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Photos courtesy of Argenis Blanco.
Team America won the gold medal at the 12th Softball Women´s World Championship run-ahead-ruling Japan 7 – 0 in five innings at the tournament final game in the Independencia stadium in La Rinconada, which were crowded.
The monarch of the successful and well organized competition trusted on the combined pitching work of the star pitchers Cat Osterman – starting and winning pitcher- and Monica Abott – relieving pitcher- who substituted Osterman due to a problem in her throwing hand in the fourth inning.
They also relied on the opportune batting made at the top of the fourth inning, when five runs were scored against starting and eventually losing Japanese pitcher Makiko Fujiwara, and her relieving pitcher Sayuri Yamane. The other two runs were tallied in the fifth inning against Fujiwara, who returned to the mound.
The United States opened the scoreboard with 5 runs in the fourth inning; Jess Mendoza connected a double to left field and reached home plate with an Alissa Haber´s RBI single to the left. Then, Katie Cochran gave a hit to the rigth fielder; Andrea Durán was walked; Haber was first out with an Ashley Charters rolling, then Jennie Finch run batted in Cochran with single, but Durán was out in the home plate. With two outs, Lauren Lappin gave a 2-runs RBI hit to the center field. Lappin tallied the fifth run by a Sayori Yamane wild pitch, before Natasha batted a hit and Caitlin Lowe ended the inning with a via 1 to 3 rolling.
The last two runs were scored with a RBI home run by Andrea Durán with Jess Mendoza on base with an infield hit.
This was the ninth consecutive victory of the American team, that won all the games and defeated Japanese team by the second day in a row.
The new champion 12th Softball Women´s World Championship gave 8 hits; best batter players were Jess Mendoza with 2 for 3, two tallied runs; Andrea Durán with 1 for 1, one home run, two RBIs and two bases on ball, Lauren Lappin with 1 for 2, triple, a scored run and two RBIs.
The two Japanese hits were batted by Rei Nishiyama, single, and Harura Sakamoto, double against Cat Osterman.
Inning scores : C H E
United States: 0 0 0 5 2 7 8 0
Japan: 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
United States, champion, gold medal
Japan, first runner-up, silver medal
Canada, second runner-up, bronze medal
China, fourth place
Venezuela, fifth place.