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Canada beat Mexico and won bronze in women’s softball at the Tokyo Olympics

Yokohama, Japan – Canada won its first Olympic medal in softball.

Kelsey Harshman drove the car into the last inning with a sacrificial sprint in the fifth as the Canadians beat Mexico 3-2 to clinch bronze at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.

Emma Entzminger added two RBIs to secure the podium at Yokohama Baseball Stadium, nearly 13 years after the harrowing schedule called for fourth place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Four veterans of this team have come to these games in search of redemption: Jane Saling, Danielle Lowry, Lauren Regula and Cali Rafter.

And while they were heartbroken when Canada’s gold medal hopes were dashed after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Japan, they won’t be returning home empty-handed.

The United States and the host countries of the Olympics will meet in the final on Tuesday.

Canada took a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the second in Entzinger’s double left singles match that scored Saling and Erika Polidori after a field foul early in the half.

Mexico responded with two wins to overcome the third when Brittany Cervantes left to score for Sydney Romero.

The Canadians tried to lead 3-1 in the bottom half, but Victoria Hayward took a hit on her home ground.

Mexico overtook in fifth place when Susanna Brookshire tore the right two goals to put Romero in third.

But Canada slipped forward forever at the end of the inning on a sequence that began with Janet Leung’s hit and Hayward’s song. Larissa Franklin continued to advance the sprinters to second and third place with an out and a sacrifice Harshman flies left that scored Leung.

The top Americans, who finished perfectly 5-0 in the round-robin portion of this six-team tournament, won three consecutive gold medals starting with the introduction of softball as an Olympic sport in 1996 through 2004 before settling for the ‘silver in 2008, when Japan passed the podium.

Softball and baseball were banned from the match schedule in 2012 and 2016 and will not be part of Paris 2024, but both are expected to return after four years to Los Angeles.

Conditions at the 34,046-seat stadium in Yokohama on the western side of Tokyo Bay – excluding fans due to COVID-19 – were more manageable, feeling 30 degrees Celsius with humidity after a series of hot days for football matches. opening.

Canadian Mission Chef Marnie McBean, on the 25th anniversary of her triple gold rower, composed the country’s cheering section, sitting just behind the house board with two flags and a drum.

In the country’s first appearance in an Olympic softball game, Mexico secured a spot in the game for third place with a back-to-back win to wrap up their league table, including a 4-1 win on Monday night over the Australia – the country that beat Canadians. for the bronze in 2008.

Canada was unable to qualify its baseball team for the 2020 Olympic baseball championship after finishing fourth in 2004 and sixth in 2008.

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