Taiwan’s women’s softball team suffered a 0-7 rout against an undefeated Japanese team in the semifinals of the World Games Tuesday, and will now compete in the bronze medal match against Australia Wednesday.
After posting a solid 2-1 record in the competition’s round-robin stage, Taiwan was hoping for an upset against Japan, a traditional powerhouse in the sport that had scored 22 runs in their previous three games while only letting up one.
Taiwan squandered a chance to establish a solid lead at the top of the first when, with two outs and the bases loaded, they finished the inning without scoring.
From there, the momentum shifted in favor of Japan, which put two runs on the board in the second and another four in the fifth, including a two-run homer by Yamato Fujita.
Japan also benefited from a dominant performance by pitchers Miu Goto and Sakura Miwa, who combined to allow only three hits and one walk while striking out five.
Taiwan, by contrast, cycled through a total of three pitchers, none making it more than two-plus innings and each giving up between two and three runs.
With the loss, Taiwan will move on to face Australia in the bronze medal match on Wednesday, while Japan will take on an undefeated United States team in the competition’s final.
The quadrennial World Games, held this year in Birmingham, Alabama from July 7-17, is an international multisport event comprising sports that are not included in the Olympic Games.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel
