(Story & Photo by Marco Stoovelaar)
    USA again captures Junior World Championship-title
Nederlands
 CLEARWATER, Florida (USA) -
The USA again has won the World Junior Championship by winning the Final of the event on Sunday (July 30) against Japan.
Team USA won 13-4 to win the twelfth edition of the global event and remain unbeaten (9-0).
However, the USA trailed 4-1 after four innings, but then rallied for five runs in the top of the fifth inning to turn the game its way.
It was the sixth time that the USA won the World Championship-title.
In the previous eleven events, Japan had won the Gold five times.
The title has been won by another country than the USA and Japan only once.
That was in 1985 when China was crowned as World Champion in the second edition in Fargo (North Dakota, USA).
The USA and Japan have finished in either first or second place each time since the third edition in 1987.
In the first Championship in 1981, Japan won the title and the USA silver.
Four years later, Japan was second and the USA third.
The USA reached the Final on Saturday by winning 4-1 against Japan in the first Semi-Final.
Earlier today, Japan faced Puerto Rico in the second Semi-Final or Bronze Medal-game or Backdoor-game.
Japan won 7-2 to become the second finalist, while Puerto Rico won the bronze medal.
Two years ago, in Oklahoma City (USA), the same three teams ended in the same order.
The Netherlands Under-19 Softball Team was eliminated in the Second Round on Saturday after losing 5-3 to the Dominican Republic.
With the loss, the Netherlands finished in 14th place in the final standings.
The Netherlands ended up in a tie with Brazil, which was eliminated earlier today after a 5-4 loss to Italy in eight innings.
As Brazil won the head-to-head game in the preliminary round, it finishes in 13th place in the final standings.
In the Final, the score was tied at 3-3 after the first inning, then Japan took a 4-1 lead in the second at bat.
Team USA, which collected 17 basehits, took a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, thanks to a 3-run homerun by Madilyn Nickles, who set several records for a Junior World Championship.
She hit six homeruns, batted in 30 runs and had the highest batting average with .690 (20-for-29), which are all records.
Nickles was 4-for-5 (two doubles, one homerun) in the Final and batted in six runs.
In the bottom of the first inning, Japan came alongside immediately.
Eri Shimoyama delivered an one-out, 2-run double, then scored herself on an error.
...Zdeněk Židek and Sabrina Fabrizi...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
Japan then took a 4-3 lead in the second inning.
With two runners on base, Reina Matsumoto singled through the middle to bring in the lead runner.
The second runner also was waved home and appeared to touch the plate in time, while sliding past catcher Dejah Mulipola.
However, she was called out by Canadian Home Plate Umpire Scott McLaren, who immediately signaled that the runner was tagged on her arm before touching the plate.
And that ended the inning.
In the top of the fith, the USA rallied for five runs on two homeruns to turn the game its way.
First, Baylee Klingler hit a 2-run homerun, which gave the USA a 5-4 lead.
Moments later, after two singles, Alissa Dalton hit a 3-run homerun to make it an 8-4 lead in favor of the USA.
Two more American runs were added in the sixth, then three more followed in the seventh to make it a 13-4 score.
There were two European umpires were assigned for the Final, being Zdeněk Židek (Czech Republic) and Sabrina Frabrizi (Italy), who were at first base and second base respectively.
Completing the crew was Jay Gibson (Australia), who was at third base.
The 13th edition of the World Junior Championship (or officially WBSC Junior Women's Softball World Championship) will be held in 2019 in Irvine (California), USA.
That will mark the third consecutive time that the event will be organized in the USA and fourth time in a row that it will be held in North America.
In 2013, the tournament was played in the Canadian city of Brampton.
That was the second time Canada hosted the event.
It also organized the frist edition in 1981 in Edmonton.
The World Junior Championship also has been organized in four other continents.
Oceania (1991, Adelaide, Australia), Asia (1999, Taipei, Chinese Taipei & 2003, Nanjing, China), Europe (2007, Enschede, Netherlands) and Africa (2011, Cape Town, South Africa) hosted the event before it went to North America in 2013.
When the 13th edition opens in two years, it will be the sixth time that it will be played in the USA.
Final Standings
1. USA, 2. Japan, 3. Puerto Rico, 4. Canada, 5. Chinese Taipei, 6. China, 7. Australia, 8. Czech Republic, 9. Mexico, 10. Philippines, 11. Dominican Republic, 12. Italy, 13. Brazil, 14. Netherlands, 15. Great Britain, 16. New Zealand, 17. South Korea, 18. Ireland, 19. Peru, 20. Argentina, 21. Guatemala, 22. India, 23. South Africa, 24. Bahamas, 25. Turkey, 26. Israel.
(July 30)
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