Women's National Team Advances to 2027 WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals Despite Narrow Loss to Australia
ROCKFORD, Illinois – Canada's Women's National Team punched its ticket to the 2027 WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals despite dropping a hard-fought 14-13 decision to Australia on Sunday at Rivets Stadium.
Australia scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to hand Canada its second straight loss, but the Women's National Team finished the Group Rockford stage with a 3-2 record, good for third place and a berth in the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals, which will return to Rockford, Illinois, from July 19-25, 2027.
Canada's offence produced one of its strongest performances of the tournament, collecting 14 hits while building leads of 3-0 after the opening inning and 8-3 through three frames.
Emily Baxter (Oakville, ON) led the offence with a 2-for-4 performance that included two RBI and two runs scored. Alizée Gélinas (Trois-Rivières, QC) continued her impressive tournament by going 3-for-4 with an RBI, two runs scored and a walk.
Claire Eccles (Surrey, BC), Cassie Matlock (Edmonton, AB) and Frédérique Noël (Bois-des-Filion, QC) each collected two hits, while Andréanne Leblanc (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC) and Kyanna Faucher (Beauce, QC) drove in runs as Canada received contributions throughout the lineup.
Australia erased Canada's early advantage with four runs in the fourth inning before the teams traded four-run innings in the fifth. Canada regained the lead with a run in the top of the seventh, but Australia answered in its final at-bat, scoring twice to complete the comeback victory.
Raine Padgham (Burnaby, BC got the start for Canada, allowing three runs while striking out two over two innings. Allison Schroder (Fruitvale, BC), Sarah Pengelly (Burnaby, BC) and Sophy Gagné (Sainte-Martine, QC) combined in relief as Canada battled through a high-scoring affair.
Canada concludes the Group Stage with wins over Hong Kong (13-0), Korea (15-3) and Mexico (12-2) before falling to the United States and Australia to finish 3-2.
The third-place finish secures Canada's place at the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals, where the world's six top nations will compete for the world championship in Rockford, Illinois, from July 19-25, 2027.
WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Group Stage Schedule
*All games at Rivets Stadium
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