CLEARWATER, Fla. — The USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT) blasted three home runs and used a five-run fifth to become back-to-back World Champions after defeating Japan 13-4 to take home the Gold Medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Women’s World Championship.  

“For them to start here in January (Junior Women’s National Team tryouts) and end here in July, it’s great to come full circle,” said Head Coach Laura Berg. “I am proud of how they came together. Although the team was chosen in January, we didn’t start practicing together until June. Two months isn’t a lot of time but it was like they knew each other and knew what they were capable of doing. They all knew there was one goal and that was winning gold.”  

Box Score 

Bubba Nickles launched a three-run home run to put the Red, White and Blue up, 3-0 in the top of first. With the long ball, Nickles broke the  WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship record for home runs with her sixth.  Japan would answer back with three runs of their own off a two-run double by Eri Shimoyama and RBI single by Hiroyo Hattori to tie the ballgame. 

Japan would jump ahead in the bottom half of the second after a single from Reina Matsumoto brought home Miyu Miyamoto, while Fujimoto was caught at home by a perfect throw from centerfield by Hannah Adams to keep the score, 4-3.

Trailing 4-3 heading into the fifth, the U.S. would regain the lead with its five-run inning. Adams led off with a single to center field before a two-out home run by Baylee Klingle made it 5-4. Lou Allan and Jessica Harper followed with a pair of singles before coming home off a three-run shot by Alissa Dalton, extending the U.S. lead to 8-4. 

Nickles went on to break another JWWC record in the top of the sixth inning after picking up her 29th RBI of the WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship after bringing home Adams and Bates on a two RBI double to center field to make it 10-4. Japan was retired in order for the third straight inning after Lugo issued a pair of strikeouts and a groundout went Klingler’s way to catch the runner at first.

Holding a 10-4 lead, the U.S. capped off its scoring with three more runs in the seventh which included RBI single by Nickles (her 30th) and Klingler. 

Lugo earned the win in the circle for the U.S. with five innings of shutout ball, striking out five and allowing four hits. In addition to Nickles home run and RBI record, she also set a batting average (.690) mark, going 20-for-29. As a team, the USA Softball JWNT broke the JWWC home runs record with 15.

“It’s not just about coming out and staying strong, but adjusting to whatever good teams, like Japan, bring our way,” said Nickles. “To play a sport since I’ve played since I was little was really awesome and shows that the love of the game is all across the world. (Having softball back in the Olympics) is a huge milestone and I really feel like this is going to motivate so many more girls in the U.S. to play international, in the 2020 Olympics and beyond.”

“I think we adjusted really well,” said Klingler. “When we would get knocked down, we got right back up and kept going defensively and offensively. Japan is a very good team but it’s the game of softball. We all put in long hours all for this moment right here and we pulled through.”

Team USA will have some time off before ending the season competing at the Major League Baseball (MLB) RBI World Series in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 10. Follow along with Team USA all year long at USASoftball.com.

— Courtesy of USA Softball

OTTAWA — Government House leader Bardish Chagger apologized in the House of Commons Thursday for making light of opioid-related deaths in Ontario.

She heckled a Conservative MP during a Monday debate about Canada’s opioid crisis. Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte MP Alex Nuttall said his riding saw 36 deaths related to opioids in 2017. His colleague Ken Hardie raised the statistic in a follow up, prompting Chagger to say, “Oh that’s it? That’s not so bad, is it?”

Opposition House leader Candice Bergen called the remark “heartless and cruel” and “incredibly hurtful” to those who have been affected by the country’s opioid epidemic, and asked for an apology.

Watch: Government House leader apologizes for flippant remark

The Liberal MP rose and said her comments “were not intended to diminish the seriousness” of the issue and said opioids have been linked to 85 deaths in her own riding of Waterloo.

MPs of all party stripes were taking part in the “take note” debate — which is conducted to solicit different viewpoints that may shape government policy.

Opioids have been linked to the deaths of more than 9,000 people across Canada between January 2016 to June 2018, according to Health Canada.

Chagger called the issue a “national crisis” and offered a mea culpa. “On this issue, if I have offended anyone, I can promise I have no problem apologizing. I apologize,” she said.

Baton Rouge, La. — Scrap Yard Dawgs claimed their first Cowles Cup in franchise history with a 5-2 win over the USSSA Pride in the winner-take-all contest of the final series in the 2017 NPF Championship held at Tiger Park on the LSU campus.

Rookie Kasey Cooper charged the offense with three RBI, the bulk coming on a two-run home run in the sixth inning that gave the Scrap Yard Dawgs (35-19) the lead for good. 

Monica Abbott tossed her second complete game of the afternoon, limiting the Pride to two runs on four hits, while striking out 11. It was Abbott’s two-hit, 14-strikeout performance earlier in the day that forced the decisive third game.

Abbott was named MVP of the NPF Championship series. Over the course of the Championships, the southpaw limited foes to 15 hits and struck out 56 over 29 innings.

The Pride (43-11), who received a leadoff homer from Megan Wiggins for an early advantage, reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third after Kirsti Merritt delivered a two-out RBI single to score Sierra Romero.

Angel Bunner relieved starting pitcher Kelsey Nunley in the fourth inning and retired the side in her first two innings of work, but yielded the go-ahead homer to Cooper in the sixth inning.

The Scrap Yard Dawgs gave Abbott additional breathing room in the top of the seventh. Meagan May Whitley led off with a solo shot that landed in the left field berm and Cooper later drew a bases loaded walk to force home a run that stretched the lead to 5-2.

Abbott finished the game off in style with consecutive strikeouts of Romero and pinch hitter Gionna DiSalvatore.

Kayla Winkfield led the way with two hits and five others contributed one apiece as the Scrap Yard Dawgs totaled seven in the contest. 

— Courtesy of NFP

SASKATOON — When Chris Wenzel knew he was going to die, he had an unusual request for his wife.

The well-known Saskatoon tattoo artist asked that his ink-adorned skin be removed and preserved before he was buried. He wanted his kids and grandkids to see his life’s work long after he was gone.

“He thought that would be really cool,” his wife, Cheryl Wenzel, said Wednesday. “I thought, that’s different but, yeah, that’s cool.

“I don’t care what it takes. I’m going to get this done for him.”

Her 41-year-old husband, owner of Electric Underground Tattoos, died after an illness on Oct. 28. Before his death, he discovered Save My Ink Forever, a U.S.-based company that preserves tattoos.

First job on such a scale

His wife contacted the company which had never worked on such a scale before. There were only a few parts of her husband’s body that weren’t covered in artwork and he wanted all his finished tattoos preserved.

Kyle Sherwood, the company’s chief operating officer, went to Saskatoon to surgically excise Wenzel’s skin from 70 per cent of his entire body and preserve it with a special formula in a frame.

The entire job will cost about $80,000 and take about three months.

Cheryl Wenzel was in the room with Sherwood when he began removing the skin.

“I was able to point out which tattoos (Chris) wanted.”

Wenzel’s passion for tattoos was evident from a young age when he inked his aunt at nine years old, she said.

“He just fell in love with it. He fell in love with art and had such a passion for tattoos,” she said. “He would say he was a slave to the needle because he loved to tattoo so much.”

Her husband’s skin art will eventually hang on the wall of his tattoo studio, Wenzel said.

“You can hang a picture on a wall. You can do so many different forms of art,” she said. “A tattoo is something that has been done for hundreds of years. It’s just preserving it.”

‘Ground-breaking’ preservation: Sherwood

Sherwood said his company has preserved hundreds of tattoos, but the work he’s doing on Chris Wenzel is the largest-scale preservation in North America. He removed seven designs from the artist’s back, chest, legs and arms.

“This is pretty ground-breaking,” he said.

Sherwood doesn’t normally travel to do his work, but he didn’t trust anyone else to do the job.

Preserving her husband’s artwork is a fitting tribute to a man with a “great spirit,” Cheryl Wenzel said. But she added it’s more for their children, nine and 13, who are already showing promise following in their father’s footsteps.

“This tribute means the world to them,” she said. “This is something they knew dad wanted and it’s something that dad’s going to get.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. –  Adelphi’s Nicole Camera and Academy of Art’s Brooke Larsen were named the Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the week, respectively. The duo earned the honor for their outstanding play for the week of March 19-25.

Camera swung a red-hot bat for the Panthers last week, going 10-for-14 (.714) at the plate with three doubles, a triple, eight RBI and eight runs scored. The senior second baseman extended her hitting streak to seven games and was perfect on 15 chances in the field, turning a double play.

A Metuche, N.J. native, Camera recorded a season-best 4-for-4 outing (2B, 2 RBI, 3 R) in a 13-5 win over Saint Anselm. She drove in a season-high four runs and was a home run shy of the cycle (3-for-4, 2 R) in an 8-2 victory over Saint Michael’s. The Northeast-10 Player of the Week added two runs and a stolen base in game one versus Saint Michael’s and also swiped a base in game two versus Saint Anselm.

Larsen was dominant in the circle as she keyed Academy of Art to a 7-0 week, including a 5-0 showing in at the Tournament of Champions. Appearing in five games, she posted a 4-0 record with a save, while not allowing a single run and striking out 21 batters over 21.2 innings of work. Larsen, a Sacramento, Calif. native, posted two shutouts, which contributed to her current 27.2 scoreless innings’ streak and limited her opponents to a .118 batting average. Additionally, she hit .400 (8-for-20) with two doubles, seven runs and three RBI.

Larsen opened her week with a four-hit shutout against Humboldt State, striking out 10 and walking one in a 3-0 victory. Larsen, the MVP and top pitcher of the tournament, blanked then-No. 13 Sonoma State, holding the Seawolves to just two hits and fanning seven in the Urban Knights’ second straight 3-0 victory. The PacWest Player of the Week also picked up wins in relief against Cal State San Bernardino and Western Washington, and earned a save versus Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Top Performances

Kylee Smith, North Georgia– 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 26 K, 0 BB, 3 H, no-hitter versus Augusta; Mallory Teunissen, Davenport– 3-0, 3 SHO, 5 H, 2 BB, 32 K, 20 IP; Hayley Tierce, Georgia Southwestern– .429, 12 H, 2B, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 13 R, .500 OBP, 1.000 SLG; Lexie Strasser, Central Washington– 4-1, 0.28 ERA, 11 K, 1 ER, 9 H, 24.2 IP, .102 opp BA; KK Lopez, Lui, Lubbock Christian– 2 GP, .750, 6 H, 2 2B, HR, 9 RBI, 3 R; Mariah Jameyson, Texas A&M University-Commerce– .875, 7 H, 3 HR, 5 RBI, .909 OBP, 2.125 SLG; Callie Nunes, Concordia Irvine– 3-0, 0.31 ERA, 33 K, 2 SHO; Jordan Withrow, Tarleton State– 3-0, 1.68 ERA, 26 K, .145 opp BA; Alison Mitts, Saint Leo– 1-1, 1.17 ERA, 10 K, 1 BB, 3 H, .079 opp BA, perfect game vs Lynn (8 K); Kyleigh Payne, Purdue Northwest– .667, 10 H, 5 2B, 2 HR, 11 R, 10 RBI, 1.400 SLG; Jaycee Craver, Illinois Springfield– 2-0, 0.53 ERA, 5 H, 13 K, 3 BB, SHO, .111 opp BA; Jackie Najera, Chaminade– .542, 19 H, 4 2B, 13 R, 8 RBI; Megan Sansburn, Metro State– .563, 9 H, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 9 R, 3 SB; Beth Cook, Fairmont State– .500, 10 H, HR, 10 RBI, 8 R; Taylor Brandts, UVa Wise- 2-0, SV, 17 K, 17 IP, .190 opp BA.

BURNABY, B.C. — Former New Democrat MP Svend Robinson is attempting a political comeback, nearly 15 years after his theft of an expensive diamond ring brought an end to his decades-long career.

Robinson is expected to be acclaimed as the NDP candidate in the riding of Burnaby North-Seymour at a nomination meeting later this week after serving seven terms in various ridings in the Metro Vancouver city from 1979 to 2004.

Robinson made the announcement today outside his childhood home in the riding.

He says he’s been knocking on doors in the community and even though it’s been 15 years since he left federal politics, people have welcomed him back.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is running in a byelection in the neighbouring riding of Burnaby South and Robinson recently appeared with him at a campaign event.

Robinson pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 in 2004 after stealing an engagement ring valued at $64,000 from an auction, but he said he suffered from a mental health disorder and received a conditional discharge.

Since leaving politics, the 66-year-old has spent time in Switzerland working with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Earlier On HuffPost:

CLEMSON, S.C. – John Rittman, a longtime head coach and member of the USA Softball Women’s National Team coaching staff, has been named the first head coach of Clemson softball. Rittman will lead the program in preparation for its first competitive game in February 2020.

“John Rittman is a proven winner and nationally respected coach, and the right person to lead our new softball program at Clemson,” Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich said. “We have 27 months until first pitch, and John has the vision and experience to build a strong foundation and culture for years to come.”

Rittman comes to Clemson after serving as associate head coach at the University of Kansas for the past two seasons. Rittman joined the Jayhawks after 18 seasons as the head coach at Stanford University and 10 years on the United States National Team coaching staff (2001-08, 2016-present).

Under Rittman, the Cardinal recorded 18-consecutive winning seasons, made 16-straight NCAA appearances, notched 13 40-win seasons and produced at least one All-American in 15 of his last 17 seasons. As head coach, Rittman accumulated a 750-351-3 overall mark, coached a national player of the year, 16 All-Americans, earned five Super Regional appearances, two Women’s College World Series appearances and maintained a spot in every regular-season National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll for more than a decade.

“I am thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to build the Clemson softball program,” said Rittman. “I want to thank the Board of Trustees, President Clements and Dan Radakovich for the opportunity. We want to recruit the best student-athletes in the country, and we’ll embrace the Clemson culture and passionate fan base. I can’t wait to get started.”

The past two years, Rittman has served on the staff of USA Softball team which won gold at both the 2016 Women’s Softball World Championship and the 2017 Pan Am Games. He also worked with Team USA from 2001-08, coaching the 2004 Olympic gold medal winners in Athens and the 2008 silver medalists in Beijing. Team USA also won gold medals at the Pan Am Games and the U.S. Cup in 2003.

Prior to being named head coach at Stanford, Rittman spent four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Washington, focusing on hitting and defense. Rittman helped start the program and, within just four seasons, the Huskies had earned a No. 1 national ranking, won the 1996 Pac-10 Championship, made three NCAA Tournament appearances and notched a runner-up finish in their first trip to the Women’s College World Series. Washington became the first team since Texas A&M (1983) to advance to the championship game in its first appearance at the WCWS. Before his appointment at Washington, Rittman spent two seasons as an assistant at the University of Minnesota. During his second year, the Golden Gophers won the Big Ten Conference with a 20-4 league record. The team batting average jumped from .235 to .269 and the Gophers set team and individual records in almost every offensive category. The Minnesota squad led the nation in hits and total bases en route to a No. 15 national ranking. Rittman also helped produce two Golden Gopher All-Americans. From 1988-90, Rittman was an assistant coach at the University of Oregon. During his stay, the Ducks played in the 1989 Women’s College World Series, set several team and individual offensive records and produced an All-American. Rittman graduated from New Mexico State with a degree in journalism in 1986. He was a three-year letterwinner in baseball as an outfielder at NMSU after transferring from Yavapai Junior College in Prescott, Arizona. 

Rittman and his wife, Lorie, a former softball player at the University of Oklahoma, are the parents of Justin, a senior fullback at UCLA, and Jake, a high school senior.

– Courtesy of Clemson Athletics

DELTA, B.C. — A routine patrol of an alley in downtown Ladner, B.C., gave police pause late Monday evening.

“Police officers don’t scare easily. But imagine you are patrolling down a dark alley and your flashlight hits upon this,” reads a caption to a photo the Delta Police tweeted.

The image shows several mannequin heads peeping out of a dumpster that’s slightly ajar. One, with scraggly dark hair, hangs from the lid, beside a metal chain.

The police officer who spotted the heads probably “had a second of ‘Oh my, what have I got here?'” said police spokeswoman Cris Leykauf.

The officer quickly investigated and found a number of mannequin heads in the dumpster, she said, along with even more that filled a garbage bag.

“It seems a little grizzly sounding when you say it like that, doesn’t it?” she asked with a laugh.

There are clothing stores and hair salons nearby, she noted, so police aren’t sure where the heads came from.

No homicides in past 2 years

Leykauf said she’s not sure exactly how the veteran officer responded when he found the heads.

“I emailed and I asked his boss, ‘Did he scream? What happened?’ He never confessed to any of that so I have no idea,” she said.

Earlier in January, a south-Edmonton neighbourhood was taped off for several hours after police discovered what appeared to be a body.

A media inquiry about the investigation led to this response from police: “This is not a human body. It is believed to be some sort of mannequin or doll.”

Leykauf said Delta hasn’t seen any homicides in the past two years, and if these mannequin heads are the most gruesome thing they have all year then they’re doing very well.