Beijing Eagles vs Canadian Wild | NPF - Game 6 | NPF - Jun 1, 2019 at 5:44 PM CDT
Daytona Beach, Florida—The Canadian Wild completed the six-game sweep over the Beijing Shougang Eagles Saturday night. The 6thgame of the series didn’t feel like it was going to go in favor of the Wild from the way the game started.
Beijing took their first lead of the series in the top of the 1st inning Saturday night. The 1-0 lead was manufactured by a 3-error top of the 1st from the Wild infielders. Scoring for the Eagles in the top of the first was Chen Jia (3 H, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR). That 1-0 lead was erased by the Wild in the bottom of the 2nd courtesy of a Holly Speers RBI double. Then the 3rd inning came around and a solo blast from Chen Jia was what made the game feel like it could go in favor of the Eagles.
The bottom of the 4th inning was the turning point in the ballgame with the Wild showing their offensive prowess. The Wild scored 3 in the inning to take the 4-2 lead, that would ultimately hold up in the end. Victoria Hayward (3 H, 1 R, 1 RBI) and Larissa Franklin (1 H, 1 RBI) led the charge in the 4th and that’s all it took.
Sara Groenewegen (3.1 IP, 0 H, 6 SO) was the Park Planet Player of the Game. Groenewegen earned her first win of the season and simply overpowered the Beijing hitters. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Struck out 6 of the 11 batters she faced. Zhao Xinxing (2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER) started for the Eagles and was chased early from the ballgame.
The Wild will travel home for a series against the USSSA Pride starting June 6th. The Eagles will go on the road and face a series against the Aussie Peppers starting June 9th.
Tickets are available at www.beijingeagles.com and daytonatortugas.com, or by calling the Tortugas’ ticket office at 386-257-3172.
Kenny Schierlinger
Final: Wild- 4 Eagles-2
— Records: Wild (6-0), Eagles (0-6)
— Winning Pitcher No. 17 Sara Groenewegen (1-0)
— Losing Pitcher No. 22 Ping Fan (0-1)
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ABOUT Beijing Shougang Eagles
The Beijing Shougang Eagles are a women’s professional softball team. Established in May 2017, the team began play in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) during the 2017 season. Managed by Chinese Softball Association, the Eagles’ roster is mainly populated with players from the China women’s national softball team as a means to gain professional experience against the highest levels of fastpitch play, in anticipation of softball’s return to the Olympics in 2020.