The Aussie Spirit softball team are still in the medal hunt following a disappointing 7-1 loss against Canada this morning.
Gold medal chances have taken a blow as they fall to one win and two losses for the week, placing them in fourth position at the time of writing.
After a blistering start that saw back-to-back hits from Leigh Godfrey (single) and Stacey Porter (double), Australia had Canada well and truly on the ropes.
But, converting runs again proved to be an issue for the four-time Olympic medallists, who despite putting five runners on base in the very first inning, could only bring in the single scoring play.
“That was an opportunity to put our hand up for the Gold Medal match, which is what we set out to do, so that’s something we’ll reflect on a little bit,” said Porter, who was the Aussie Spirit’s sole scorer.
“But we’re still a medal chance and there was plenty of quality ball in that game and we just need to take out what we need to work on.”
The Aussie’s did record six hits against Canada and will look to build on those positives for tomorrow’s match against a powerhouse USA outfit - headlined by their world-class pitcher Monica Abbott.
Taylah Tsitsikronis’ hitting streak at the Olympics also continued with another solid outing.
“We did have some real quality at bats, we put six or seven hits on the board so we were happy with that.
“We just needed that timely hit when we had runners on bases.”
Two errors in defence were costly again for the Australians, both leading to runs for Canada, a similar tale of the tape to the Spirit’s opening game against Japan.
Porter has faith in her charges to again bounce back and secure a spot in the medal matches come Tuesday.
“We were just untidy again, which is what happened in the first game as well,” added Porter.
“We know that when we play defence we can win ball games.”
Australia line up against USA Sunday 25 July, 10:00am (11:00am AEST) at Yokohama Baseball Stadium.
Box score available here.
Tournament standings available here.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Schedule available here.
Catch every game live, free and in HD on 7Plus.
Jack Lucas
#HaveAGo at Softball
Softball
IS SOFTBALL JUST FOR GIRLS?
No, Softball is for both boys and girls.
WHAT AGE CAN I START?
Softball Batter Up is for 4-8 year olds.
DO I NEED MY OWN BAT / EQUIPMENT?
No, all equipment is provided for beginners in a Softball Batter Up program
