The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Team USA earns third-place finish at Canadian Open
07.23.2013 | Softball
Rising senior Taylor Thom finishes event with four runs batted in and two scored.
SURREY, British Columbia - Team USA came up just short in its quest for the gold medal at the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship on Monday, falling 2-1 in eight innings to Australia to earn the bronze.
Texas rising senior Taylor Thom started the contest at shortstop and ended the tournament with a .267 batting average, four runs batted in and two scored.
The teams were scoreless through four innings before Australia struck first in the top of the fifth inning. Leigh Godfrey singled to drive in Melinda Weaver with one out.
In the bottom of the frame, Team USA loaded the bases with no outs, but failed to convert. Lauren Gibson singled, Lauren Chamberlain was hit by a pitch and Valerie Arioto was hit by a pitch. Team Australia pitcher Vanessa Stokes worked out of the jam with a double play, as Nicole Hudson flew out to center and Gibson was thrown out at the plate, and strikeout.
The Americans knotted the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Raven Chavanne led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Kourtney Salvarola. Salvarola moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Chamberlain single.
With the international tiebreaker rules in place, Australia took a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth. Stacey McManus was placed on second to start the frame, stole third and scored on a single from Godfrey.
Team USA tried to answer in the bottom of the inning as pinch runner Lindsey Ziegenhirt started on second base, but could not score. Thom flew out to center before a Destinee Martinez single put runners on the corners with one down. Stokes again worked out of trouble with a groundout and pop out to preserve the victory.
In the circle, Stokes earned the victory with four innings in relief. She allowed four hits and a run while striking out one. Kaia Parnaby earned the start and threw four innings, scattering seven hits and fanning two. For the Americans, Jessica Moore tossed the first four-and-a-third innings, giving up a run on four hits and three strikeouts. Sara Nevins took the loss, pitching three-and-two-thirds, yielding a run on three hits and four whiffs.
Team USA will round out its summer schedule Aug. 10-18 at the International Softball Federation (ISF) World Championship/Pan American Games qualifying tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2013 Team USA Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship Schedule
(all times Central)
Tuesday, July 16 USA 4 California A's 1
Wednesday, July 17 USA 10 Japan 3 (six innings)
Thursday, July 18 USA 5 Australia 4 (eight innings); USA 8 Venezuela 1 (five innings)
Friday, July 19 USA 8 Canada 5
Saturday, July 20 USA 7 Canada 4 (Playoffs)
Sunday, July 21 Japan 5 USA 0 (Playoffs)
Monday, July 22 Australia 2 USA 1 (eight innings) (Playoffs)
