Baseball Canada’s national women’s team opened its 2006 Women’s World Cup schedule, today, with a 5-2 win over the defending champions from the United States in Taipei, Taiwan.
The bronze medal winners at the 2004 World Cup, Canada rode clutch hitting to victory, scoring four of their on two-out hits.
Right fielder Kate Psota (Burlington, Ont.) broke a 2-2 tie with a two-out bases-loaded single in the bottom of the fourth inning to score Erin Forman (Hamilton, Ont.) and Nicole Luchanski (Edmonton, Alta.).
Having given her team the lead, Psota, then earned the save in the game by throwing three scoreless innings in relief of winning pitcher Martine Nadeau (Québec, Qué.), who gave up the only two U.S. runs behind five hits, a pair of strikeouts and one walk.
Canadian catcher Geneviève Beauchamp (St. Jérome, Qué.) drove in the first two Canadian runs with a two-out double to score Samantha Magalas (Burlington, Ont.) and Melanie Harwood (Mississauga, Ont.) in the second inning. American shortstop Keri Lemasters slapped an RBI-single to centre in the top of the third and the Americans tied the game on a wild pitch from Nadeau.
Psota dominated the rest of the way and Canada added an insurance marker in the sixth inning to secure Baseball Canada’s second straight victory over the United States in international competition following an 8-6 win by the men’s senior national team at the World Baseball Classic in March.
Canada will look to improve to 2-0 at the World Cup when they face Cuba tomorrow at Tien-Mou Stadium in Taipei.
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