| June 23, 2000 Canada Advances to Semi
Final Game on Saturday
Australia defeated Canada tonight in the final game of the
double round robin game of the 3 Nations Challenge by a score of 2-0.
It wasn't until the bottom of the 3rd inning that
Australia's Natalie Ward hit a sacrifice bunt to 2nd base, scored on Fiona Hanes's RBI
single. Hanes was then driven in on a double from Sandra Allen. Canada got on base in the
2nd and 3rd innings only when British Columbia's Erin Woods was hit by a pitch and later
stole 2nd base. In the 3rd inning, Bramalea's Denise Carriere walked.
"Australia's Pitchers Melanie Roche and Kelly Hardie
threw well," stated Canadian Head Coach Ron Clarke. "We were pleased that we
stayed with them for 7 innings".
Canada had 0 hits, 0 runs and 1 error. The losing pitcher
for Canada was British Columbia's reserve pitcher from British Columbia Kelly Zeilstra.
Australia had 4 hits, 2 runs and 0 errors. The winning
pitcher was Melanie Roche.
After double round robin play, Canada's record is 2-2,
Australia 4-0 and New Zealand 0-4. Canada had a total of 16 hits, 7 runs and 2 errors in
the round robin play. Australia had 27 hits, 20 runs and 2 errors. New Zealand had 17
hits, 5 runs and 11 errors.
Canada will play New Zealand in the CBC live telecast of
the semi-final game at 1pm on Saturday. The winner of the semi-final game will play
Australia in the final game at 3:45pm on Saturday following the semi-finals. The final
game will be televised on Saturday July 1st at 4pm on CBC Sports Saturday.
The 3 Nations Softball Challenge is the final step in the
selection process for the 2000 National Team that will represent Canada at the 2000
Olympic Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. The final 15-member Olympic roster will be
announced on Sunday June 25th.
Canada placed 5th at the 1998 ISF World Softball
Championships to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Australia
received Silver. New Zealand will make their first appearance at the Olympic Games in
2000.
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