Team USA’s Sementelli suffers first loss in World Cup action           

Team Japan handed the USA women their first loss of the Fourth World Cup of Women’s Baseball during the event’s opening hours Thursday in Jose Perez C Stadium, Maracay, Venezuela. The final score was 5-1. Japan comes into this World Cup as the reigning gold medalist from 2008 Cup it hosted, while the US team hopes to do better than its 2008 bronze-medal placement.           

Sherman Oaks, CA, resident Marti Sementelli, who won both the games she pitched in the 2008 World Cup in Japan, worked five innings in the loss. The 17-year-old threw 97 pitches, 57 for strikes, including one strikeout, and gave up eight hits and one walk. Her team committed two errors. Japan’s Yukari Isozaki got the win after holding the USA women to one run for four innings. She threw 73 pitches, 38 for strikes, with four strikeouts and five bases on balls.           

Jenny Dalton-Hill of Lexington, KY, provided important offense for Team USA. The first base player batted two for two with one RBI and walked twice. Dalton-Hill is a former University of Arizona softball champion and played professionally with the Colorado Silver Bullets women’s baseball club, where in 1997 she had the third highest batting average at .308 (Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball, 85) Other Team USA offense came from shortstop Jenna Marston of St. Louis, MO, with a hit, a walk, and a run scored; catcher Veronica Alverez of Miami, Fla., with a hit and walk, and second base player Malaika Underwood of San Diego, CA, who walked twice. Other hits were provided by leftfielder Tamara Holmes of Oakland, CA, and Nicky Holt of Camarillo, CA. Anna Kimbrell of Fort Mill, S.C., walked once. Team USA left 12 runners on base.           

In relief of Sementelli, Lindsay Horwitz of Gurnee, Ill., pitched one inning, allowing three hits, a run, and a walk, while Ghazaleh Sailors of Santa Barbara, CA, finished the game, allowing two hits.           

For the Japanese, third base player Ayako Rokkaku went three for three, with three RBI, and second base player Natsumi Nakano batted three for four, with the other two runs batted in and a run scored. Also providing offense for Japan were leftfielder Akiko Shimura (two for four), first base player Yukiko Kon (two for three, a run scored), catcher Tomomi Nishi (one hit and a walk), designated hitter Tomomi Takashima (one hit), centerfielder Miku Kayano (one hit), and shortstop Megumi Miyazaki (a walk). Late-inning pitchers for Japan included Kasum Noguchi, who pitched two innings, allowing four hits, and Risa Nakashima, who finished the game, allowing two bases on balls.           

Head coach and Battle Ground, WA, resident Don Freeman said the US women needed to “execute better. Japan did everything we expected them to do. We weren’t effective in Japan’s big (fourth) inning, and that was the difference in the game.” He added the team will “go back to the field and work out the wrinkles tomorrow, but as I said to the players, it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.” (USA Baseball press release)           

An estimated 6,000 attended the game. Team USA’s next game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, against Team South Korea. The team can be followed online through www.usabaseball.com.

Other First Day World Cup Games

Team Chinese Taipei soundly defeated Hong Kong, 17-1, in five innings to start Pool A competition at Catia La Mar Field (Cesar Nieves Stadium). Yu-Ying Hseih pitched three innings allowing no hits and striking out two to collect the win. Hong Kong’s lone run was scored against reliever Pei-Hsuan Chou, who pitched the final two innings and allowed one hit and two walks, but also struck out two. The loss went to Yik Shan Hung, who only pitched an inning and a third and allowed nine hits and one walk. Her reliever, Yee Wan Lam gave up the other six runs on three hits and two walks. Team Hong Kong committed six errors in the contest.           

Other Pool A games taking place today were Canada and Australia, which started at 2 p.m. (no score available) in Cesar Nieves Stadium, and Venezuela and Netherlands, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in Jose Casanova Stadium. The other Pool B game, Cuba and South Korea, was slated for 10 a.m. at Aviacion Stadium, but no score has been posted as of this blog.

Showcasing the 'Best Women’s Baseball Talent'

This game begins the International Baseball Federation Women’s Baseball World Cup 2010, with 11 national teams competing in two pools in the first round. Pool A consists of Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Netherlands, and host country Venezuela. These teams will play in the capital, Caracas. Pool B in Maracay contains Cuba, Japan, Puerto Rico, and the United States. After that round, the top three teams will go to the Caracas stadium to vie for the medal round. The other teams will play for placing and ranking points.

IBAF President Riccardo Fraccari expressed his enthusiasm for the tournament: "We are excited to bring this tournament to the great nation of Venezuela, and look forward to showcasing the world best women’s baseball talent in this event, and happy to see this sport growing at such a rapid pace." (IBAF press release)           

IBAF Executive Director Roberto Fabbricini said he is “looking forward to seeing who the next world champion will be.” (IBAF)