Defending world champion Japan is entering the semi-finals of the V IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cup on Saturday as the number-one seed and will face Australia in the afternoon. They defeated Canada 9-7 on Friday evening in front of the best crowd so far at Telus Field in Edmonton, handing the hosts their first loss in the tournament. Canada will now take on Team USA in the second semi-final.

Cuba put on a show in their first game at the I IBAF 15U Baseball World Championship in Mexico. Playing in Parral they dismantled Hong Kong 31-4 in five innings. Seven runs in the first, 12 in the third and ten in the fourth turned the game into a whopping blowout.

The USA overcame an early scare en route to a 13-3 victory over Chinese Taipei. The two-time champion erased a first-inning deficit to win their fifth game at the V Women’s Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada. Playing at John Fry Park they scored in each frame between the second and the fifth to end the contest due to ten-run rule. Chinese Taipei is now 3-3 in the tournament, hoping to qualify for the semi-finals.

Japan has won its fifth game at the V IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada on Thursday. The defending title holder defeated Australia 10-0 in six innings to improve to 5-1 in the tournament. They scored eight runs in the first two frames, providing a comfortable cushion early. Australia dropped to 3-3, battling for the fourth spot in the semi-finals.

51 winners from preliminaries by 15,000 junior teams with 300,000 players throughout Japan assembled for the opening ceremony at Meiji Jingu stadium in Tokyo on August 12 and started the 5-day Championship on August 13.

The 94th edition of the National High School Baseball Championship, one of the most highly anticipated high school sporting events in Japan, opened at Hanshin Koshien stadium on August 8.

After a couple of cancelations and rain delays, finally a game was completed on day five of the V IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada. Japan topped Chinese Taipei 11-1 in five innings in late afternoon. Five runs in the first and five in the fourth decided things quickly in favor of the defending champion. It was their third win in the fourth game for Japan, while Chinese Taipei dropped to 3-2.

It was the first true pitcher’s duel at the V IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada. Japan shut out Venezuela 3-0 in a re-scheduled game from August 10. The defending champion allowed just four base runners all game for their fourth win in the tournament. Two runs in the second and one in the fifth provided the necessary run support. Venezuela dropped to 1-3 after the first leg of their doubleheader day.

Chinese Taipei made a big step towards the medal round of the V IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cup on Monday afternoon at John Fry Park. They downed Venezuela by a score of 4-2, picking up their third win in the fourth game in the tournament. The South American dropped to 1-2 in a matchup of contenders for the possible fourth berth in the semi-finals.

Japan rebounded from Sunday’s loss to Team USA with a 10-0 shutout to open day four at the Women’s Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada. On Monday morning at Telus Field the defending world baseball champion scored four runs in the first and in four of the five innings en route to a ten-run rule shortened victory. For Cuba it was the fourth loss in the fourth game.