanna Wilson (Peterborough, ON) started in the pitcher's
circle and got into trouble in the first but settled down as
she went four innings allowing two runs on four hits and striking
out two. Karissa Hovinga came on in the fifth and allowed one
run on one hit and struck out two. 

The USA had six hits against Canada's two. Canada had a chance
in the third on a double by Brigitte Aizprua and walks to Victoria
Hayward and Jacqueline Omichinski, but could not cash in any
runs. In the seventh, Natasha Szlapetis walked after fouling
off six pitches, Natalie Wideman lined out to left field, Corinne
Brookhuis grounded out to short, and Kristy Noble was hit by
a pitch after fouling off several pitches to put two runners
on. The USA made a pitching change and got the final out on with
strikeout. Victoria Hayward had the other Canadian hit in the
first inning. 

Both teams made some nice plays defensively with Canada's second
baseman Kristy Noble making several of them and outfielders Hayward,
Aizprua and Omichinski all making outstanding catches. 

-SC- 

For more information, please contact: 

Gilles LeBlanc 
Manager - Marketing and Communications 
Softball Canada 
(613) 523-3386 ext. 3105 
gleblanc at softball.ca
  
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