Amanda Asay and Team Canada fell one victory short in their quest for gold at the Women's Baseball World Cup.
In Sunday's championship final in Gijang, Korea, Canada fell 10-0 to powerhouse Japan, which claimed the title for the fifth consecutive year. Canada trailed 1-0 after the second inning but a five-run third by Japan broke the game open. Japan added a single run in the fourth and three more in the fifth on the way to the lopsided win.
"They're five-time world champions for a reason and are a really tough team to play against," Team Canada manager Andre Lachance said on the Baseball Canada website. "You need to play a flawless game to beat them and unfortunately that didn't happen for us today."
The silver medal matches Canada's best-ever result at the tournament. Canada also lost to Japan in the 2008 final. The team won bronze medals in 2004, 2006 and 2012.
Asay, a 28-year-old Prince George product, was a pitcher and designated hitter for the current edition of Team Canada. She adds the silver to the one from 2008 and to her bronze medals from 2006 and 2012.
Canada advanced to the championship game thanks to a 2-1 Saturday win against Chinese Taipei, and Asay played a huge role in that victory. As Canada's starting pitcher, she went the distance on the mound and struck out eight batters.
"I was able to establish my fastball early and then changed speeds a little bit as the game went on," Asay said on the Baseball Canada website.
"My defence played amazing behind me and (catcher) Jenn (Gilroy) did a really good job behind the plate."
Gilroy also had the game-winning RBI, a hard grounder in the top of the seventh inning that scored teammate Kelsey Lalor. In the bottom of the seventh, Asay fanned one batter and got a pair of groundouts to end the game.
Asay, who also helped Canada win a silver medal at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, graduated from College Heights secondary school in 2006 and went on to play hockey and fastball at Brown University in Providence, R.I.
Also in 2006, Asay was named Canada's female baseball player of the year and was a finalist for the Tip O'Neill Award, the nation's highest baseball honour. The winner that year was Justin Morneau of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins.
