Olympics: Canada vs. VenezuelaSaturday, August 16, 2008 Venezuela Holds Off Canada for 2-0 Win Venezuela got things going early in the top of the first inning. Lawrie hit the leadoff batter, who was then sacrificed to second. Denisse Fuenmayor then hit a single to right field to score the runner from second base. Venezuela threatened to increase the lead to 2-0, but left fielder Melanie Matthews (Surrey, BC) threw out Fuenmayor at home on a single by Yuruby Alicart to end the inning. Fresh off her great throw, Melanie Matthews continued the momentum shift by smashing a single through the left side. Despite getting a few runners on base, Canada was unable to produce the tying run. Both pitchers then got into shutdown mode, retiring the opposing hitters in order until the fourth inning. After quickly retiring the two first batters, Lawrie delivered a pitch at the heart of the plate that Yuruby Alicart drove over the centerfield fence with two outs, increasing the Venezuelan lead to 2-0. Jennifer Yee (North Delta, BC) then led off the Canadian half of the inning with a single, but was left stranded on third base. Once again, both pitchers settled down and retired the opposing hitters in order in the fifth and sixth innings. After Venezuela received a leadoff hit but was unable to increase its lead, Canada made a strong push to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. Jennifer Salling (Port Coquitlam, BC) hit a leadoff single to centerfield, and Sheena Lawrick (Calgary, AB) followed with a single of her own, allowing Salling to advance to third and Lawrick advanced to second on the throw, placing runners on second and third with no outs. However, Mariangee Bogado took advantage of anxious Canadian hitters and retired the three next batters, giving Venezuela the victory. Lawrie gave up two runs on four hits, and compiled nine strikeouts in the complete game loss, while Bogado relied heavily on her defence, allowing five hits and only struck out one batter during the game. Each of the first five hitters in Canada’s lineup registered a single, including Melanie Matthews, Caitlin Lever (Buffalo, New York), Jennifer Yee, Jennifer Salling and Sheena Lawrick. The loss dropped Canada’s preliminary round record to 3-2, while Venezuela improved to 2-3. Canada will now need to rebound against Australia (3-2) tomorrow (5:00am, live on TSN, RDS), and will finish the preliminary round against Japan (4-1) on Monday (5:00am, live on TSN, RDS). Current Standings
Tournament Batting Leaders -SC- For more information, contact: Gilles LeBlanc |