Silver gets old for Canadian women

When Nicole Luchanski returned home with a silver medal from the last women’s baseball World Cup, she tucked the shiny piece of hardware away in a drawer.

The veteran second baseman hasn’t spent much time admiring that medal — a reminder of a crushing 10-0 loss to Japan — in the two years since.

It’s not that Luchanski doesn’t recognize the accomplishment of second place. It’s that she wants to be better.

“I’m really proud of our team for finishing so high in the rankings consistently, but I’ve never been a proponent of silver and bronze in baseball,” the Edmonton native said in a phone interview before the World Cup in Viera, Fla. “If you’re in track and field or swimming or another individual sport and you come in the top 3, that’s a huge deal.

“But I think of baseball like any other pro team sport. If you don’t win the World Series, no one gives you a silver medal.”

The 2016 silver was Luchanski’s second at a World Cup (and third total after one from the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto). She was also part of two bronze-medal wins since joining the national team in 2005. But no gold. Not yet, anyway. Canada, ranked No. 2 behind Japan, opens play Wednesday against No. 10 Hong Kong. The Canadians have finished in the top four in every World Cup since the biennial tournament started in 2004, but they don’t consider their place atop the standings as an advantage.

“We’re underdogs, we’re not ranked No. 1,” Luchanski said.

Amanda Asay, a right-handed pitcher who joined the team with Luchanski 13 years ago, agreed.

“I don’t really think we have a target on our backs,” the Prince George, B.C., native said. “This is the eighth World Cup so the countries that are competing for the top spot already know where everyone is at.

“Hopefully, our development over the last year will put us ahead of our competition, and that’s what we’re aiming for.” Luchanski and Asay were among a handful of players without a hit in the 2016 loss to Japan — Canada only managed two in a game Luchanski described as “not even close.”

A perennial powerhouse, Japan is the tournament’s main competition again this year. No. 3 U.S. and No. 4 Australia also present challenges in the 12team field.