Lavallee tosses no-hitter as Canada shuts out Hong Kong in opener at women’s WC

VIERA, Fla. — Anne-Sophie Lavallee threw a no-hitter as Canada opened with a 4-0 win over Hong Kong at the women’s baseball World Cup on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old lefty of Boucherville, Que., had four strikeouts and four walks for the Canadian squad, which is ranked No. 2 behind Japan, in a game that was delayed more than an hour and called official after five innings because of lightning.

“I had fun out there today,” said Lavallee.

“It was exciting getting the start for the first game of the tournament and to come out with a win like this for our team is a good feeling.”

Katherine Psota and Nicole Luchanski led the way on offence for Canada with two hits apiece.

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Luchanski, Emma March, Jenna Flannigan and Daniella Matteucci each had an RBI.

Yee Lam started for the 10th-ranked Hong Kong, giving up three earned runs on six hits and three walks across four innings of work.

Flannigan opened the scoring for Canada in the bottom of the first, cashing a runner on a walk after the bases were loaded on three consecutive singles.

They tacked on two more runs in the second off the bats of March and Luchanski.

Flannigan scored Canada’s final run on an error in the fourth.

Canada is slated to face world No. 9 Cuba on Thursday.

“It’s always nice to win the opening game at an event like this,” said Canada’s manager Andre Lachance.

“There’s always a big build-up toward the start of the tournament and your opening game, so it’s nice to come out on top and now be able to focus our attention on our remaining opponents.”

The Canadian Press