麻豆社区

Canada opened up their play at the ISF Women's World Fastpitch Championships on Friday night in a match-up against Chinese Taipei.

With the Opening Ceremonies preceding the game, the Canadian team had the support of a large and raucous Whitehorse crowd.

Chinese Taipei went through three pitchers attempting to stifle the offensive prowess of the Canadian team.

Canada needed only one.

Jenna Caira was nearly perfect against the Chinese team, giving up only three hits and no runs in a complete game and propelling Canada to a 6-0 win.

Caira collected nine strikeouts on the night and was aided by an offensive explosion at the plate from veteran left-fielder Melanie Matthews, who collected three RBI's on two home runs.

With the teams knotted at zero after four innings, Matthews stepped up to the plate in the top of the fifth and knocked a solo shot to centre field.

After that, the floodgates opened for Canada.

The next batter, Jennifer Yee, hit a single down the third base line and Chinese

Taipei pulled their starting pitcher Chung Hui Lin, who gave up nine hits and one run in the loss.

Her relief, Chiu An Ju, fared no better, allowing four runs over two innings.

After Canada's Megan Timpf got on base with a walk, Matthews hit her second home run of the game, a high-arcing shot just right of centre field.

Right-fielder Victoria Hayward also brought in two runs in the top of the seventh inning on a fielder's choice and designated hitter Jennifer Gilbert added another on a sacrifice fly.

"We've got a pretty good line up of people who can hit the ball,鈥� said Mark Smith, head coach of the Canadian team.

"We had 12 hits tonight and those six runs could have just as easily been 10 or 12.鈥�

Caira credited her performance to the play of catcher of Kaleigh Rafter.

"I was just trying to stay smooth,鈥� she said.

"Kaleigh was great behind the plate. She knows what works and what doesn't. She plays to my strengths, but also challenges me in certain situations. She's making me better every game. I tip my hat to her because she's a great catcher.鈥�

Coming off a disappointing fourth place finish at the Canada Cup in Surrey, B.C. last week, Canada remedied their poor fielding which plagued them throughout the tournament.

On Friday night, their defence was impenetrable, allowing no runs and collecting no errors.

Caira said the offence the team generated allowed them to relax in the field and make the right decisions.

"I think everyone throughout the line-up did a great job and we capitalized on our opportunities,鈥� she said.

"We were challenging our opponent and we made some smart plays.鈥�

"Any win is a good win,鈥� added Smith.

"The first game of the tournament is always the toughest one to win especially when you're playing at home and the expectations are high but we got a great start tonight.鈥�

Caira also noted the energy the team received from the Whitehorse crowd.

"It's awesome to play here; being on home turf is amazing,鈥� she said.

"That support really got us energized and I think if we can keep this run going it's going to be a really great tournament.鈥�