TIANJIN, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Xu Jia hit a grand slam homerun in the sixth inning to help Jiangsu defend the softball title at the 13th Chinese National Games here Monday afternoon.
After both sides tied at 1-1 at the end of the fifth inning, Jiangsu captain Li Huan made a hit to improve it to 2-1 before Xu hit the homerun to give Jiangsu a five-point advantage at 6-1. Liaoning failed to score in the seventh inning to surrender the title to Jiangsu.
Jiangsu players attributed their victory to good mentality.
"It's the final match, the tougher side prevails" said Xu.
"We had good mentalities," echoed Li. "Before the match, we told ourselves not to think about the result. Trailing, tying or leading, we should always take it as 0-0 and enjoy the game as much as we can."
Jiangsu coach Song Qiuyuan felt relaxed after achieving the goal of title defending.
"It is the goal of our team and the goal of myself, I came here for the gold," he said. "I have been with the team for 16 years and we have come a long way to win the championship of the National Games and defend the title this time. Now it's time for me to retire and let younger coach take over."
Captain Li was also about to retire.
"I am going to retire after this Games," she said. "I love softball. I have played for 13 years. Now I am going to continue graduate study in sports industry and hopefully in the near future I can do something in the promotion of the sport of softball."
Liaoning took home the silver medal while the bronze went to Beijing.
