'The 女 team is also the strongest in the world' Japan beats the U.S. to win the Women's Baseball World Cup for the seventh consecutive time
Aug 04, 2024
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The Japanese women's baseball team won the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Federation) Women's Baseball World Cup final in Thunder Bay, Canada, on the 4th (Korea time) by beating the United States 11-6.
The Japanese women's baseball team, ranked No. 1 in the world, lost to the U.S., ranked No. 4 in the group stage. The U.S. scored a point in the game and won 4-3.
However, the two teams met again in the final, and Japan succeeded in destroying the U.S. mound with 12 hits and 11 points. In the top of the third inning, Japan began to lead 4-0 with Ayaka Deguchi's first RBI timely hit, Haruna Tadano's one-run timely hit, and Yuki Kawabata's two-run home run.
Japan, which scored seven more points until the fifth inning to run 11-1, was heavily chased by the U.S. Following Alexandra Hugo's three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, the U.S. chased two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning with timely hits by Ashton Rangel and Naomi Ryan, but no more points came out. Japan, which blocked no runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, secured an 11-6 victory. In the women's baseball international tournament game, seven innings are regular innings.
As a result, the Japanese national team won the World Cup for the seventh time in a row. The WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup, which was first started in 2004, was first won by the U.S. and twice. However, Japan won three tournaments in 2008, followed by wins in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. And since then, it has been the seventh consecutive gold medal until this tournament, which was held for the first time in six years due to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the change in the tournament cycle.
Shimizu Miyu, a member of the Yomiuri Giants women's team and the starting pitcher for the final (three earned runs in four ⅔ innings), told WBSC, `We came this far as one. We've definitely made a lot of progress and communicated with each other. This is the best time to harmonize with each other," he said, expressing satisfaction.
Lisa Nakashima, director of the Japanese women's baseball team, said "At first everyone seemed nervous. However, the tension was relieved after the timely hit. We reached the top of the world for the seventh time in a row. But I didn't think we were dominant. Today's game could have been won by the opponent. In the future, we also have some more areas to improve. Through this competition, we learned that we have to work harder" he said.
Japan, meanwhile, is ranked No. 1 in both men's and women's world rankings. In the case of men's baseball, Japan ranks first, Mexico and the United States rank second and third, and South Korea ranks fourth. Japan ranks first in women's baseball, followed by Taiwan, Venezuela, the United States, and Mexico. Korean women's baseball is ranked 10th.
youll@sportschosun.com
