VIERA, Florida – Amanda Asay (Prince George, BC) spun a one-hit shutout while Canada’s offence received some timely hitting to open the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Super Round with a 5-0 win over Venezuela.
Asay’s outing did not come without some adversity as she hit six batters but her defence came up with some big plays including a double play to end the fifth and a diving stab and throw from Kate Psota (Burlington, ON) that thwarted a rally in the sixth with Canada up by just two runs.
“Our defence was awesome today,” said Asay following the game. “I was pitching to contact and they kept making the plays behind me which is a huge confidence boost on the mound.”
Asay recorded her only strikeout of the game in the first freezing a batter on a 1-2 curveball with runners on second and third, and gave up her only hit of the game in the fourth before getting a pair of ground outs to end the inning.
“This is the type of performance that we’re coming to expect out of Amanda every time she takes the mound,” said Canadian Manager André Lachance. “She’s pitched in so many big games for us over the years and has achieved great success and today was no different.”
For the third game in a row and fourth time in the tournament Canada’s offence produced double digits in the hit department with ten including two apiece from Kelsey Lalor (Red Deer, AB), Mia Valcke (St. Marys, ON) and Ashley Stephenson (Mississauga, ON).
It was Stephenson who sparked the offence in the third with a lead off single and came around to score when Niki Boyd (Surrey, BC) doubled to left.
Canada used some small ball in the fifth to extend their lead with Nicole Luchanski (Edmonton, AB) drawing a lead off walk, stealing second and moving to third on Daphnée Gélinas’ (Repentigny, QC) sacrifice bunt before Kelsey Lalor lined a single to right to score the run.
“We knew that the games would be tighter in the Super Round and that there’d be times we’d need to manufacture runs,” explained Lachance. “We’re fortunate that, offensively, we can win many different ways and that we have the personnel to execute in different situations.”
Canada added three runs in the sixth keyed by a Kate Psota two run double while Gelinas contributed an RBI single.
UP NEXT: Canada will continue Super Round play tomorrow against USA with a 6PM ET first pitch at Space Coast Stadium. The game can be watched live on the WBSC’s YouTube channel. The world championship game as well as the third place contest are scheduled for August 31st.
LINKS:
WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Website
WBSC YouTube Channel
Baseball Canada Women’s National Team Roster
SOCIAL:
Twitter.com/baseballcanada
Instagram.com/baseballcanada
Facebook.com/baseballcanada
