Canada kept its gold-medal hopes alive at the
women's world softball championship on Sunday with a 3-2 victory
over Taiwan.
Danielle Lawrie of Langley, B.C., pitched a complete game and
struck out eight batters for Canada (6-2), which will play Australia
(5-3) on Monday.
``The team responded like elite athletes should,'' said coach
Lori Sippel. ``They came to play and got the job done.''
A victory over the Australians would secure Canada a berth in the
2008 Olympics. They also need to win that game and another later in
the day to reach Tuesday's bronze-medal match.
The winner of that game advances to the gold-medal game, with the
loser getting the bronze.
Canada took an early lead over Taiwan when Calgary's Sheena
Lawrick drove in a run in the first inning. Melanie Matthews of
Surrey, B.C., had two more RBIs in the fifth inning to help Canada
to a victory.
It was a good performance one day after a heartbreaking 1-0 loss
to China.
``It is amazing how having one life can spark everyone to soul
search and bring their best selves to the park,'' Sippel said.
In other second-round games, Jessica Mendoza hit two home runs to
lead the United States to an 11-2 victory over Australia and extend
its unbeaten streak.
Stacey Nuveman, Andrea Duran and Crystl Bustos also homered to
back the pitching of Catherine Osterman.
``I thought we did a good job,'' said U.S. coach Mike Candrea,
whose top-seeded team is 8-0. ``I'm really proud of my kids.''
Japan edged host China 1-0 in extra innings while Italy
eliminated Venezuela 2-1.
Japan's Satoko Mabuchi drove in Eri Yamada for the winning run.
Yukiko Ueno pitched a complete game for the Japanese, giving up
three hits and striking out nine.
