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Larissa Franklin will be playing in the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup next July
For the fifth time in her career, Larissa Franklin will be heading to the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup next year as part of Team Canada.
The 30-year-old recently competed in the group stage back in July, where she and the rest of her Canadian teammates put on quite an impressive performance and punched their ticket to the World Cup finals.
READ ALSO: Maple Ridge softball star heading to Pan American Games with Team Canada
Team Canada started the competition on the right foot, with a 5-0 win over Team Phillippines, followed by a 6-2 win against Team Venezuela.
Unfortunately, their winning streak came to an end when Italy beat them 6-1. But the Canadians were able to regroup pretty quickly and earned a hard-fought 6-5 win over Japan in the next game.
“The majority of our team had never beat Japan so it was awesome to do it after facing some adversity,” said Franklin. “I was very proud of the character our team showed.”
Team Canada then wrapped up the round-robin games with a 4-0 victory over New Zealand.
In the first match of the playoffs, Team Canada suffered a tough 7-1 loss against Japan. They should have then moved on to play against Italy, but the last playoff game was cancelled due to health and safety concerns.
Even with their playoff loss, Team Canada had already secured their place in the 2024 World Cup, which will take place in Italy.
But despite the strong display, Franklin knew going into the group stage that she would have to bring her A-game in order to advance to the next stage.
“Sports are challenging, you can be the best team and still lose,” said Franklin. “At the World Cup qualifier, I had 100 per cent confidence in our team that we could qualify and that we had prepared well enough to win, but the feeling I felt when we qualified was still relief.”
READ ALSO: Virtue and Moir ice dance their way into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
Franklin still has a while before the World Cup kicks off in Italy next July, and she is trying not to get too worried about how she’ll perform when the time comes.
“I don’t know how much more time I have in this sport but I do know that I am going to do my best to be grateful for every opportunity I get to lace up my cleats and compete at the highest level,” she said.
She also acknowledged her age and said that she is already taking steps to prepare for what her life will hold after she hangs up her glove.
“At the moment I am working through my Master’s in Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at the Smith School of Business where I plan on utilizing what I learn to positively impact the sport of softball in Canada,” said Franklin.
“Although I am not living in Maple Ridge, I still feel very connected to the city and would love to eventually share my messages, takeaways, and the Olympic medal with as many people in Ridge that would have me.”
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