Breaking News: USA Blue Loses to Japan Today to Set International Cup Championship

Japan defeated USA Blue today in Irvine, California and will face USA Red in the USA Softball International Cup Championship Game to be played tomorrow at 5 pm PST and televised on ESPN.

USA Red earned its spot in the Championship Game after defeating Puerto Rico, 5-0 earlier.

USA Blue will play Scrap Yard Fast Pitch at 7:30 pm PST.

The USA Blue team jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning against Team Japan in a game played this morning when Hannah Flippen hit a two-run home run, but couldn’t keep the lead and eventually lost 5-3 when Natsuko Sugama hit a two-run blast in the top of the sixth to break a 3-3 tie.

Japan narrowed the lead to 2-1 in the top of the third when Sugama hit an RBI single, but USA Blue answered with a run in the bottom of the third on Amanda Chidester’s sac fly to push the USA lead to 3-1.

Team Japan tied the game with two in the top of the fifth aided by a pair of USA errors.

Reliever Yukari Hamamura gave up only one hit in four innings and didn’t allow a run to get the win while Paige Lowary took the loss for the USA squad after coming in with two outs in the top of the fifth and giving up the game-deciding two-run home run in the sixth.

Bubba Nickles went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead USA Blue offensively, but Japan doubled the USA’s five hits as Saki Yamazaki, Misato Kawano, Yu Yamamoto and Sugama all had multiple hits for the winning squad.