Reported from 17 World Series, 9 Olympics, 6 continents. Host nation Canada came in 2nd overall.
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And on Sunday, Canada produced on both fronts with a stellar outing from starter Sara Groenewegen.
On a busy evening of team finals, US won an historic first women’s baseball gold with an 11-3 victory over Canada.
With the gold hanging around their necks, these women have brought the great American pastime into the future. First she worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the opening frame and then drove in the U.S.’s first two runs with a single in the bottom half, adding another RBI with a triple to deep centre field in the 6th.
“It’s an honor to be a part of the first Pan Ams for women’s baseball – just getting us out there, putting us on the map and letting everyone know that girls can play baseball and play it well”, pitcher Michelle Snyder said. We hit it at them, so it’s kind of tough to do things. The U.S. had received the bronze medal in four consecutive Games prior to this year’s event.
The squad won its next two matches in tournament play, defeating Cuba, 3-1, in the quarterfinals and the Dominican Republic, 3-1, in the semifinals, setting up the rematch with Brazil in the gold medal game.
In the end, the Americans were victorious.
This led to an overtime period in which both teams automatically started with runners on second base and, after a ball hit straight up in the air by Natalie Wideman somehow evaded all the US catchers, the Canadians also had a runner on first.
America’s Sarah Hudek, considered the best player in this tournament, had a pair of singles and showed off the incredible skill-set that paved the way for the Houston high schooler to a scholarship Bossier Parrish Community College in Lousianna.
Meanwhile, the U.S. women got the job done in baseball.
Stacy Piagno, who pitched the final 3 2/3 innings in relief of Hudek to get the win, said she faced resistance to playing baseball while growing up.
“The heat was (a factor) for every one of us”.
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“I think it’s beyond United States of America Baseball – it’s women’s baseball as a whole”, said U.S. manager Jonathan Pollard. That will be hard considering that men’s baseball and women’s softball were dropped from the Summer Games after 2008.
