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(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Fred Versluis)
  Australia splits with Japanese squad on Day 1 Down Under Series
Nederlands
 BLACKTOWN, Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) -
On Friday (February 19), the Australian Open Women's Squad and Toyota Red Terriers from Japan played the first two games against each other in the Invitational Down Under Series.
The Japanse squad, which is widely considered to be one of the best professional women's softball teams in the world, won the opener with a 9-8 score, Australia then won the next match-up 5-1 in eight innings.
The two teams will meet each other in three more games on Saturday, then play two more on Sunday.
All games will be played at Blacktown International Sportspark in Blacktown, near Sydney.
This Sportspark also was the site of this year Australian Softball Championship-tournament in January and the World Baseball Classic Qualifier earlier this month.
It marks the second time that this event is staged.
Last year, the Red Terriers won all six games of the inaugural series.
Playing for the Red Terriers are experienced Americans Monica Abbott and Natasha Watley, both longtime members of the American National Team.
As pitcher of Team USA, Monica Abbott won the Silver Medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (China), but captured the titles at the World Championships in 2006 and 2010.
She plays professionally in the National Pro Fastpitch since 2007 (except 2008).
Last year, she won the league's Championship-title with Chicago Bandits and was named MVP of the Final Series.
Since 2009, the lefthanded pitcher is also playing professionally in Japan for the Red Terriers, with whom she won the title in the Japan Softball League four times and was named League MVP three times.
Short stop Natasha Watley also was a member of the Silver Team USA in Beijing, but won the Gold Medal at the Olympic Games four years earlier in Athens (Greece).
She plays professionally in the NPF since 2005 (except 2007-2009) and currentl plays for USSSA Pride, but also plays professionally since 2010 in the Japan Softball League with the Terriers, with whom she won four titles.
In 2002, she was named Most Valuable Player of the World Championship, which was won by the USA.
She also won the World-title in 2006 and 2010 with the American squad.
Five teams of the squad play for the Japan National Team.
The Australian Team, nicknamed 'Spirit', was selected after completion of the Down Under Series, which took place earlier this month.
In that Series, Australia played against Japan and New Zealand with a 30-player roster, divided over two teams.
Japan won the Down Under Series by winning 2-0 in the Final against Australia Green.
Australia Gold finished in third place, winning 4-2 vs. New Zealand.
For the Series against the Red Terriers, Head Coach Fabian Barlow selected a group of 22 players.
Including in this group are four players, who will play professionally this year in the American National Pro Fastpitch, being Stacey Porter, Taylah Tsitsikronis, Vanessa Stokes and Chelsea Forkin.
Before the NPF-season starts, Porter also will play professionally in Japan, as will Kaia Parnaby.
For Australia, the series against the Red Terriers, is part of its preparations for this years World Championship, that will take place in Canada in July.
(February 19)
Related Articles:
 Australia wins first World Baseball Classic Qualifier. (February 14, 2016)
Queensland Heat wins Australian Softball Title. (January 9, 2016)
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Game One
The opening game of the 7-game series was one with many runs and basehits.
In total 17 runs were scored and 20 basehits (13 by the Red Terriers) were recorded by the Official Scorers.
Australia used four pitchers in the game, the Japanese squad two.
Veteran player Stacey Porter has a great outing for Australia, as she was 3-for-3, including a double and homerun, scored a run and batted in six.
Haruna Furusawa and Yukimi Chikyu both had two basehits for the Terriers.
Leigh Godfrey and Brenda De Blaes, who both played in the Dutch big league in the past, remained hitless for the Aussies.
However, Godfrey did score a run, while De Blaes walked once.
It was an interesting match-up.
Australia trailed 2-0 after two innings, then came alongside in the third.
Trailing 5-2, Australia narrowed the deficit to 5-4 in the top of the fifth, then took an 8-6 lead in the sixth inning.
The Japanese squad answered with three runs to win 9-8.
Japan took an 1-0 lead in the first inning off of starter Justine Smethurst, thanks to a double by Mana Atsumi.
The second run was added in the second at bat via a sacrifice fly by Mami Tanaka.
In the top of the third, Australia made it a 2-2 score.
After the first run was scored on an error, the score was tied on a sacrifice fly by Stacey Porter.
...Stacey Porter...
...2B, Homerun, 6 RBI's...
(© Photo: Fred Versluis) |
Japan reacted with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Amelia Cudicio took over the Australian pitching.
She gave up a lead-off single to Midori Kamiyama, who then moved on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt and scored on a passed ball.
Hereafter, Naomi Nakagawa and Mami Tanaka hit back-to-back triples, resulting in the next run.
Sandra Holden took over the pithching, but was greeted with a runscoring double by Haruna Furusawa that made it 5-2.
Australia narrowed the deficit to 5-4 in the top of the fifth inning off of starter Sayuri Yamani.
Belinda White led off with a single, moved on a sacrifice bunt with one out and then was replaced by pinch-runner Janice Blackman.
She then scored when Stacey Porter followed with a homerun.
In the bottom of the fifth, Japan got one run back when Haruna Sakamoto led off with a single and scored on a following double by Erina Yamamoto.
In the top of the sixth, Australia staged a 4-run rally to take an 8-6 lead.
When the inning began, six new players entered the field for the Japanese squad, resulting in seven position-changes.
Yuka Nakamura became the new pitcher.
She walked lead-off hitter Jade Wall, who advanced on a flyout and a passed ball.
Next, Clare Warwick also walked and a run was scored when the runners were awarded the next base on an illegal pitch.
Another walk followed, this time for Belinda White.
After Leigh Godfrey had lined out, the bases got loaded when Chelsea Forkin singled.
Moments later, the bases were cleared when Stacey Porter delivered a 3-run double that gave Australia the lead for the first time in the game.
The lead was shortlived, as Japan answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Vanessa Stokes became the new Australian pitcher and got two quick outs.
She then gave up a homerun to Saki Yamazaki.
Hereafter, Mana Atsumi reached on an error and Ayumi Suzuki followed with a single.
The two scored on a following triple by Kana Kurosawa that gave the Terriers a 9-8 lead.
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Game Two
The second game between the two teams was tied after seven innings, but was won by Australia in the eighth inning with a 5-1 score, thanks to a pinch-hit, walk-off, grand slam homerun by Erin Thras!
The Japanese squad opened the score in the top off the first inning off of Jocelyn McCallum, who pitched seven innings for Australia.
The veteran pitcher struckout seven batters and gave up only three hits.
In the opening at bat, McCallum began with a strikeout for lead-off hitter Natasha Watley.
But she then hit next batter Ayumi Suzuki with a pitch, who advanced on a wild pitch and a grounder.
Suzuki then scored on a single by Haruna Sakamoto.
Japan left a runner on first base in the second inning and another one on second base in the third.
But from the third inning on, McCallum retired eleven batters in a row.
...Erin Thras (right) hit a...
...pinch-hit, walk-off, grand slam...
...At left is Brenda De Blaes...
...Here, they show the Bronze Medal of...
...the 2014 World Cup in Haarlem (Neth.)...
(© Photo: Fred Versluis) |
The Japanese defense turned a nice double play in the first inning, then Australia stranded two runners in the next at bat.
Australia was retired in order in the third and fourth inning, but then came alongside in the fifth off of starter Kasumi Hirihara.
Chelsea Forkin and Alexandra Casey then led off with singles to put runners on first and third base.
Katherine Tyle then connected for the third consecutive single that made it an 1-1 tie.
In the sixth, Australia left a runner on first and second base.
In the top of the seventh, Yukimi Chikyu led off with a triple for the Terriers, but was left behind.
In the bottom of the seventh, Australia had the bases loaded with one out, but Leigh Godfrey then flied out and Stacey Porter grounded out.
And with that, the score remained tied and the game went into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Kaia Parnaby took over the Australian pitching.
She walked a batter with two outs, but then closed with a strikeout.
Australia then decided the game with a huge hit in the bottom of the eighth off of reliever Akari Tanai, who had taken over the Japanese pitching in the sixth.
With Stacey Porter on second base as tie-break runner, Taylah Tsitsikronis was walked intenionally.
Hereafter, the bases got loaded when Jade Wall walked.
Next, Porter was forced out at home on a grounder by Chelsea Forkin and a strikeout accounted for the second out.
With the bases still loaded, pinch-hitter Erin Thras was the next batter for Australia.
And with an 0-2 count, she drilled the ball into right-centerfield for a walk-off, grand slam homerun!
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