Canada takes swing at Olympics
When Canadian softball pitcher Danielle Lawrie hits the mound this weekend, she won’t be thinking about what’s on the line.
The squad is competing for a spot in next summer’s Tokyo Olympics at the Americas qualifying tournament in Surrey, B.C., starting on Sunday, but Lawrie insists that every player is simply focused on the next game.
“Right now it’s just one day at a time and get ready to go to war,” said the right-handed veteran.
Locking up an Olympic spot would mark a big milestone for the Canadians.
Softball hasn’t been part of the Games since 2008, when Canada finished fourth in Beijing. While the sport is in for Tokyo, it’s already been nixed from the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Dwelling on that, however, would put extra pressure on the team, said Lawrie, one of three women on Canada’s current roster who also went to the Beijing Games.
“Right now, we need to qualify, and that’s the only thing on my mind.”
It’s been a busy summer for the Canadians, and one that’s put them in a strong position heading into the qualifiers.
The team moved to Marion, Ill., earlier this year to play in the National Pro Fastpitch league as the Canadian Wild and finished the season third with a 22-20-1 record.
In July, the squad won gold at the annual Canada Cup in Surrey, and earlier this month took home silver from the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, after dropping a 3-1 decision to the No. 1-ranked U.S. in the final.
All that preparation has left the group feeling mentally and physically ready for the Olympic qualifiers, said infielder Emma Entzminger.
“We’ve put countless hours into practising, playing, repetition after repetition. And our sport’s big on reps,” she said. “So I think going into this tournament, we’re as prepared as we can be.”
The trick now is remaining consistent, said coach Mark Smith.
“We’ve worked really hard to prepare for this particular week,” he said. “Now it’s a case of not going out and really trying any harder or doing anything differently than we’ve done all summer. If we can play within ourselves and do the things we’re capable of, then we should be successful.”
At No. 3 in the world, Canada is the top-ranked team heading into the Olympic qualifiers and is grouped with Puerto Rico (4), Cuba (17), Guatemala (18), Argentina (25) and Bahamas (39) for the preliminary round.
The other group includes Mexico (5), Brazil (14), Venezuela (16), Dominican Republic (19), Peru (20) and the British Virgin Islands (57).
The Canadians faced a number of those squads at the Pan Ams earlier this month. Each time, the team was able to persevere through a lot of tough challenges, Entzminger said.
“I think we sent messages in the Pan Ams of who we are and what we’re here to do, so I think that’s good moving forward to this tournament.”
The top two teams at the qualifying tournament will punch their tickets to Tokyo 2020.
Canada’s chances might look good on paper, but rankings don’t matter heading into an international event, Lawrie said.
“Anyone can beat anyone on a given day,” she said.
Canada’s first game is against Cuba on Sunday.
The tournament runs until Sept. 1