Olympics: Japan beats Canada to book softball final clash against U.S.

Defending champion Japan booked its spot in the Olympic softball gold medal game against the United States with a 1-0 group stage win over Canada on Sunday.Japan captain Eri Yamada singled in the winning run with one out and the bases-loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Japan to a 4-0 record and earn a spot in Tuesday's final.Yamada, playing in her third Olympics, had given Japan a chance to win it in the seventh with a leadoff single. In the eighth, however, she ended the game by smashing a pitch through Canada's drawn-in infield."The opportunity for a big hit fell to me, jus…READ FULL ARTICLE