Birmingham, Ala. – The Canadian Women’s National Softball Team was defeated by the United States 10-2 in five innings at Hoover Met Stadium on Monday night. The loss eliminated Team Canada (1-2) from the medal round, and they will now face Mexico (0-3) in the consolation round at 10:00am CDT on Tuesday with the winner of that game moving on to play in the fifth-place game on Wednesday.
 
After a scoreless first inning, the United States opened the scoring with a two-run single by Dejah Mulipola in the bottom of the second, then added three more runs in the third on a run-scoring single, a hit by pitch with the bases loaded and a fielder’s choice to take a 5-0 lead. Canada got some life back in the top of the fourth when Kelsey Harshman (Delta, B.C.) led off with a single and scored on a two-run homerun to left by Kianna Jones (Cloverdale, B.C.).
 
However, the Americans went back to work in the bottom of the inning, scoring five runs on the strength of a pair of two-run homeruns and an RBI double. Canada couldn’t get anything going in the top of the fifth as the game ended on the run-ahead rule.
 
Box Score: United States 10 vs. Canada 2
 
Morgan Rackel (Calgary, Alta.) started the game in the circle for Canada, allowing five runs on five hits with two strikeouts in two innings and a third, while Jorde Chartrand (Weyburn, Sask.) allowed three runs on one hit and a strikeout in an inning and a third. Nicola Simpson (Seattle, Wash.) got the final out, but allowed two runs on two hits. The homerun by Jones and the single by Harshman in the fourth were Canada’s only hits.
 
With the loss, Canada (1-2) finished third in Group A and will face Mexico (0-3) at 10:00am CDT on Tuesday in a crossover consolation game. The winner of the consolation game between Canada and Mexico will face the winner of Puerto Rico (1-2) and Italy (0-3) in the fifth-place game, while the two losing teams will play a seventh-place game.
 
The United States (3-0) finished first in Group A and will square off with the second-place team in Group B Australia (2-1) in one semi-final, while Japan (3-0) finished first place in Group B and will play second-place in Group A Chinese Taipei (2-1) in the other semi-final. The two winning teams from those games will play in gold medal game while the losing teams will play for bronze.