We’ve made it to the end of the opening round of softball at the Olympics! Day 5 was the final day of action before the medal games which will be taking place on July 27. Day 5 did not disappoint and now, four teams will play for medals. Before we get to that, let’s recap the last three games.
Japan 1 – United States 2
The USA pulled out another tight win at the Olympic Games against the host team, Japan. While the USA did come out victorious, it was the Japanese team that got on the board first. They left the first inning up by one run and were able to hold the lead for the majority of the game. The United States had something to say about it and tied it up in the sixth. The teams headed into the bottom of the seventh tied at one and Kelsey Stewart stepped up to the plate for the USA and hit a walk off home run to right field, ending the game.
Canada 8 – Italy 1
Canada scored runs in the second and third innings to give themselves a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, Italy cut Canada’s lead in half. The Canadians had a big fifth inning scoring three runs to break away from Italy on the scoreboard. Their offence continued in the sixth inning when Victoria Hayward doubled to center field, bringing home both Joey Lye and Emma Entzminger to score. Canada took this one by a score of 8-1.
Mexico 4 – Australia 1
The last game of the opening round was between Australia and Mexico. While there was no score after the first inning, Mexico capitalized in the second and went up 2-0. They doubled their lead in the fourth inning and Australia continued to struggle, unable to get runners in scoring position. Australia’s Jade Wall scored the team’s lone run in the sixth inning. The final score of the game was 4-1 in favour of Mexico.
The tournament is now over for Italy and Australia. The United States and Japan will play for the gold medal. Canada will take on Mexico for the bronze medal. Come back to Unbenched for details on the medal games and various other Olympic stories.
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