(Surrey, BC) Team Canada continued with their strong pitching by committee and powerful hitting to shut out the Washington Absolute Blast by a score of 13-0 after four innings due to the run-ahead rule. The two teams will play again on Wednesday night, before Canada takes on the United States in four marquee games starting on Thursday (7:00pm PDT). All game information is available on the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship website (www.canadianopenfastpitch.com) and the Softball Canada website (www.softball.ca).

 

In the second exhibition game against the Washington Absolute Blast, Canada took a few innings to get going, but put up nine runs to open the scoring in the bottom of the third. Local call-up Leah Riske (Surrey, BC) led off with a single, followed by a walk by Melanie Matthews (Surrey, BC) and a single by Evelyne Pare (Ile-Perrot, QC) to load the bases. Jenn Yee (North Delta, BC) then drove in two runs with a double, and Pare then scored on a line drive to second base by Sheena Lawrick (Calgary, AB). After Jen Salling (Port Coquitlam, BC) walked, three consecutive singles by Kaleigh Rafter (Guelph, ON), Jill Russell (London, ON) and Joey Lye (Toronto, ON) put three more runs on the board, followed by a three-run homerun by Leah Riske to give Canada a 9-0 lead.

 

The following inning, Jen Salling led off with a walk and Kaleigh Rafter reached on a single before Jill Russell hammered a three-run homerun of her own. Joey Lye walked, Leah Riske was hit by a pitch and Victoria Hayward (Mountain View, California) reached on a fielder's choice as Lye was retired at third. A few batters later, Sheena Lawrick hit an RBI single to push Riske in to score to complete the scoring.

 

In the pitcher's circle, Junior team call-up Shanna Wilson (Peterborough, ON) threw two scoreless innings, allowing only one hit, with that runner being erased on a double play. Marina Demore (Richmond, BC) pitched two innings in relief, allowing one hit and recording two strikeouts.

 

 

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For more information, please contact:

 

Gilles LeBlanc

Manager - Marketing and Communications

Softball Canada

(613) 523-3386 ext. 3105