The USA and New Zealand square off in a matchup of old foes.  These countries were two of the five in the first-ever Women¡¯s World Championship back in 1965.  New Zealand is the last team other than the U.S. to win this tournament (1982).  The Kiwis need to shake off Wednesday¡¯s 6-0 loss to China if they are to stay in the game with the Americans and stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.  The U.S. appears to be firing on all cylinders and brings great confidence into the game against the White Sox.

 

China will look to go to 5-0 when they take on a South Africa team that, though winless, still is no pushover, even for a team that¡¯s unbeaten.  The South Africans averaged losing by just three runs in each of their first three defeats, and Wednesday were close with Italy, 3-2, until eventually falling by four runs (6-2).  China seems to have everything coming together at the right time, and is coming off what Coach Michael Bastian called their most complete game yet.

 

Canada will look to stay within striking distance of China (and USA) when they face Italy tomorrow.  Canada¡¯s record is 3-1 and Italy¡¯s is the reverse.  It¡¯s getting to the point where Italy may have to run the table to get into the playoffs, so they¡¯ll need to build off of Wednesday¡¯s win over South Africa to gain the momentum needed to beat a talented Canadian team.  Canada, however, can ill afford to start buckling under the pressure since the intensity level only goes up from here.  Error free softball can keep Canada on a path to a 2006 medal.

 

Greece gets back in action on Thursday when they take on a Netherlands team that they saw a year ago at the European Championship.  This should be a good test to see if the Greeks can get over the hurdle and make a charge toward a playoff spot.  At the same time, the Netherlands needs to start playing desperate softball or else a team that finished third at the qualifier might not even be in the world championship¡¯s top eight.

 

Undefeated Australia will face a Venezuela team on Day 5 that prior to Beijing they probably wouldn¡¯t have expected to see with a 3-1 record.  But, the 2006 Central American & Caribbean Games softball gold medalists are turning a lot of heads here.  Wednesday night¡¯s eight-inning win over Chinese Taipei may have been a landmark game for the Venezuelans, but they surely want more now.  Australia needs to stick to what they do best if they want to head into Friday¡¯s showdown with Japan with their perfect record still intact.

 

The Chinese Taipei team will get a consolation from their heartbreaking Day 4 loss to Venezuela.  Chinese Taipei was scheduled to play Colombia on Thursday, so the 7-0 forfeit win will give Chinese Taipei a 2-3 record and still a chance to make the playoffs since one of their remaining round robin games is against a Botswana team that heads into Thursday winless (not counting their forfeit win from Colombia).

 

The night will close with DPR Korea and Great Britain going head-to-head in a battle of 1-3 teams.  Mathematically, DPR Korea has been in their three losing games a little closer than the Brits have, but GB will still look to give the Koreans a run for win number two in what is certainly a talented Pool A.  The playoff hopes of the loser of this game could be finished, so expect both teams to leave it all on the field.

 

 

Issued by: News Service, Organizing Committee