Australia, Canada and USA Stay Unbeaten on Day Two in Rockfo
Day Two of the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Group Stage belonged to the offenses.
Australia, Canada and the United States combined for 60 runs and 46 hits at Rivets Stadium. All three games ended after five innings as each winner improved to 2-0 in Group Rockford.
Australia 21, Hong Kong, China 0
Final in five innings
Australia scored in every inning and finished with 18 hits in its second win of the tournament.
Caitlin Eynon opened the scoring with a two-run double in the first before Elodie O’Sullivan brought her home with a single. Australia added seven more runs in the second, highlighted by Leah Cornish’s RBI triple and Lili Cavanagh’s two-run double.
The offense continued in the third.
O’Sullivan drove in another run with a sacrifice fly before Genevieve Beacom and Riordan Bradley delivered consecutive RBI singles. Molly Paddison added a run-scoring single as Australia pushed six more across.
Paddison later tripled home two in the fourth. O’Sullivan doubled in another run during the inning before reaching on an error that brought home Australia’s final run in the fifth.
Eynon went 3-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. O’Sullivan added three hits, four RBI and two runs, while Cornish collected three hits and scored three times.
Paddison finished with two hits and three RBI. Cavanagh, Bradley, Beacom and Abbey Kelly each drove in two.
Australia also controlled the game in the circle.
Meaghan Haggart worked two perfect innings before Brittney Baker, Mackenzie Jackson and Maddison Erwin each pitched one inning. The four combined to allow two hits and one walk while striking out four.
Jackson earned the win as Australia completed the 21-0 shutout.
Canada 15, Korea 2
Final in five innings
Korea scored first, but Canada did not trail for long.
Hyeonah Kim drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the first before Lucie Anctil tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom half.
Seojin Yang put Korea back in front with a run-scoring single in the second. Canada answered by sending 13 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs.
Claire Eccles put Canada ahead with a two-run single. Anctil followed later in the inning with a bases-clearing double before Madison Willan singled home another run. Alizée Gélinas completed the inning with a two-run double.
Canada added four runs in the third. Emily Baxter doubled home Eccles before Anctil drove in two more with her second double of the game. Willan followed with another RBI single.
A wild pitch and Anctil’s fourth hit brought home Canada’s final two runs in the fourth.
Anctil finished 4-for-4 with two doubles and seven RBI. Eccles went 3-for-3 with three runs, two RBI and two stolen bases.
Willan collected two hits and drove in two, while Gélinas added two hits and two RBI. Canada finished with 16 hits.
Alli Schroder allowed four hits and struck out four across three innings to earn the win. Jaida Lee followed with two hitless innings, striking out four as Canada closed out the 15-2 victory.
United States 24, Mexico 5
Final in five innings
The United States scored seven runs in the first inning and 13 more in the second, building a 20-2 lead before the game reached the third.
Denae Benites delivered a two-run double during the first-inning rally before Ashton Lansdell hit a two-run home run. Jamie Baum added a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
Mexico scored twice in the second, but Team USA responded with its biggest inning of the tournament.
Benites opened the scoring with a three-run home run. Ashanthy Marcano Vizcarrondo and Kelsie Whitmore followed with RBI doubles as the United States continued to work through the Mexico bullpen.
Remi Schaber added an RBI single before Alexandra Hugo and Benites drew bases-loaded walks. Lansdell completed the 13-run inning with a grand slam, her second home run of the game.
Mexico scored three times in the third. Daniela Leal Aguilar doubled before two runs crossed on wild pitches, then Camila Vargas Cruz added an RBI single.
The United States answered with three runs in the bottom half and another in the fourth.
Lansdell finished with three hits, two home runs, seven RBI and four runs scored. Benites had two hits, six RBI and four runs.
Marcano Vizcarrondo collected two doubles and drove in two. Whitmore doubled, walked twice and added two RBI, while Kate Blunt reached four times and drove in two.
Jordan Andreas earned the win after allowing one hit over two scoreless innings. Elise Berger and Adelaide Wilson worked the first three innings as the United States completed the 24-5 victory.
After Day Two
Australia, Canada and the United States are each 2-0. Hong Kong, China, Korea and Mexico enter Day Three at 0-2.
Three more games are scheduled for Friday at Rivets Stadium:
11 a.m. CT: Korea vs. Hong Kong, China
3 p.m. CT: Mexico vs. Canada
7 p.m. CT: United States vs. Australia