Canada qualifies for World Championship with win at Pan American Championship

[Al's Fastball News]

Junior Women's Pan American Championship III

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
August 13, 2010 

Canada qualifies for World Championship with win at Pan American
Championship 

(Bogota, Colombia) The Canadian Junior Women's National Softball
Team has qualified for the 2011 ISF Junior Women's World Championship
in South Africa with a hard fought 2-0 win over the Dominican
Republic. Canada is guaranteed a top five finish which qualifies
them for the event in South Africa. Canada will now play Brazil
at noon EDT on Saturday, with the winner guaranteeing itself
a medal. The United States and Puerto Rico will play in the undefeated
game with the loser playing the winner of the Canada-Brazil game.


Canada got by the Dominican Republic and their 66mph pitcher
with some timely hitting and a great pitching performance by
Karissa Hovinga (La Vista, Nebraska) as she fired a two-hit shutout
with eight strikeouts. Hovinga got into trouble in the second.
With runners on second and third, a ball got by catcher Erika
Polidori (Brantford, ON) and she was able to retrieve the ball
and flip it to Hovinga at home for the second out of the inning.
Hovinga then got a pop out to short to end the threat. 

Canada got on the board in the first inning when Victoria Hayward
(Mountain View, California) walked, advanced to third on two
passed balls and scored when a Brigitte Aizprua (Terrebonne,
QC) grounder to third was thrown in the dirt and got by the first
baseman. Canada got an insurance run in the sixth when Natalie
Wideman (Mississauga, ON) singled to right field and pinch-runner
Tessa Loewen (Abbotsford, BC) moved to second on a walk to Corinne
Brookhuis (East York, ON). After Kristy Noble (Uxbridge, ON)
flew out to centerfield, Polidori hit a grounder to third and
Loewen moved to third as Brookhuis was forced out at second.
Jennifer Gilbert (Mckinney, Texas) responded with a sharp single
to left to score Loewen. Hovinga closed things out in the seventh
to preserve the win. 

Gilbert led Canada's six-hit attack with two hits. Hayward, Wideman,
Noble and Polidori each added singles. Canada left nine runners
on base in the game. 

-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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