After Wednesday's opening day was rained out, day two of the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup 2024 - Group B in Pingtan, China on Thursday was also rain affected with only three games completed out of the five scheduled.
World No. 2 Japan beat No. 3 Puerto Rico 8-1 before overcoming Italy 10-0 in the second game of the day.
In the third game, Puerto Rico edged the Netherlands 4-3 in a nail-biter before rain suspended the China v Peru game in the bottom of the first, with the hosts leading 3-0. The game will resume on Friday at 09:00.
The China v Netherlands game has been rescheduled for Friday.
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China and Peru meet for the first time in the tournament. Yu Yan Duan got the ball for China, and Brianna Vick was on the mound for Peru.
China scored three runs in the top of the first, but the game was delayed and subsequently suspended due to rain. The game will resume at 09:00 on 16 August.
Game #2: Netherlands vs. Puerto Rico Boxscore
The Netherlands and Puerto Rico met to play the rained-out game on Day 1. The Netherlands sent Sam Vvan Der Zwan to the mound, and Yessenia Angelica Lopez started for Puerto Rico.
The Netherlands scored one run in the first inning, and Puerto Rico tied it right away in their own half of the first. After four innings, the teams were still in a 2-2 tie.
In the fifth, Netherlandss Bente Zwanenburg hit a two-out single to middle to drive in the go-ahead run, and retake the lead. In the bottome half Puerto Rico's pinch hitter Christina Ortiz singled and drove in the tying run to even the score again. Netherlands reliever Kika Bonora hit the batter with the bases loaded, allowing the go-ahead run to cross the plate and the lead went to Puerto Rico for the first time in the game. With one run lead, Puerto Rico's starter Lopez worked a quick one-two-three inning to seal the victory with a complete game effort.
Puerto Rico's head coach Alexis Barbosa said after the game, "Obviously a tough game, and I am glad we won.”
“We started slow, and in the first game (vs. Japan) we didn’t play our best defence. Then we began to play better. We will need to play perfect defense and give our 200% the next time."
Game #5: Italy vs. Japan Boxscore
After another rain delay, Japan and Italy took the field at approximately 14:30 to play the day's second game. Momoko Chinomi of Japan was on the mound again to start the game, while Chiara Di Lauro got the ball to start for Italy.
Japan quickly scored three runs in the first inning and added two in the second. Italy managed to shut down Japan in the third, but Japan's offence came back with another five runs in the fourth to win the second game of the day, 10-0.
Game #4: Puerto Rico vs. Japan Boxscore
With all three games rained out on Day 1, Japan and Puerto Rico played the first game of the tournament on Day 2 of the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup 2024 Group B. Momoko Chinomi started for Japan, and Puerto Rico sent Amanda Cintron to the mound to start the game.
Japan scored the first run of the tournament in the bottom of the first on Hanae Kitahara's RBI single! In the fourth, Yumeka Kagen hit a homerun, the first of this tournament, to the right to score another run for Japan.
Japan scored four runs in the fourth to expand their lead to six runs, and Puerto Rico responded with one run in the top of the fifth. Japan scored another two runs in the bottom of the sixth to increase their lead to seven runs, and the game ended with the run-ahead rules in effect as Japan defeated Puerto Rico, 8-1, to take the first win in the tournament.
Japan's head coach, Yosuke Sato, attributed the first win of the tournament to his players. " “It’s the first game, so we were all nervous but very focused. I think our players did well on both defensive and offensive sides.”
“We appreciate the staff's hard work in preparing the field for us,” Sato said.
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